Consumer Empowerment

Jim Nail on how to embrace and use consumer empowerment in today’s social media.

“Patients don’t view social media as one-way vehicles”
-Jim Nail

Consumer empowerment has been a decades-long trend in the health care industry. New ‘social media’ tools are tailor-made to enable consumers to take even more power. But the same technologies that enable a patient with modest technical skills to publish an influential blog enable the marketer to easily find, scan and subscribe to that blog. A rigorous analysis of a body of social media content allows marketers to observe first-hand how patients research their condition, compare notes on different treatment regimens, and console each other.

The term ‘social media’ may not be familiar but the specific types of sites probably are: blogs, discussion boards, and social networks. Two features give these types of ‘media’ a ‘social’ aspect: often they are created by average people, not professional journalists or industry experts and two, the ability to comment on the articles, thus carrying on a virtual conversation with the author, is an essential part of the experience.

Pharmaceutical companies are increasingly wondering how to adapt to this new reality. Unlike magazines or other traditional media, patients don’t view social media as one-way vehicles, but places where they can break out of the past role as a passive target for sales pitches, to question the information and seek answers to their specific questions direct from the expert.

So the best place to start is by listening and understanding the dialogue that is taking place among these patients, physicians, and other experts. Early experiences demonstrate that the insights found can be valuable not only in patient marketing programs, but product development, and guiding strategic decisions:

• When a new drug came to market to treat a long-term debilitating disease, a Cymfony client wanted to determine patient willingness to risk the potentially serious side effects it caused. Analysis of patient discussions of both the condition and the drug revealed that even serious side effects were unlikely to be a deterrent given the potential relief it offered.
• In monitoring discussions about allergies, Cymfony found that a high percentage of participants discussing a particular drug were parents asking whether it was safe for children. The company had not previously considered developing a children’s formulation.

Pharmaceutical companies are also increasingly finding that new strategies and tactics are essential to remain relevant to these online conversations.

• Pfizer Medical Humanities Initiative sponsors Healthpolitics.org, a site that “explores complicated topics at the intersection of health and policy. Initiative Director, Dr Mike Magee writes a blog posts and creates podcasts on health topics ranging from ‘Why Energy Drinks are Bad News’ to ‘Untangling the Web of Alzheimer’s Disease’ to ‘Consumer-Directed Health Insurance: Will It Really Work?’. Among its successes, Pfizer counts over 1000 journalists and editors that regularly access the site’s content.
• Gilead Sciences extended their unbranded web site www.stophepb.com with a multi-pronged word-of-mouth marketing campaign. In addition to the usual site features to learn about Hepatitis B, assess their risk, and find a physician, the site recruits visitors to become a ‘Hep B Warrior’. Hundreds registered and earned points toward ‘master warrior’ status by using email, blogs, and comments to spread the facts about this condition to others who may be unaware of the risk.

Just as patients have embraced the internet as a leading source of health-related information, they are already embracing new social media tools in their quest to find the most up-to-date, accurate, and unbiased ideas and advice. Even in the early days of these emerging media, pharmaceutical companies who have adopted a two-way communication approach are reaping patient insights and finding new ways to bring their messages to key audiences.

http://www.healthpolitics.org/about_hp.asp

Jim Nail is Chief Marketing & Strategy Officer at Cymfony. He has an extensive background in integrated marketing through his 22-year career that spans online marketing, market research, brand advertising and direct marketing. Nail was an analyst at Forrester for eight years, focusing on how marketing strategies and tactics must adapt to technology-driven changes in consumer media consumption habits. Prior to joining Forrester, he helped launch Web advertising network AdSmart, where he served as director of marketing.

Social media monitoring and marketing