Did you know your stomach acid can melt razor blades? Or that the whole ‘everyone needs eight hours of sleep’ thing is a complete myth? And that trimming your nose hair, not plucking, can potentially save your life?
If you didn’t know these facts, where have you been? It’s time to get acquainted with TikTok’s favorite doctor, Karan Rajan.
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The doctor will see you now
Dr Raj understands what people want from medical experts. How? Simple. He’s a medical expert.
Years of experience dealing with humans at their lowest - scared, sick, even feeling helpless - has given him the sort of analytical data that many content creators and advertising agencies would trade one of their many overpaid Creative Directors for.
@dr.karanr
But rather than using that solely to exploit, Dr Raj genuinely wants to help. And this is why he’s become so beloved, so quickly.
‘I have something on my…’
Let’s be honest. Medical conditions don’t have to be life-threatening to be deeply unpleasant. And this is what Dr Raj gets more than anyone.
With short, snappy 60 second TikTok videos, he delivered something the world has been crying out for - help. Genuine, useful help. On topics that usually would go ignored at the risk of our health, or we’d turn to shamans, chancers or Gwyneth Paltrow to try and holistically heal.
Not wanting more people to feel like they haven’t got any other options than Goop, Karan’s immensely popular TikTok dives into every nook and cranny of, well, our every nook and cranny. There is no crevice left untouched… but not in the way it sounds.
From poop problems to period pains, hair loss to healthy guts, Dr Raj’s approach is simple and consistent - he gives you the facts, he gives them to you quickly and succinctly, and he gives you the power to decide what to do with that.
Like the friend we all wish we had when we have a medical question or concern, Dr Karan Raj has democratized medical information and is waging a one-man war against #FakeNews, social media snake oil salesmen and a seemingly unstoppable rise of misinformation.
Short, sweet and selfless
Active on TikTok since around 2020, Dr Raj has kept his brand consistent. You won’t see him hopping on trends, debuting daring new video formats or attempting a rebrand.
When you know you’ve got content people want - or, in some cases, need - you don’t have to try too hard. It doesn’t need a hook or a gimmick.
There’s a demand. Meet it. Meet it quickly, and meet it well. The payoff will be respect and a loyal following (not to mention over 5 million followers and over 352 million likes).
Credibility with collaboration
He picks partners with thought - if he collaborated with too many brands, he would risk looking like an opportunist and could be accused of losing integrity.
Dr Raj does everything with intentionality.
Take his work with ZOE. ZOE, a London based brand that focuses on using scientific data to encourage better personal nutrition, has become a popular choice for those concerned with buzzy topics like gut health.
But with so many ‘experts’ and brands all touting fixes and cures galore, ZOE picks collaborators who can lend much needed legitimacy. Like Dr Raj.
The key here is Dr Raj isn’t selling anything with ZOE. He is giving them a stamp of approval without the expectation of something in return… Yet he does still benefit.
Brands benefit from his expertise, and in return, his connections with these household brands bring him to a wider audience.
This is why he’s been able to keep consistent with his videos while branching out, appearing on podcasts and writing a couple of books. It’s not exploitative because he’s doing what he’s always done - he’s just been able to build a bigger platform to share his brand of education to empower, to inform and to, perhaps, save lives.
Dr Karan Raj - a diagnosis of his brand
- Don’t gatekeep expertise: thanks to YouTube, TikTok, the rise of podcasts, worlds previously daunting to many have been opened up, from law to finance and, as Dr Raj proves, medicine. While many outdated thinkers could suspect this cheapens or delegitimizes the institutions, Dr Raj proves the opposite. It builds trust and can be a vital first step in someone seeking out the next step.
- Understand your audience: Dr Raj built his audience on knowledge sharing as a tool against misinformation and to combat the idea of helplessness. Should that pain be a cause for concern, or is there an explanation he could easily share? If he was to suddenly interrupt this formula with brand collaborations of him rocking a new pair of shoes or showcasing his paid for influencer holiday, he’d risk losing his audience. They aren’t here for lifestyle content.
- Credibility = potential: By keeping consistent, his reputation precedes him. From writing his own books to becoming a must-have podcast guest, that reputation will keep him booked and busy.
