Social Media Benchmarks for Healthcare: Engagement Rates & Best Platforms (2026)

Healthcare accounts on Instagram see an average engagement rate of 3.2%, significantly above the cross-industry average of 1.6%.

Healthcare TikTok accounts achieve 5.8% average engagement, with doctor-led educational content performing best.

Healthcare Facebook pages see 1.4% average engagement, below Instagram and TikTok but still valuable for patients 45+.

Healthcare LinkedIn posts achieve 2.1% engagement, making it the top platform for B2B healthcare marketing and physician recruitment.

Healthcare YouTube Shorts achieve 4.6% engagement, outperforming long-form video (1.2%) for initial audience building.

Instagram drives the highest patient conversions for cosmetic surgery and MedSpa practices, with before/after content generating 4.2x more engagement.

TikTok is the fastest-growing platform for dental practices, with smile transformation videos averaging 15K+ views per post.

YouTube is the best platform for specialties involving complex procedures, where patients seek detailed educational content.

LinkedIn drives the highest ROI for hospital brand building, physician recruitment, and B2B pharma marketing.

73% of doctors now maintain a personal social media presence, up from 41% in 2022. Those with active accounts see 2.4x more patient referrals.

Before/after content generates 4.2x more engagement than any other content type for cosmetic and aesthetic practices.

Doctor-to-camera explainer videos are the highest-performing content type across all healthcare specialties on TikTok and Instagram Reels.

Patient testimonial stories generate the highest engagement for hospitals, with video testimonials outperforming text by 3.8x.

Healthcare accounts posting 4-5 times per week grow followers 2.4x faster than those posting 1-2 times weekly.

68% of patients under 40 check a doctor's social media presence before booking an appointment.

Healthcare Meta (Facebook/Instagram) ads see an average CPM of $0.85 for awareness campaigns, rising to $3.40 for conversion campaigns.

12% of patients cite social media as the direct reason they chose a specific healthcare provider.

The optimal posting frequency for healthcare social media is 3-5 posts per week across platforms, with quality consistently outperforming quantity.

The ideal healthcare social content ratio is 6 educational posts : 3 behind-the-scenes/culture posts : 1 promotional post.

47% of top-performing healthcare social media posts are video content, compared to 31% image and 22% text/carousel.