I wish I had the attribution for the quote, but “social media is free like a puppy is free,” is an excellent analogy as I note in the video below. I was recently invited to speak about pharma and social media at the annual leadership meeting for ZS Associates. Since I was on vacation during the event, we used Skype to record a video. (Note to self: I am very pale and should never be photographed in front of a white wall!) I provide an overview of the space, why you should be listening online, how to handle adverse events and how to handle the absence of FDA guidance on social media.
Approximately 8 disease focused Facebook pages were taken down by pharma companies rather than open them to comments
A few months ago Facebook announced that on August 15 they would enable commenting on biotech and pharmaceutical Facebook pages. The exception would remain pages that specifically focus on a prescription product and not building a community. Now that this deadline has passed, I wanted to see what impact this new policy had on the pharma Facebook landscape. I focused on prescription medications and pharmaceutical companies, not hospitals or over-the-counter drugs.
Lunesta appears to be the one pharma brand taking advantage of the exception and remains on Facebook with comments disabled. A few companies are using a workaround: by taking down all their wall posts there is no way for people to comment. These include Botox, Juvederm, Latisse and Novartis, although Novartis notes: “The Novartis Facebook page is being redesigned to align with new Facebook policies.”
If you’ve been watching the growth in smartphone adoption and wondering whether or not you should be considering mobile in your marketing plan, here are some statistics y0u might be interested in.
An estimated 81% of physicians use smartphones (up from 72% in 2010), according to the latest Manhattan Research survey of 2,041 physicians.
Furthermore, in their report on ePharma Physicians (the 87% who use digital channels for pharma resources and connecting with reps), Manhattan found that 45% would like to access pharma product information on their smartphone or iPad. Read More
Nine in ten RNs, NPs and PAs visit product websites
Registered nurses (RNs), nurse practitioners (NPs), and physician assistants (PAs) will all play increasingly important roles in health care during the coming years, because of a shortage of primary care physicians. That’s what Manhattan Research’s Taking the Pulse Nurses Study predicted recently.
PAs and NPs are especially important audiences for pharmaceutical companies because they can write prescriptions in all 50 states.
This continues a pattern observed in last year’s Manhattan Research study of nurses, which we discussed previously. But there are some unique insights to be gained from this year’s report. Read More
There are certainly pros and cons to consider before a biopharma company sponsors an online community
My definition of a community is a forum where people can talk back and forth to each other. Hence many of the biotech and pharmaceutical “community” websites are not true communities since they provide only one way communications. To my knowledge, there are only two true online communities sponsored by pharma: Biomarin’s PKU.com and J&J’s ChildrenWithDiabetes.com. Please let me know in the comments if I’ve inadvertently overlooked any other sites.
Should Pharma Create a Community?
A few years ago I was part of the agency team that helped to build PKU.com. Biomarin was in a unique situation when they decided to start this community. Biomarin has the only FDA approved treatment for PKU (Phenylketonuria). At that time there was no national patient organization, the online conversation was fragmented and the patients were looking for support. As with many rare diseases, there was a lack of patient-friendly, accurate information about the disorder. Importantly, Biomarin had a medical/legal/regulatory team that supported this idea and the ongoing moderation required. The company was also committed to providing long-term support of PKU patients and families. Read More
