Summary
- The best examples of #HealthTok share authentic and relatable content.
- Using TikTok can boost exposure for your organization, but it needs to fit within your overall strategy.
Is TikTok the right platform for healthcare?
Strange dance moves, cringey challenges, off-beat lip-synching … yeah, TikTok came from humble beginnings. But who hasn’t gone through an awkward phase? Now that TikTok has graduated from middle school, it’s emerging as a new marketing opportunity for organizations. Even in healthcare.
While you’ll still find plenty of dancing on the app, TikTok has become more than a social channel for teenagers. It has more than 138 million monthly active users in the U.S. — making it a great platform for healthcare brands to build an audience.
But what kind of TikTok posts are appropriate for your brand? We’ll help you figure that out. See examples from 10 healthcare companies that are killing it on the platform and read why their content is working.
Top 10 Healthcare Companies on TikTok
Cleveland Clinic
You’ve probably seen Cleveland Clinic’s #MaskUp video for COVID-19 spread prevention. Reaching over 1 million views in 24 hours, it paved the way for health content to thrive on the platform.
Looking for inspiration? This healthcare TikTok pioneer is a great place to start. One of their best posts (besides #MaskUp) tells the story of Andy’s multi-organ transplant. They show Andy’s journey to recovery, including moments like his first bite of food after the procedure. Viewers congratulate Andy and share their loved ones’ organ donor stories in the comments.
TikTok for healthcare tip: Build community by sharing your patient success stories.
Children’s Hospital of New Orleans
CHNO’s posts embrace fun sounds, songs, or trends. And they keep it real. When there’s king cake in the break room — a Louisiana specialty — they don’t walk. They run. In their non-slip shoes.
TikTok for healthcare tip: Post something your local audience can relate to and watch how it sparks conversations in the comments.
North Texas Surgical Specialists
Dr. Mekala doesn’t take himself too seriously, and neither does his staff at North Texas Surgical Specialists. Their team has fun with TikTok, letting viewers in on inside jokes with a behind-the-scenes feel. Sharing a healthy dose of workplace humor can help your practice feel more inviting to patients. It shows the humans behind the masks in all their quirky glory.
TikTok for healthcare tip: Let viewers see your team’s sense of humor.
Medicine Explained
Not every healthcare worker wants to ham it up in front of the camera. Medicine Explained found a workaround. Their visuals are all doodles on scrap paper. And it works. They’ve mastered the art of keeping it simple, from low-tech visuals to bite-size content that’s easy for viewers to digest.
TikTok for healthcare tip: Make your educational content “snackable.” Don’t overcomplicate it.
Dr. Mike
Doctor Mike has over 23 million followers across social media channels, including TikTok. His secret? Blending pop culture with educational content. An avid boxer, Doctor Mike references sports often (like in the video below). He also pulls in scenes from popular TV shows, like Grey’s Anatomy or Sex in the City, to connect with his audience while sharing healthcare content.
Watch on TikTok
TikTok for healthcare tip: Talk about last night’s episode, game or talk show (if it makes sense for your brand).
Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals
A little information, a lot of inspiration. Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals uses TikTok to tell the stories of the children they support. Almost all of their TikToks feature their pediatric patients. The children even create some of the videos. Watch how Hallie teaches viewers about her awesome prosthetic in the clip below.
TikTok for healthcare tip: Include your patients’ voices in content creation. Try sharing your success stories straight from the source.
Perelel Health
Rule No. 1 of marketing: Know your audience. Perelel Health, an OB/GYN-founded vitamin brand, has this concept down. Perelel Health uses TikTok to connect with millennial parents. They share funny posts about common parenting struggles balanced with TikToks about their product. Their consistent branding, relatability and credible background build a strong “Know, Like and Trust” factor with viewers.
Watch on TikTok
TikTok for healthcare tip: Use your content to build your “Know, Like and Trust” factor with your audience.
Dr. Adam Goodcoff
An ER resident doctor in Chicago, Dr. Goodcoff excels at driving engagement on TikTok. Some of his best educational posts don’t teach viewers anything at all. Instead, he poses a scenario about an imaginary patient’s symptoms and invites commenters to make a diagnosis. Challenging viewers to solve this “medical mystery” gamifies his content, making it more fun to get involved.
TikTok for healthcare tip: Think outside the box to incentivize viewers to engage. Include a clear CTA, like “Make your diagnosis in the comments.”
Nationwide Children’s Hospital
Nationwide Children’s Hospital blends valuable info with current trends. They answer patients’ FAQs through TikToks with popular sounds like “It’s Tricky” by Run-D.M.C. The end result? Hopefully more people choosing the right location (Urgent Care or Emergency Room) for their ailments.
TikTok for healthcare tip: Give your audience the info they need using the latest TikTok trends.
MD Lawrence Werlin
Dr. Werlin was named “Most Compassionate Doctor in America” from 2008 to 2014, and it’s easy to see why. This infertility specialist (an Albert Einstein lookalike??) uses TikTok to share his favorite moments: calling his patients to tell them they’re pregnant. Warning — Dr. Werlin’s account is one of the most feel-good spaces on the internet. Once you land on it, you won’t want to leave.
TikTok for healthcare tip: Let your heart shine through your content. Show viewers how much your team cares.
Is TikTok worth it?
Using TikTok can boost exposure for your organization, but it needs to fit within your overall strategy. Like most social media channels, the platform doesn’t produce results with a “drop-it-and-run” approach. It takes a long-term commitment to reap benefits.
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