Is social media ready for the restrictions on the drug industry ?
Not the kind of eMail we want from those of us
who use Twitter (click to enlarge)
We are just a
few stories away from making a lot of people
afraid of using social media for health. I heard
this loud & clear during research last year
when we asked patients if they wanted to use
Twitter to talk with drug companies. The loud
answer: hell no ! The reasons? "Who am I going to
talk to and how is my information going to be
used?"
On the form to obtain Pfizer's discount Lipitor
card there is a check box way at the bottom. If
you check the box "I also agree that Pfizer or
companies acting on its behalf may send me
materials about other health conditions, use my
information to develop or improve products and
services, or contact me in the future about
health-related topics." Now what the hell is
that? Can you maybe give me an example of what I
might receive or who would get my personal
information?"
What materials? Can you give me an example
please?
Let's be realistic here !
Social media is NOT going to save DTC marketing.
It requires a strategy, and full time staffing
and updates to be effective. However what a lot
of marketers are starting to learn is that they
need to stop thinking about ROI when it comes to
social media and start thinking about ROBE
(Return on Brand Equity).
Solving problems could lead to a "Please ask your
doctor about that" but
the pharma industry could use social media for
incentives and for compliance.
Consumers, and
patients, expect brands to be on social media
when they have a question or a problem. However
with pharma a problem potentially means an
adverse event and a question could mean anything
from asking about the best time of day to take
the medication to taking the medication with
other drugs or supplements. Both cased open the
door for lawyers and invite ambulance chasers who
are quick to pounce.
Facebook on the other hand offers pharma a chance
to bring people together to share information
without the necessity for conversations which
should be help between a patient and his/her
physician. Again the key with a good Facebook
page is to ensure that it's updated on a regular
basis and that the information is personally
relevant. A good example was the news media story
yesterday on heart medications and grapefruit
juice. If I was on heart medication and I was a
regular user of grapefruit juice I would want
straight answers rather than having to wait until
I could get into my doctor or letting the bottle
of grapefruit juice in the fridge go bad.
Facebook is evolving and adding new feature to
keep users engaged. Twitter has reached a plateau
with users and has had more problems like
repeated appearances of the Fail Whale. People
via the Web get very bored quickly and unless
Twitter starts to evolve it could become
irrelevant. The people who own Twitter know this
that's why they are sponsoring a developers
conference later this year in San Francisco.
Finally, I don't think there i any doubt that
trust is a big issue with consumers today when it
comes business and government. In order for
social media to be effective TRUST has to be a
cornerstone but how is the industry supposed to
gain trust when we read stories about more fines
for bad marketing ?
Social media is part of an integrated brand
strategy and is one of many tactics that maybe
effective in achieving goals. Brand equity today
consists of company social missions, HR, and yes,
customer service on which the drug industry
continually scores low. There is a way to realign
marketing around customers and patients but in
order for that to happen Linchpins are needed.
