Otolaryngology Residency Program Rankings and Social Media Usage: A Longitudinal Analysis

Social media is a powerful networking tool among health care organizations. This study determines correlations between program reputation and social media activity and popularity, specifically among otolaryngology residency programs.

Accredited programs, excluding military and osteopathic, in the United States were included. Activity and popularity on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram were assessed during the same 7-month period from 2016 to 2020. Doximity Residency reputation scores (dividing programs into quartiles) and US News & World Report (comparing programs affiliated with top hospitals versus those with unranked hospitals) were utilized to compare differences based on reputation.

Of 104 programs, 91 (88%) had social media accounts. Instagram and Twitter were more commonly used than Facebook, with 78 (75%), 49 (47%), and 42 (40%) accounts, respectively. The cumulative use of all three platforms grew yearly, while Twitter (R²  = 0.9863) and Instagram (R²  = 0.9955) presence increased exponentially. Doximity's top quartile programs had more Facebook (P = .020), Twitter (P < .001), and Instagram (P = .102) accounts. First-quartile programs also adopted each platform months before fourth-quartile programs. Stratified by US News & World Report, ranked programs had more social media accounts, with 24 (53%) on Facebook (P = .028), 32 (71%) on Twitter (P < .001), and 37 (82%) on Instagram (P = .155). Programs with higher reputations were more active and exhibited increased likes and followers over time.

Social media use among otolaryngology programs has grown exponentially, with Instagram and Twitter becoming the dominant platforms. Higher ranked programs are more active on social media, have more followers, and adopt social media earlier.

4 Laryngoscope, 131:2455-2460, 2021.