Is TikTok relevant for my practice as a healthcare professional?

TikTok is a social media app that lets you share and view short videos of about 15 seconds on average. This fast-growing social media platform has had an especially significant boost with the start of the Covid-19 pandemic, seeing as people were starting to get bored after being sanctioned to a global lockdown. TikTok has over 1 billion monthly active users, with its most popular audience being Gen-Z.

Because of its wide use in younger communities, this platform can be a powerful tool in the future of education. Indeed, studies show that many people use social media for educational purposes, especially regarding health practices and several other topics; ¾ of gen Z say to have learnt about social justice on this platform. Tiktok is a great way to share information and educate on matters that you deem essential, especially when it comes to your practice as a healthcare professional.

TikTok is a popular platform that health practitioners and other professionals can use to educate their viewers on various matters. Social media is an easy way to help younger generations better understand a particular health practice. It is essential to educate the younger generation because knowledge about health practices can decrease health risks and risks of illnesses and lead to a healthier, more informed generation with a higher lifespan. Spreading awareness about your health practice can also help curtail the healthcare gap. By sharing information about your profession online, those who don’t have access to medical services can still be educated.

TikTok is an incredible communication tool, so if you’re going to use it, make sure to use all the different facets the app offers to maximize your following, such as live streams, video publication, and direct messages.

Tiktok live streaming is media that is recorded and broadcasted in real-time, like live TV. For health practitioners, this can act as a video consultation. Still, you will have a much larger audience instead of just one patient. If you do want one on one time with a viewer, you have the option to go live “together” with as many as three users. There is also a comment function within a TikTok live stream, which allows you to answer questions in real-time. This might seem less intimidating to viewers than if they were a patient asking you a personal question face-to-face, just like in class when you’re too shy to ask your question but relieved when someone else asks it instead!

A Direct Message, more commonly known as a DM, is a message an account can send to another. If you are a professional in the health world, this is a beneficial tool to communicate with other health professionals on the app, but also to communicate with viewers who might have questions about your health practice. This promotes a sense of community on your page and will encourage viewers to revisit it.

When creating a TikTok account, use a distinct username (for example, @Dr.Arthur_Smith) to ensure that other users know your account is healthcare-related. You can also include your credentials and additional important information about your career, such as your professional website and office practice, in your account’s biography (also known as a bio). This will also make your content appear more credible and can potentially help you get verified (viewers will see a blue check beside your account).

But of course, TikTok’s primary purpose as a video-sharing app is to, well, share videos! Taking part in current trends is a great way to create engaging content for your followers to watch, as well as using popular soundbites as a fun way of explaining concepts from your practice that may be difficult to understand. There are a lot of other nifty, easy tricks you can use on this social media platform that will help elevate your account.

TikTok is considered a great social media platform for educating others because of its brief videos and “fun and light atmosphere.” This allows health practitioners’ messages to reach a larger audience because of the low attention span needed to watch the videos. It also makes information easy to consume and even easier to understand. 

Because of its popularity amongst the younger generations, TikTok and such social media platforms aren’t seen as serious enough and so usually not commonly used by professionals, especially health practitioners. However, TikTok can be an excellent tool for communication and education.