With the impending necessity of adding social media and mobile outreach to every organization’s marketing strategy, the pharmaceutical industry is still tentative in this area. In an industry crawling with advertising regulations, pharma marketers have traditionally tread very carefully in social media and mobile adoption, citing a lack of clear direction from the FDA on social media guidelines.
How can pharma marketing departments overcome this uncertainty and leverage all that social media and mobile outreach can offer their organization? Let’s first look at a few of the obstacles that stand in our way, and then how we can approach each issue.
We don’t know what kind of content to put out there:
Content still remains king in the Internet marketing world, and it’s no different when it comes to social media and mobile strategy. Pharma marketing departments should have a plan in place that outlines the who, what, when and where for their social/mobile content. Good content should engage the reader, evoking feedback and sharing throughout social media platforms. Have a plan for when and where the content is released, and make sure it lines up with other internal marketing efforts.
We don’t know how to handle consumer interaction:
This one’s easy… make a plan, and stick to it. Have an internal “rule book” that outlines how you’ll interact with social media and mobile consumers, how (and if) you’ll react to negativity, and how this all syncs up with your other marketing efforts. Make sure your marketing department has a clear view of what is acceptable on social media and mobile efforts, and you’ll find your internal review time being cut in half.
Join pharma industry leaders at our flagship Digital Pharma East conference in October to learn and discuss successfully integrating social and mobile media into your organization’s marketing strategy.
