HOW A PLASTIC SURGEON BECOMES A MEDIA RESOURCE

Recently, I came across an interesting article in the New York Times pertaining to a trend among men to get fillers, Botox and plastic surgery during the pandemic. Since many sales executives began working at home during the onslaught of COVID-19, they conducted meetings via Zoom. As a result, many saw themselves on screen and noticed they were looking tired, or sprouting wrinkles. Thus, many decided to visit plastic surgeons and dermatologists for treatments. 

What was of further interest to me were the plastic surgeons and derms who found their way into this major publication article. 

I know exactly how this free publicity opportunity came about. But, let’s first begin with the featured specialists and their comments.

“One of the biggest growth segments in plastic surgery has been men as a market share,” said Dr. Jacob Steiger, a plastic surgeon in Miami, whose male clients include airline pilots, hedge fund managers and the occasional construction worker. They account for about 25 percent of his clients now, he said, compared with about 10 percent before the pandemic.

Amy Shecter, the chief executive of EverBody, a cosmetic dermatology practice in Manhattan, has experienced a similar uptick. “We have seen a notable increase in male and male-identifying consumers,” Ms. Shecter said, adding that their average age is 37.

Dr. Kevin Sadati, is a plastic surgeon in Los Angeles who specializes in face-lifts, posts videos on his YouTube and Instagram channels of men being injected with fillers, having liposuction and getting chin implants. “People get comfortable seeing me behind the scenes interviewing younger men,” he said. “You can draw followers who would cross the continent to see you.”

Earlier this month, Dr. Douglas S. Steinbrech, a plastic surgeon in Manhattan, posted a TikTok video demonstrating a “10-minute male model makeover” on a young man who had his jawline and cheekbones enhanced and the tip of his nose raised with fillers.

While women have long resorted to surgery to lift drooping eyelids and enhance their cheekbones, men usually ask for a more conventionally masculine look. “Men don’t care about having big cheeks,” Dr. Sadati said. “More often they want a tight and smooth neck, or a more pronounced and sharper jawline.”

The question remains, how were these plastic surgeons, in particular, able to be interviewed for this major article – reaching hundreds of thousands of readers at no cost to their practices? I know the answer to this question because I have accomplished the same for many clients over a number of years. Professionally speaking, it means a plastic surgeon is submitted to newspapers, magazines and television as a ‘media resource’.  

Of course, the inclusion of credentials are important, (which most plastic surgeons have in abundance). Most importantly, non-commercial aesthetic materials of public interest are submitted regularly to media on behalf of the surgeon. As time progresses, when a journalist, such as Ruth La Feria of the Times, is developing a plastic surgery concept, she has expert media resources who can be contacted for input and comments.

Would you like to have a three-month backlog of consultations waiting to have surgery? Becoming a media resource is one way to make it happen!