Until the Food and Drug Administration provides solid guidelines, it looks as though pharmaceutical industry is going to err on the side of caution when it comes to using social media in drug marketing.
Compared to other industries, the drug makers are years behind in employing Facebook, YouTube, MySpace, Twitter and other social media to reach audiences with their messages. And with good reason: They fear the FDA coming down on them like a ton of bricks for overstepping bounds that have yet to be defined.
That’s not to say the industry has avoided web-based and mobile technologies altogether. Merck (NYSE:MRK) is using Facebook to promote Gardasil, its cervical cancer vaccine. Bayer’s aspirin has a Facebook page for women, and Johnson & Johnson’s (NYSE:JNJ) McNeil unit has an adults-with-ADHD awareness page.
Meanwhile, YouTube has hosted such promotional videos as GlaxoSmithKline’s (NYSE:GSK) restless-legs awareness film and spots for AstraZeneca’s (NYSE:AZN) asthma drug Symbicort.
Last year, AstraZeneca shared its thoughts on social media with the FDA after the agency asked for comments on new rules for online marketing and communications. The company suggested that certain online communications, such as Facebook and Twitter posts, shouldn’t be judged individually but as a group of individual comments. Doing so would allow drugmakers to take part in social-media sites without having to risk getting their hands slapped at every turn.
AstraZeneca also believes a distinction should exist between content on websites a drugmaker owns and controls and those to which it merely provides content for sponsors to use as they see fit.
One place where drug developers think social media holds substantial promise is in recruiting for clinical trials. One early adopter was having difficulty attracting trial participants used traditional methods before turning to the digital media. The result: 85% of its subjects were generated by digital media outreach, while only 15% came from traditional sources. Facebook alone generated 68% of the subjects.
While Big Pharma is at least dipping its toes in the social media waters, biotech companies are staying on their beach blankets. Some analysts blame their shyness on a lack of guidance. Others say they don’t know how to make it work for them, or they don’t think it’s the right avenue for their company.
The biggest concern the companies had with social media was how to balance the risks and benefits. Other top concerns were dealing with third-party comments and opening themselves to liability.
Unlike biotech companies, hospitals seem to have fully embraced social media. Unfortunately, according to one study, very few of them have any idea about how to use the media properly. One industry observer says many hospitals have set up Twitter accounts, posted videos on YouTube and created Facebook pages without thinking how they can use these tools to support their service lines and improve communications with the community they serve.
In addition, it seems hospitals would be well-served by developing well-thought-out social media strategies — another study showed that a hospital’s social media connections strongly affect a consumer’s decision to receive treatment at that facility.
