Pharma’s Practical Next Steps for Social Media

Oct 21, 2016

Karen Weber

Sr Director, Marketing, Solutions & Innovation

At this point, most pharmaceutical and life sciences organizations have launched their initial presence on social media. Corporate Facebook pages are up, tweets are going out, even video and image platforms are being embraced.

But, in this age of patient-centricity, with social media providing the capability to directly engage with and learn from key stakeholders, many can’t help but ask, What’s Next?

Beyond abstract strategies, for those interested in taking a deeper dive into social media participation, what are some practical (and manageable) steps to get there?

Social Media in the Pharma and Life Sciences Industry Today

We can begin with a brief look at where the industry is today. Based on findings from our recent benchmarking survey we’ve learned:

Only 40% of pharma leaders rate their current social media programs as effective
There are a number of obstacles facing those interested in expanding social efforts, including:
- Complying with ambiguous regulations
- Managing social volume
- Gaining clarity around permissible interaction
- Finding experienced staff and partners
Pharma leaders are planning to expand social media participation in the following key areas within the next year:
- Social customer service and product inquiry support
- Monitoring for market insights
- Adverse Event detection

What’s Next: Practical Steps for Increased Social Media Participation

Two of our social media experts recently hosted a webinar addressing key social media concerns and go-forward strategies for the pharmaceutical and life sciences industry, including:

AE Identification: How to implement a clear process for identification and reporting of potential AEs found in social media:
- Nuances of social channels
- Best practices for process design and integration with pharmacovigilance
Engagement: Best practices for interacting through social media channels, including:
- Interaction guidelines
- Escalation procedures
- Operational measures, such as response time and interaction quality considerations
Technology: When to utilize social media technologies to:
- Enhance efficiency
- Deliver relevant reporting
- Manage growing volume
Social Listening: Value of incorporating social media monitoring to enhance a range of critical market insight initiatives:
- Product launch analysis
- Patient behaviors
- Risk management
- Disease intelligence
- Competitive analysis