Social media has exploded to become one of the key ways that we communicate both for social and business messaging. It's critical for clinical practices to understand how to use it correctly. This ASPS Social Media Toolkit now available on ASPS EdNet was designed to assist plastic surgeons and their practices when building a social media presence.

Intended Audience: This course is intended for ABPS Board-certified plastic surgeons and their staff.  

Course Preview

Please Note: Course 1 is a prerequisite to the other courses

In this first course of the ASPS Social Media Toolkit, you'll learn some fundamental principles of social media ethics. The course is titled What You Need to Know to emphasize how an ethical approach is the underpinning of everything we do. It truly is what we need to know.

Learning Objectives

• Identify the rationalizations people make related to ethical issues associated with social media
• Develop strategies for avoiding rationalizations when making ethical decisions on social media
• Distinguish between appropriate and inappropriate use of social media
• Take appropriate action when using social media to safeguard and protect yourself, practice and any affiliated association/organization

This second course of the ASPS Social Media Toolkit, Creating a Social Media Strategy, will begin by demonstrating how plastic surgery related content on social media has increased considerably in recent years. The course will then go on to discuss why you need a social media strategy, how to create one and give you a broad-based introduction to social media for plastic surgeons.

Learning Objectives

• Describe why a plastic surgeon needs a social media strategy
• Explain the steps necessary for creating a social media strategy

Hashtags starts by describing what a hashtag is and what the advantages are to using them. The course will then address platform-specific strategies. In this segment of the course, Part 1, the course will discuss Instagram in particular.

Learning Objectives

• Describe the meaning and purpose of a hashtag and articulate the advantages of using it
• Employ hashtag best practices on Instagram

Part 2 will then cover not only the use of hashtags on X, TikTok and Facebook, but it will also introduce you to shadow banning and what steps you need to take to avoid it.

Learning Objectives

• Employ hashtag best practices on X, TikTok and Facebook
• Describe "shadow banning" and measures to avoid it

In Course 4 of the ASPS Social Media Toolkit, you'll learn what a content bucket is, how to develop one and be introduced to numerous examples of social media posts drawn from content buckets best suited for plastic surgery practices.

Learning Objectives

Upon completion of this activity, participants will be able to do the following:

• Identify what a content bucket is and what benefits they offer
• Describe the steps for developing a content bucket
• Identify and describe content bucket themes tailored for plastic surgery practices

In the fifth and final course of the Toolkit, you'll first learn about the most relevant social media metrics that impact your business. Second, you'll discover how metrics can provide invaluable insights to enhance follower engagement on your social media accounts.

Learning Objectives

• Describe key social media metrics and how they can help improve your social media presence and ROI
• Develop strategies for increasing follower engagement

• Interpersonal and Communication Skills
• Professionalism

This course is NOT ELIGIBLE for AMA PRA Category 1 Credit™