The Dark Side of Social Media [BONUS]

Dr. Bob Basu (00:08): So welcome back to Behind the Double Doors. I'm Dr. Bob Basu. And I have with me Dr. Johnny Franco, who I think is a master expert in social media. In fact, I've learned a lot from him about social media. And so Dr. Franco, what are the biggest trends that you're seeing in social media that are impacting aesthetic plastic surgery right now?

Dr. Johnny Franco (00:29): One, I think the biggest thing that I've seen recently is I couldn't be happier that board certified plastic surgeons are jumping on social media, whether that's Instagram, Snapchat, TikTok, because I feel like we were a little bit slower to adopt this than maybe other people. And people are going to get information somewhere and they might as well get it from the experts, from the people who've trained it on this forever. And I think that is huge. I do think it's super important for people to understand. Social media's a great resource. It's not the only resource. Just because somebody can dance well or do something doesn't mean they should be your plastic surgeon. If you see somebody that you love and you talked about this earlier, researching it, use it. But then look it up. You can look up on the American Board of Plastic Surgery and see if they're board certified.

(01:10): So I think those are huge. I do love that social media I think for plastic surgery has taken away this magical black box. Because it used to be people came in, there was this closed black box, and they came out as something different. I feel, and tell me if you feel the same at your practice, but with us sharing people's journeys, the consultations, our time together, the consultation, is much more worthwhile.

Dr. Bob Basu (01:32): Absolutely.

Dr. Johnny Franco (01:33): They'll bring me things, pictures, specific stuff. So we're talking about the exact same thing, just like you said with Wish pictures. So they have a better idea of exactly what we're talking about.

Dr. Bob Basu (01:43): Yeah, absolutely. But what worries you about social media impacting our industry?

Dr. Johnny Franco (01:47): I do think that like anything, some people get a little carried away with it. So one, making sure that the patient's always the focus. The surgery should always be the focus. Not trying to go viral on TikTok or something like that. I also do think that patients can overly beat themselves up. And we all have pictures where you look great, where you don't, and I think sometimes people try to reach some goal that's not realistic and have no idea that maybe their favorite influencer or somebody may have glossed a little picture, may have done a little this, may have done a little of that. So I think it's great information, but I still think going to a physician's website, I think seeing before and afters, I think is more realistic of where people are. There's all sorts of angles and poses that can be great or not great for us.

Dr. Bob Basu (02:27): Sure. If we have some listeners who are actually plastic surgeons, what advice do you have for them if they're trying to grow their social media?

Dr. Johnny Franco (02:36): I think being active. It's funny. When we came in, we already took some pictures together. And I'll tell you ... When I started, I started and somebody else gave me this idea and they're like, "Just get started." So what I do is I do a good morning team every day. And so it makes me do a post, get started. It's just something I do every day. So that way, you're just getting into the habit. I also think committing to hiring somebody or dedicating somebody that they have dedicated time in your office to do. When we dedicated and hired a person to do it in our office and helped me, that was the game changer for us, because if it's just spreading, it's always somebody's second or third role, it's always going to be second or third, and then it's never going to be a priority. And you realize, "Oh, shoot, it's been weeks since I've posted." And in people's life and Instagram, that's like six years.

Dr. Bob Basu (03:21): And I would extend that. But the same goes to using outside companies to do your social media. I think it's inauthentic. The goal is not to just post. The goal is to share yourself and your practice with others and educate them about what you're doing. And I think another company just simply can't do that effectively. No matter how slick they sound or what they can do and say, it's got to come organically from within your practice, and I think that's the best way to develop a strategy.

Dr. Johnny Franco (03:46): And being yourself, because I think me trying to be you or you trying to be me is just going to become so ... People want to come to you, and the idea is that we're trying to be transparent. This is who I am, this is what you're going to get, these are the procedures I do. And so, because that way you're a good fit when you come here. And so I think trying to be somebody else is doing a disservice to you, your practice and the patients that are following you.

Dr. Bob Basu (04:08): Absolutely. No, that's really great advice. And what can we look forward to in your social media channels? What should we look forward to in 2023?

Dr. Johnny Franco (04:16): Well, we've added a few new docs to our practice, which has been great.

Dr. Bob Basu (04:19): Okay, congratulations.

Dr. Johnny Franco (04:20): We've got a couple new procedures and stuff coming out, so I think that's been super helpful. I'll tell you, it's just been great because I think as stuff comes out, as we educate people, it's really nice to be real time about it in terms of, "Here's what's going on." We used to do newsletters, and we still do that monthly, but where else can you share daily updates? "Here's going on. Here was something in the news. Let me give you a little information and my thoughts about it." And so there's never been such a great way to be able to interchange with people about questions, ideas. It's funny because people will DM us questions and I'll be like, "Oh, that's a great thing. I didn't even realize that we've talked about this and never answered that question." So DM us your questions. We'll do a little segment, we'll talk about it. And I know you're great about educating people, and if they slide into your DMs with a question, maybe you'll even take five minutes and be like, "Hey, I got five minutes in between surgery. Let me answer some questions."

Dr. Bob Basu (05:12): Answer it. Exactly. Well, awesome. I want to thank Dr. Johnny Franco for his time for being on our podcast today. He's been enlightening for our listeners and for me. So thank you very much for your time.

Dr. Johnny Franco (05:23): I appreciate you having me. This is great.

Speaker 3 (05:28): Basu Aesthetics and Plastic Surgery is located in Northwest Houston in the Towne Lake area of Cypress. If you'd like to be a guest or ask a question for Dr. Basu to answer on the podcast, go to basuplasticsurgery.com/podcast. On Instagram, follow Dr. Basu and the team @BasuPlasticSurgery. That's B-A-S-U Plastic Surgery. Behind the Double Doors is a production of the Axis, the axis.io.