Our new BioPharma Pulse newsletter will be out within a week. A strong focus in this issue is Social Media Marketing. The FDA commented this past February at the DIA Marketing Pharmaceuticals in a Time of Change conference that they had noted a rise in marketing via social media. Product information has appeared on You-Tube, Face Book and other social media sites. Some of these information spots have spurred FDA letters over lack of balance in risks and benefits.
In response to the rising use of social media and perceived lack of clarity in regulations, the FDA is holding a forum for public comment on biopharma marketing for social media in November.
Despite the fact that social media is the current “hot” marketing trend, there remain concerns about the benefits of conducting markeing in this arena. Currently, participating extensively in social media is labor intensive, although technology is beginning to change this time cost. On the other hand, going where the customers are makes a lot of sense. The smartest approach is a balanced one. Get involved in social media, but monitor ROI. Does tweeting raise the overall volume of tweets about a disease, product or company? Does blogging raise volume of chatter on the disease, product or company? What sort of conversations are happening? Are they positive? Have negative conversations been turned around? The minimum goal should be to increase positive awareness, which will increase the likelihood of a sale. If this minimum goal isn’t being met then either the approach is incorrect or that particular social media environment is a poor match for the company or product.
Jumping on the social media bandwagon is easy. But smart marketers don’t just follow trends, they build a compelling story with carefully chosen tools.
To learn more about social marketing and other current trends in biopharma, subscribe to our BioPharma Pulse newsletter.