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

Objective 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. Methods 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. Results 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