THE 14TH ANNUAL SHORTY AWARDS

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Merz Aesthetics Instagram

Entered in Business to Business, Instagram Presence, Pharma & Healthcare

Objective

In 2025, we set out to redefine what a global medical aesthetics company could be on Instagram. Our goal was to create an emotional and educational home for medical aesthetics professionals worldwide. We wanted our Instagram to feel like a place where science is simplified, confidence is treated as a clinical outcome, and health care professionals (HCPs) see themselves—and their patients—reflected with respect.

Objectives:

  1. Establish a community built on trust, clarity, and shared expertise
    We aimed to strengthen the global HCP community by shifting away from transactional, product-centric content and focusing instead on education, confidence, and purpose-driven storytelling.
  2. Advance scientific understanding through platform-native education
    We sought to simplify complex scientific concepts while maintaining accuracy through rigorous global review processes. Our goal was to give HCPs content they would save, share, and use in practice.
  3. Evolve medical aesthetics culture by normalizing confidence as a legitimate outcome of care
    We used insights from our global Pillars of Confidence study to challenge misconceptions, modernize expectations, and position confidence as a measurable, meaningful part of patient well-being.

Everything we built laddered up to a single purpose: to transform a regulated global brand into one of the most engaged HCP communities on Instagram by delivering content that is emotionally resonant, clinically sound, and globally relevant.

Strategy

Our strategy began with a simple truth: medical aesthetics is medicine, and the professionals who practice it deserve content that reflects both the science and the humanity of their work. We designed our Instagram to serve as a global learning environment that combines scientific references, confidence-centered storytelling, and real-time cultural insights for HCPs.

A platform built for a global, regulated audience

Working within the confines of medical, legal, and regulatory oversight, we developed a content system that prioritizes scientific integrity while remaining agile enough to respond to emerging conversations and evolving HCP needs. Every piece of content undergoes rigorous global review, ensuring accuracy without sacrificing clarity, relevance, or momentum.

Content franchises that define a category

To ensure consistency and distinctiveness, we developed a series of storytelling frameworks tailored to Instagram’s native behaviors. These include:

A community that co-creates the narrative

We built a feedback loop through comments, direct messages, shares, and our newly launched broadcast channel, The Confidence Corner. These interactions functioned as real-time listening tools, helping us test language, validate assumptions, and refine future content based on how HCPs think, speak, and engage. As a result, our audience consistently tells us our content reflects their voice and their daily realities.

Platform-native by design

We designed our Instagram presence around how the platform is actually used. Reels drove discovery and cultural relevance, carousels were structured for saving and resharing, and Stories enabled two-way dialogue. Polls and question stickers functioned as listening tools, shaping future content and ensuring our strategy remained responsive, relevant, and community led.

Together, these elements transformed our Instagram presence into a reliable, resonant destination for learning, belonging, and professional pride.

Results

We set a new standard for how a global aesthetics business educates, empowers, and unites HCPs on Instagram. Across every metric, results signal relevance, trust, and scientific value.

An engaged community

With 14.5K net new followers, we outperformed the competitive benchmark by more than 50%, driven by organic momentum. Even as algorithms shift, our audience continues to grow and invest in our mission.

Genuine resonance

Meaningful interactions

We saw thousands of comments across all content and 82% more Story replies YoY. Our broadcast channel gained 800 members in its first three months, reflecting demand for direct dialogue.

Content that sparked conversation
Our confidence-driven posts ranked among our most shared and saved assets ever, including top performers, “Medical aesthetics is medicine,” “After Effect,” and “6 reminders,” reinforcing our ability to acknowledge and elevate customer experiences.

Our science-first content also excelled. “The menopause-skin connection” became our top scientific post of 2025. “Toxin resistance” ranked as the No. 2 most saved, despite a December publish date.

The result: a trusted, engaged community that advances our brand purpose.

Media

Video for Merz Aesthetics Instagram

Entrant Company / Organization Name

Merz Aesthetics

Links

Entry Credits