#PlasticsTwitter: The Use of Twitter Data as a Tool for Evaluating Public Interest in Cosmetic Surgery Procedures

Abstract

Abstract Background Plastic surgeons are increasingly turning to social media to market their services. The newly released Twitter Academic Research Product Track (TARPT) database provides free, customizable analysis of keywords that are included in tweets on the Twitter platform. The TARPT tool may provide valuable insight into public interest in cosmetic surgery procedures. Objectives The aim of this study was to determine TARPT’s utility in tracking and predicting public interest in cosmetic surgery procedures and to examine temporal trends in tweets related to cosmetic facial and body procedures. Methods The TARPT tool was used to calculate the total number of tweets containing keywords related to 10 facial cosmetic procedures and 7 cosmetic body procedures from 2010 to 2020. Annual volumes for respective procedures were obtained from annual statistics reports of The Aesthetic Society from 2010 to 2020. Tweet volumes and procedure volumes were compared by univariate linear regression, taking P < 0.05 as the cutoff for significance. Results Variations in tweet volume were observed. Univariate linear regression analysis demonstrated statistically significant positive correlations between tweet volumes and procedure volumes for 7 search terms: “eyelid lift,” “facelift,” “lip injections,” “mastopexy,” “butt lift,” “butt implants,” and “liposuction.” Many procedure-related keywords were not significant, demonstrating the importance of careful selection of Twitter search terms. Conclusions The TARPT database represents a promising novel source of information for plastic surgeons, with the potential to inform marketing and advertising decisions for emerging trends in plastic surgery interest before these patterns become apparent in surgical or clinical volumes.