Healthcare & life sciences industry lags behind in social media

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Sometimes there is a gap between aspiration and reality. Many companies in the Healthcare & Life Sciences sector currently find themselves in such a situation. Only 13% consider their own social media measures to be very effective(1). In contrast, 88% of doctors use the internet and social media to research information on pharmaceutical and biotechnology products or medical devices(2). On the patient side, more than 90% state that online communities influence their health decisions(3).

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So there are actually plenty of reasons to tap into the potential of social media. For example, if a life science company wants to introduce a new product to laboratory employees, Facebook ads can be used to reach over 68,000 people from this target group in Europe alone at a comparatively low media budget. We have seen in many campaigns that these laboratory employees are very open to content on social media. There is also immense potential on Instagram. For example, there are around 15,500 entries for special healthcare and life sciences topics such as #Pipette alone and as many as 350,000 for #Microbiology, and the trend is rising sharply (as at March 22, 2019).

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Reasons for digital restraint

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There is no doubt that the target groups of healthcare and life science companies can be reached on social media. There are several reasons why many companies in this sector are still reluctant to use social media. One reason is the strict compliance guidelines. Health-related topics are sensitive. It is not for nothing that their dissemination to the public is restricted by law. After all, health-related issues are about the safety and protection of consumers and patients. The German Therapeutic Products Advertising Act (HWG), the FDA (Food & Drug Administration), i.e. the US Food and Drug Administration, or the stock market listing of larger players often contribute to a restricted field of action and risk aversion.

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Success factors and examples Healthcare & Life Sciences Social Media

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In order to overcome such hurdles, it is important to focus on target groups, content and processes with regard to security and approvals in the social media strategy. It is important to involve as many decision-makers and knowledge holders from the company as possible in the development of the strategy and to empower the right people with sufficient room for maneuver and training during implementation. Last but not least, the social media strategy must not ignore current social media trends and framework conditions. Below we show you three examples of successful healthcare social media campaigns.

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Pilot projects get you started

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These examples show: There are different paths to success. Be it a high-reach video on important awareness topics, the involvement of your employees or collaboration with opinion leaders from research. What is important is the strategic foundation for reliable implementation. This requires a clear framework. Such a "social media framework" consists of content and technical elements. In the basic strategy, you should first clarify the key points such as objectives, target groups, messages and responsibilities in order to then translate these overarching framework conditions into guidelines and tools for your social media team. Important elements of such a framework include a "code of conduct" for colleagues in the social media area, as well as social media guidelines for all company employees. Due to the high security requirements, for example, crisis and response processes as well as approval processes for content must be defined. If required, these processes can be mapped using specialized software solutions. There are a range of other tools depending on the company's requirements.

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The possibilities of social media are often underestimated in healthcare and life sciences companies. In our experience, it is therefore tactically wise to start by working with selected target groups and launching pilot projects. With the first, actual experiences and successes, any doubters can then be convinced to invest in a social media strategy. With social media advertising, your pilot measures can only be sent to a very specific target group without attracting the attention of a large public. For example, you could take a country-specific approach and address healthcare professionals in your sector in Brazil or re-run an existing campaign for pharmacists in Germany via social media. In this way, you could not only inspire skeptical decision-makers with tangible KPIs, but also find out exactly who your target group is, what interests them and to what extent the strategy is successful.

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If you have any questions or would like a personal presentation of further practical examples, please contact Social DNA.

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Sources

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1. Social Media in Life Sciences: Adoption and Trends, Benchmarking Report, 2016
2. Social Media & Health Care By the Numbers, 12.07.2017
3. Role of Patient Influencers: How do patients truly share information? Behavioral intent survey, 05/2017
4. Social media trends 2019 - analyses, strategies and recommendations for action, 21.12.2018
5. Employee Advocacy - How do you unleash the potential of your employees for marketing and sales?, 07.06.2018