Radiologist Elliot Fishman published a case study in the March 2016 Journal of the American College of Radiology about using Facebook to share medical education materials. “We wanted to provide a road map for educators and show them what’s successful,” he says.

Since 2013, Fishman has made an average of 15 posts per day on a Facebook page for CTisus.com, a website he developed with colleagues in 2000 for radiology education. His posts feature medical images and videos, illustrations, and general content.

In the study, Fishman cites data from Facebook Insights, a tool that provides information about the activity of posts on a page. In July 2015, for example, Facebook Insights reported CTisus.com posts reached an average of 29,307 people per day. These people interacted with the posts—by clicking, sharing, liking or commenting—approximately 2,354 times per day.

“Compared to a class or lecture, where I share information with a room full of people, Facebook gives me an astounding reach to educate,” says Fishman. 

An additional data point from Facebook Insights is where people most frequently access a Facebook page. For CTisus.com’s page, the top cities include Cairo; Mexico City; Riyadh, Saudi Arabia; Baghdad; and New Delhi.

“As an educator at Johns Hopkins, where our mission is to educate the world, that’s incredibly powerful,” says Fishman. “Some places don’t have access to education, but the web connects us.”

With over 90,000 likes for the CTisus.com Facebook page, Fishman’s approach is drawing attention. For educators who want to try the medium, he recommends just doing it. “It’s not like a textbook that has to be perfect before it’s shared,” he says.  

Fishman recommends frequent posting between 10 a.m. and 3 p.m., including on weekends, and says illustrations and videos see the most interaction.

Check out the CTisus.com Facebook page at facebook.com/ctisus.