Social Media Use by Orthopaedic Surgery Professional Societies

This study analyzed the efficacy and patterns of social media use among the Board of Specialty orthopaedic societies. Twitter (now called X), Facebook, and Instagram profiles were identified. Twitter was most commonly utilized, and therefore the focus. Twitonomy, a social media analytics tool, was used to analyze data. Most societies (11 of 15) increased number of tweets from 2018 to 2020. AAOS had the oldest and most followed account. Although J. Robert Gladden Orthopaedic Society (JRGOS) and Ruth Jackson Orthopaedic Society (RJOS) had the least tweets, they had the greatest increase from 2018 to 2020. RJOS had the greatest percentage of tweets that were liked and retweeted. Tweets about patient advocacy and society initiatives had the most engagement, while societies focused on diversity in orthopaedics had the fastest growth. These findings may help societies develop content that yields higher engagement from stakeholders. (Journal of Surgical Orthopaedic Advances 35(1):049 – 054, 2026)

Key words: social media, professional society, orthopaedics, twitter, diversity