Why You Should Ask Medical Residents to Run Your Hospital’s TikTok
As an elder millennial stateswoman, I have something I’d like to admit: I’m too old to manage a hospital’s TikTok account. And if you’re a hospital marketer who is in my age demographic or above — you are, too.
I know. It’s hard to admit it. Over the past decade, we’ve had to master so many things — Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, LinkedIn, Instagram, Snapchat (kind of). We know the right time of day to post, we create fancy analytics reports and understand what content works well for each audience. Why can’t we just tack on TikTok to our list?
The hard truth: We don’t understand what’s funny on TikTok. Don’t believe me? Take this quiz and tell me if you know the answers:
I had a Gen Z friend go through each of these TikToks with me and explain why they were funny. After about an hour, I didn’t know if she was laughing because the videos were so funny — or because her aged friend needed such a detailed, second-by-second explanation as to why these videos were so humorous.
At first, I felt defeated. Maybe hospitals shouldn’t be on TikTok. Maybe it’s not the right audience. Maybe it’s not the right platform. Maybe starting an account would cause your legal team to have a collective heart attack.
But then, I realized: Maybe it’s just me. Just because I don’t feel comfortable doing something — doesn’t mean I can’t ask someone else to do it. And not just anyone, but people who are on the platform, laughing and posting videos.
Companies use social media influencers because they understand that’s who their audience wants to hear from. So, why can’t hospital marketers ask their medical residents to create content that appeals to the TikTok generation?
Here’s how to get started:
Find your TikTok brand ambassadors
Hospital marketers spend a lot of time working with physicians on their biographies, updating credentialing information, getting feedback on website pages and creating media collateral (TV interviews, blogs, social media posts, etc.).
Asking your medical residents to create TikTok videos could be a great way to help them feel like part of your hospital’s team, too. And now that TikTok has a recruiting platform for employers, your brand ambassadors could help recruit the next generation of providers to your hospital.
Granted, not every resident is right for TikTok. Connect with your service line leaders to see who might be ripe for recruitment. Here’s what you’re looking for:
· Residents who actively participate on TikTok
· Residents who are engaging, funny and charismatic
· Residents who understand the concept of being a “brand ambassador” for your hospital
Create content that speaks to your audience
Sure, your hospital’s TikTok can be filled with all kinds of goofy lip-synching videos, but your brand carries weight. Done correctly, TikTok can be an effective way to fight back against false medical information and phony claims that circulate across the Internet.
But TikTok isn’t the place to run PSA’s, a 60-second TV commercial or information about colonoscopy screenings. Brainstorm with your TikTok brand ambassadors about some content ideas that could work well for this audience. For example:
· Sports injuries
· Women’s health
· Anxiety
· Depression
· Stress
· Sex
· Vaping
· Acne
· Nutrition
· Wellness
· Pregnancy
Need some more inspiration about doctors who are engaging with their patients on TikTok? Read Doctors on TikTok Try to Go Viral.
Figure out an incentive plan
Companies pay between $200 and $20,000 for each branded video a TikTok influencer produces. If a medical resident on TikTok knows there’s a chance they could earn money from a company, why would they produce videos for your hospital for free? (Hello, med student loans!)
Now is the time to think about how you want to incentivize these brand ambassadors for their hard work. Creating a 60-second video doesn’t take 60 seconds. A terrific TikTok takes hours to plan: coming up with the concept, writing a script, choreographing a dance, selecting a song, managing lighting, selecting graphics and captioning the video.
Instead of paying each brand ambassador for each video they produce, create a reward system. At the end of each month, quarter or year, give a cash prize or gift certificate to the ambassador whose video got the most views.
And good news: Now that your collection of TikToks are up, you can share the most popular ones on all your hospital’s social media accounts. Even better news? I bet you can do that yourself.