SKILLS FOR SUCCESS
May/June 2008
Social Media
How to Participate in the Revolution Without Being Overthrown!
Liz Kay, Vice President, Account Services, Cramer
The social media revolution is here to stay. The arrival of blogs, social networks, podcasts and YouTube has turned the enormous reference library we call the Internet into a global, free-for-all conversation. For marketers who have made our living crafting and controlling messaging in a tightly regulated environment, the idea of opening up real-time conversations with anonymous people can be unsettling, to say the least.
Despite these concerns, social media gives us a unique opportunity to become even better marketers. Instead of having to talk to patients and their families, we can now talk with them. The ability to engage people in dialogue will make it a lot easier to earn their trust and build long-lasting relationships. The challenge, of course, is how to do it. While there certainly aren’t any tested methods or proven roadmaps at this point, there are some things you should consider before you participate in this revolution.
Overcome your fears. Learn!
Start by learning the lay of the land. Take some time to immerse yourself in this new media. Check out how other industries are successfully leveraging social media. Study competitors’ sites to see what works well and what doesn’t. And don’t be afraid to test the waters yourself by joining the conversation on a social network. Then attend industry meetings to network face to you can tap into the latest thinking about this fascinating new format.
Once you have established some best practices, you’ll be ready to sit down with management, regulatory and your marketing team to brainstorm the most effective—and compliant—way to integrate social media into your overall marketing strategy.
Be authentic and transparent.
Remember that this revolution is all about engaging, collaborating and discussing issues deeply relevant to our lives and well being. Patients and their families are craving real information and want to feel that the healthcare community cares about them. One successful example of engaging an audience is GlaxoSmithKline’s (GSK) web-site for its weight-loss product, alli. While other companies are creating sites that focus on selling their product, www.myalli.com is attempting to build a welcoming community for people grappling with weight issues. alli’s Community Message Board, in particular, encourages visitors to engage in a personal dialogue about weight problems with experts and fellow weight watchers.
GSK is also refreshingly candid about regulatory issues. Visitors are greeted with a statement that explains that, because alli is subject to FDA regulations, visitors must re-spect the limitations of what can be posted online. alli is upfront about the need to delay visitors’ posts by up to 24 hours so they can review and answer each comment. Most people don’t mind; they’re more concerned about getting honest answers to their health questions than being able to participate in a free-wheeling blog. alli then follows through by posting respectful, straight-forward answers that don’t feel canned.
Search is still king.
The “if you build it, they will come” adage might work in movies, but not in the competitive online community. Search engines remain the primary entry point for patients and anyone else looking for health information. So you should make search an important part of your marketing strategy. Fine-tuning your search should be an ongoing process, and continually integrating new terms and phrases boosts effectiveness. Find these terms through associations and third-party content providers as well as listening carefully whenever talking with patients.
Build upon your existing regulatory knowledge.
The FDA has yet to devise specific regulations for marketing in online social communities. Despite the lack of new guidance, many companies are moving ahead. They’re taking the legal and regulatory principles that were developed for DTC marketing on the Internet and adapting them with some modifications to social media. A recent white paper by TNS Media Intelligence/Cymfony and their partners, “Connecting with Patients, Overcoming Uncertainty” (www.cymfony.com/pharma.asp), will provide an excellent starting point as you apply your regulatory knowledge to this more unpredictable arena.
Join the revolution!
The question is not if you’ll join the revolution, but when. Don’t be afraid to take the leap. You’re probably better prepared than you think—and what you don’t know, you can learn. And to find the right tactical/creative approach to use social media effectively, start by simply putting yourself in your patient’s shoes. Ask yourself how you would like the medical profession to treat you or your family at a time when you’re feeling vulnerable and possibly in pain. Once you figure out how to reach people in a personal, honest manner, you’ll earn their trust and make selling your product a lot easier.
Liz Kay, is VP, Account Services responsible for driving the healthcare practice at Cramer, a digital marketing and event solutions agency.