Perceptions towards orthodontic marketing through social media among young adults seeking orthodontic treatment: a qualitative study

Figure 1.

Figure 2.

Interview Guides

Opening questions	Probing questions
Can you describe your experience using social media platforms to search for clinics offering orthodontic treatment ?	I’m interested to know what have you seen on social media when searching for orthodontic treatment ?How do you feel looking over these pages on social media? In your opinion, what are the advantages and disadvantages of searching for an orthodontic treatment on social media?
Are there any individuals/ groups/ posts that would influence your decision in choosing a clinic ?	Can you elaborate how do they influence your decision?What are the factors that you would consider before deciding?
These are two social media pages that you might came across on social media (Template 1 & 2). How would you choose from which clinic you would prefer to seek treatment?	Do the contents on these pages contribute to your decision in choosing that clinic?What are the contents that you want to see when u want to make a decision?Any suggestions on how to make it easier for you to find reliable oral health resources?

Frequency of sub-themes and representative quotes showing perceptions of young adults towards orthodontic marketing through social media

Themes	Sub-themes and frequency cited	Examples of quotes
Positive	Source of information N = 13	“I think nowadays, not only clinics, but every kind of business uses social media. It’s a way to inform people informative things… for example promotions, operating hours, changes, or anything really… even emergencies! (IDI 8, 30-year-old Chinese female)“Since I am not meeting any doctors in person, social media is one of the tools that I [use]. I can find the information anywhere, wherever I am.” (IDI 11, 25-year-old, Indian female)“Information is there! Like some people explain things in detail, especially on TikTok. They have like short video clips where the doctor is actually showing you how to do something, and the right way to do it. I think there is sufficient information.” (IDI 8, 30-year-old Chinese female)
	Marketing Strategy N = 13	“I think it’s good… I don’t have anything against it. They’re doing their own marketing strategy on how they want to do it. And it shows how good the clinic is” (IDI 4, 24-year-old, Indian male)“…before and after [pictures] make me motivated, like oh every problem can be fixed” (IDI 1, 22-year-old Malay female)“I think definitely one advantage is to reach out to people, to let people know that ‘I’m here, I exist, I’m one of the choices as well’.” (IDI 8, 30-year-old Chinese female)
	Convenience N = 12	“Internet is the easier way in this current world. Easy to do. Like once we type in one word, we can get everything (Laughs)” (IDI 6, 24-year-old Indian female)“Everyone can access the internet… this approach can reach all generations, even old people nowadays use the internet” (IDI 1, 22-year-old, Malay female)
	Connection and Communication N = 9	“I judge the doctor’s character based on how the doctor replies my DM (Direct message). Even though I am not meeting them in person, that interaction will give me a bit of hint on weather I should really go to this doctor or not…” (IDI 11, 25-year-old Indian female) “Build the brand. And then build the relationship with your patients” (IDI 3, 28-year-old Chinese female)
Negative	False and Misleading Information N = 14	“…to get a good review, you can ask your staff or friends to write the reviews for you.” (IDI 3, 28-year-old Chinese female)“Some posts are misleading… I still remember I once read an article on Facebook that claimed wearing braces is very bad because it changes the roots of your teeth permanently… and that at old age, all your teeth will fall out!” (IDI 4, 24-year-old Indian male)
	Ingenuine Profile N = 9	…it is risky because, for example, if there is a fake dental clinic on Instagram, selling fake braces or whatever, people can easily believe it. They appear to have an established [clinic] but are actually selling fake braces. We wouldn’t know. So, I think that is one of the disadvantages” (IDI 1, 22-year-old Malay female) “I think some do the reviews themselves. Maybe they took [the photos] from Google… Stole the photos to attract people’s attention.” (IDI 5, 26-year-old Malay female)

Frequency of sub-themes and representative quotes showing factors affecting the decision-making process of young adults in relation to orthodontic marketing through social media

Themes and frequency cited	Representative quotes
Social media features N = 15	“… reviews from other customers influence me the most. Because no matter how good they advertise their services, at the end of the day, feedback from the clients is more reliable.”(IDI 10, 30-year-old Chinese male)“If they have a lot of followers, we know the marketing must be great and that’s why a lot of people follow them…” (IDI 1, 22-year-old, Malay female)“…if you have like 500, around 1000, 2k, 3k followers, then maybe I will be more confident to approach the place” (IDI 8, 30-year-old Chinese female)
Treatment costs N = 15	“As for me, I already have a budget, let’s say around RM 5000 only. So, I can’t go for treatment costing higher than that.” (IDI 9, 28-year-old Malay male)“Previously when I was searching for a clinic… I also searched for ‘beauty braces’… as I was looking for low prices” (IDI 6, 24-year-old Indian female)
Third parties N = 13	“I trust my friend. Because my friend has already finished his treatment. So, I trust him.” (IDI 2, 25-year-old Malay male)“I expect the doctor to give me more detailed information because on social media… there’s just too much different types of information.” (IDI 6, 24-year-old, Indian female)“…I have followed a page because a lot of influencers [on] Instagram were introducing the clinic. What treatment they’re doing now… whitening… braces. Then, I followed too. Then, I thought… just maybe I[I] can get some information from there.” ” (IDI 3, 28-years-old Chinese female)
Location N = 13	“Social media is helpful in terms of location as well. Sometimes we don’t realize about a newly opened clinic. So, when they market on social media, I think it’s helpful because most people want to do their braces nearby their house because it is convenient for them to go” (IDI 5, 26-year-old Malay female)
Current trends N = 8	“…What kind of dental clinic people prefer ? I mean, which clinic is famous ? This is what t I have searched for before.” (IDI 15, 26-year-old Indian female)
Uncertainty and lack of knowledge N = 14	“We don’t know which one is fake, which one is real… we don’t know how to differentiate that” (IDI 6, 24-year-old Indian female)“.. for me it will create a dilemma, like which [clinic] should I choose. Because the reviews and their postings will be almost the same. So I think, that’s the difficult part.” (IDI 11, 25-year-old Indian female)
Information Availability N = 12	““ I think it’s still lacking, the information on the knowledge-sharing part… they are more keen to sell their services rather than share information”” (IDI 10, 30-year-old Chinese male)“..lack of information… like professional advice from the doctors, or services provided by the clinic.” (IDI 13, 24-year-old Chinese male)