Designing Effective Surgical Messaging on Instagram: Evidence From a Robotic Nipple-Sparing Mastectomy Campaign

Objectives Visual, interactive platforms such as Instagram are increasingly used to communicate complex procedures, yet evidence on optimised content strategies for specialised surgery remains limited in India. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of a hospital-led Instagram campaign on robotic nipple-sparing mastectomy (RNSM) and compare engagement across content themes and formats. Material and Methods We conducted a retrospective descriptive cross-sectional analysis of all RNSM posts (April-May 2025) from a South Indian multispecialty hospital’s verified account. Post-level analytics were extracted from the Instagram professional dashboard at T+7 days (with T+14 sensitivity). Posts ( n = 15) were dual-coded by format (static, reel, and carousel) and theme (educational, patient-centric testimonial, technology/surgeon-centric, and awareness/preventive). The primary outcome was engagement rate by reach (ERR); results are reported as both the mean of post-level ERRs and a reach-weighted campaign ERR. Results Educational content predominated (53.3%), followed by technology/surgeon-centric (20.0%), testimonials (13.3%), and awareness (13.3%). Statics were most common (46.7%), then reels (33.3%) and carousels (20.0%). The mean post-level ERR was 15.14%, while the reach weighted ERR was 8.72%, both exceeding sector benchmarks. By format, statics achieved the highest average ERR (27.84%), reels achieved the highest reach (86.5% of campaign reach), but lower ERR (5.19%), and carousels had the lowest ERR (2.10%). By theme, technology/surgeon-centric (21.86%), awareness (21.66%), outperformed educational (14.26%), and testimonials (2.09%). Findings were robust to sensitivity analyses excluding small-reach posts. Conclusion A theme-driven, format-aware strategy can effectively communicate RNSM. Reels functioned as awareness amplifiers, whereas static educational and credibility-signalling posts produced deeper engagement. Hospitals should benchmark both mean and reach-weighted ERRs and link analytics to downstream actions to inform surgical communication at scale.