I regularly contribute to the trade journal Pharma in Focus and in 2015 I was interviewed in an article Is Pharma Getting Over Social Media Fears?‘
These were the key takeaways:
- Pharmaceuticals are still slow to embrace social media
- Social media is still seen as risky
- Pharmaceuticals operate within a highly regulated framework
- There are many opportunities for pharmaceuticals to benefit from social media interactions such as market research insights, enhanced reputation, clinical trial recruitment and understanding their customers needs.
- Many pharmaceuticals use social media only to provide product information and yet they could use it for more educative purposes and to really benefit from the patient insights available. Listening tools are essential and need to be used on a daily basis.
- If a pharmaceutical enters the social media space it needs to be for the long haul and it must be resourced correctly. There needs to be buy in from the top for it to truly be successful.