Orthotown December 2019 - 31

A common (and popular!) type
of video on The Braces Guy's
social media is a gallery of
different color combinations for
brackets and bands, inspired by
everything from football teams
to beloved television series. Here
are their picks for the cast of
characters in Friends.

For instance, YouTube allows me to create
informational videos for patients, as well
as training videos (which we often keep as
private and share only with new employees in
the onboarding process). Instagram gives me
the opportunity to show people a glimpse of
my personal life and some behind-the-scenes
footage at work. TikTok allows me to fill
my need for a creative outlet and connect
with some of our younger patients.
Just know your fans in each of your
social media platforms, deliver content that
resonates well with each group, and always
remain authentic when doing so.

3. Be original and be creative

2. Know your platform
Listen, there are some awesome social
media platforms out there, and they all
specialize in something different. Facebook
connects offices with patients and colleagues;
photo-centric Instagram allows patients and
fans to have a behind-the-scenes personalized
look at you and your office; YouTube allows
offices to share compelling stories and how-to
videos in longer format; and TikTok thrives
on short, meme-style videos.

Each platform excels with a different
demographic. Facebook tends to attract an
older demographic, TikTok draws a younger
crowd, and Instagram is widely used by
all ages. Personally speaking, TikTok and
Instagram are the platforms that seem to
best fulfi ll my need for a creative outlet.
That being said, I do not sleep on the other
social media platforms, because they all
serve very specific purposes for our office
and complement one another nicely.

When you're ready to give TikTok a try,
I do have a few tips.
First, start simple. Honestly, it's not the
most intuitive app to use, especially for old
guys like me.
My fi rst few TikTok videos did OK
at best. When my videos finally did begin
to get more engagement, the users of TikTok weren't very warm to me; I was "just
another orthodontist" on the app, and many
TikTokers seemed to be content with not
needing another one showing up on their
feeds. So I decided to dedicate my efforts
to becoming completely different from
anything they had ever seen on TikTok,
and I finally found success in originality.
Being original does not mean ignoring
trends completely, but it does mean taking
pride in being as creative and authentic as
possible in your content. I recommend getting
in the habit of looking outside of the world
of TikTok, as well as outside of the world
of orthodontics. Some of my best ideas
for content have come from simply paying
attention to human behavior-at restaurants,
at malls, at resorts-and then finding creative
ways to incorporate those observations back
into the orthodontic world.
orthotown.com \\ DECEMBER 2019

31
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Orthotown December 2019

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Orthotown December 2019
