This week it was reported in a study by Visible Technologies  that ‘only a tiny percentage of all posts across social media sites rise to the level of the Adverse Event Reporting (AER) government mandate. The AER requires that companies explain negative side effects from the use of a drug in a clinical trial. Only .3 percent of posts had an AER and some of those didn’t actually rise to the government threshold to mandate one’.

Many pharmaceutical companies are hesitant to enter the Social Media space in the US due to the FDA’s Adverse Events Reporting requirements and in Australia they suffer from the same hesitancy yet it is a good opportunity to gauge consumer feedback and have valuable conversations with their consumers.

Some pharmaceutical companies have come under the spotlight for unethical online behaviour in recent years but with all this learning behind them it is time for pharmaceuticals to take a fresh look at social media and all the mutual benefits it can offer.

Today in my inbox I received an email with the subject line “ Some very sad news…” as you can imagine seeing that I rapidly opened up the email to see that the email was about the end of a free trial for cosmetic brand Nude by Nature.

Now confession, I did subscribe to that newsletter but in my inbox the email name that comes up is of Clint Dowdell so it looks like a personal email (shown above) and with that extremely tacky subject line it is sure to stand out.

But it gets worse. I then commented on the tacky subject line on their Facebook page and the comment disappeared (not once but three times).  Clearly they are not going to have a conversation on their page about it.

A savvy communication professional would move directly into online crisis communications mode:

1. Leave the comment on the Facebook page to show they are listening

2. Rapidly respond to the comment saying something like they were upset to hear this response etc etc …. and admit some fault and show that they care about their customers.

3. Reassess if your marketing tactics are appropriate and review email newsletter subject lines for the future.

Trading on misery or drama is simply unacceptable. This was the case when Kenneth Cole tried to trade off what was happening in Cairo and he was whipped because of it.

Social Media is supposed to be about respect and listening – a two way dialogue.

Enough of the crisis comms lecture, but it does makes you wonder how many negative product reviews they are taking down from their page about the product? mmm

Update: Nude by Nature didn’t delete the posts  (apologies) but there were no comments back addressing the issue of the tacky subject lines. Update 2: They have now commented and said they will be addressing the issue of the tacky subject line with me.  Context: this subject line affected me- I just found out today about a relative who is very ill,  hence the rapid fire commentary (not to be recommended).

At 5.55pm today News online ran with a story Mouthwash Recalled Over Bacteria Scare. My first thought was to view the Colgate Palmolive website where I expected to find at least a news item or ticker regarding the issue.  But nothing.

I then went into the actual product page for Savacol once again nothing!

Next stop Twitter – it doesn’t appear Colgate have a company Twitter stream if they did it would be an ideal crisis communication vehicle, if they do it is not advertised on their home page and is well hidden.

Finally off to Facebook to see if a product or company page exist? No – once again a lost opportunity to communicate and answer consumers questions and fears regarding the recall.

Are people discussing the Savacol recall online? you bet.  These are just a few comments that appear on Twitter from consumers:

-Thousands of bottles of #Savacol antiseptic mouth and throat rinse taken off shelves in Oz after traces of harmful bacteria were detected

We have always known that Twitter is a powerful online platform think large scale political revolutions through to smaller charity wins. Well this week Twitter launched Twitter Stories to showcase interesting and innovative uses of the social media platform. Twitter said on their blog “Each story reminds us of the humanity behind Tweets that make the world smaller”.

Users can submit their own stories by tweeting at @TwitterStories or including the hashtag #TwitterStories in their tweets.

Among the tales, there are stories about a man who found a kidney donor after tweeting, “Sh*t, I need a kidney”.

You can imagine that charities/non-profits may find Twitter Stories useful for showcasing how your contributions have helped their organisation and corporate organisations could use it effectively to show a more personal/human side.

We all know how powerful story-telling can be so this initiative is a welcome addition.

View some TwitterStories