Pharma Social Media: An Examination

Too many marketers in the pharma world are jumping on the pharma social media bandwagon for all the wrong reasons. A Facebook or Twitter page is created and then used to merely push out promotional content. That's a great way to alienate your community or customer prospects. They'll tune out instantly. Pharma social media is important. Recent research shows about 85 percent of decision-makers are using it mostly for business not personal reasons. Patients want relevant information both immediately as well as in advance of making a decision on a type of therapy. Typically they're commenting on discussions, perhaps reviewing related products or services or reading online forums or content. They're in the study phase. Engaging in pharma social media presents the company with an opportunity to begin building brand awareness and trust. Creating perceptions of trust in the pharma marketing world yields a significant marketing advantage. As a consumer you will most likely choose the brand from a company that shares deep knowledge with you as opposed to one that just delivers product announcements to you. Pharma social media fills a great need because consumers want to buy your product for the company’s perspectives and its values. Positioning your management as thought leaders via your pharma social media campaign, you can gain a distinct advantage over your competitors. That difference separates your brand from others, a key objective of any successful marketing campaign. Other benefits of employing a pharma social media campaign are that it: - Attracts specific kinds of customersrn- Changes how people thinkrn- Preempts competitive marketing effortsrn- Attracts attention beyond simple product or company advertising claims In order to fully deploy a pharma social media program, you need to have a clearly-defined market position for your product. Share important knowledge freely. Keep your pharma social media efforts focused on customer relevance, not on pushing products. Remember, they're after information that prepares them for a future purchase from a trusted brand. Build trust first. Earn that trust, stand by your principles and support your point-of-view. Also strategically important is keying on a topic germane to your company or product. Engaging in and embracing open public discussion around your main topic should be at the heart of a pharma social media campaign. Connect social media to marketing with a meaningful strategy by discussing and sharing information important to those who may or will someday make a purchase. Strategically build brand awareness and trust with a pharma social media campaign.