DTC 360

IS SOCIAL MEDIA THE RIGHT CHANNEL?
By Richard Meyer

You know social media is important when the State Department requests that Twitter delay a scheduled maintenance program so that a country in turmoil, Iran, can continue to communicate with the outside world. Yet as popular as social media is, there are still those who wonder if social media is here to stay and if it’s the right channel for direct-to-consumer marketing.

While DDMAC seems to be analyzing social media and its use for prescription drug marketing, one brand—Gardasil—has already taken the step of implementing a social media marketing strategy. The Gardasil Facebook page is informative, genuine, and educational, but it also meets business objectives by bringing women together to form a sense of community to spread the word about cervical cancer and the HPV virus. Gardasil does not try to hide the fact that a drug company sponsors the page, and fair balance is right on the home page with links to the Gardasil site.

First Consideration
So is social media right for your brand? The first thing you need to think about is how much are people willing to talk about the health condition and your brand? I doubt, for example, that a page on erectile dysfunction would find a lot of followers, but perhaps a page of intimacy tips for couples as they age might work. The key is getting people to share, to talk about subjects that interest them, and to form a sense of community.

The second question you need to ask when determining if a social media strategy is right for you is can it help us meet business objectives? Obviously, Gardasil wants to raise awareness about cervical cancer and the HPV virus, and a Facebook page can help raise that awareness.

Finally, you need to determine if your audience is using social media. Don’t get fooled by numbers. There are a lot of registered users for social media sites, but an in-depth look at metrics indicates that only certain demographic users are regular users. Social media is a communication channel and, like all channels, it has its advantages and disadvantages.

Buzz Metrics
The outcome of a social media program can be difficult to measure, and DTC marketers are being forced to eliminate programs that don’t directly contribute to the brand’s ROI. There are, however, a lot of free online tools that can measure the buzz around your brand because of social media and, if set up correctly, can even measure the traffic to your Website and provide a “cost per targeted action” metric. Examples include Quantcast, Nielsen Buzz Metrics (www.blogpulse.com), Social Media ROI Calculator (www.dragonsearchmarketing.com/social-media-roi-calculator.htm); Facebook and Twitter can also provide statistics.

It’s great to see a pharmaceutical product take the plunge in social media, but what makes the Gardasil page so good is the fact that it marries the brand objectives with consumer needs. Social media is not right for every brand, but often the worst failure is not failing but failing to try.

Richard Meyer is President of Online Strategic Solutions (www.onlinestrategicsolutions.com), an Internet consulting company. He has worked in healthcare marketing for more than 12 years, and writes at www.worldofdtcmarketing.com and www.richsblog.com. He welcomes comments at richardameyer@me.com.