It’s true, lots has been said, blogged, and tweeted about the DDMAC letter to Novartis regarding its social sharing tool on a branded Web site. Blogger Richard Meyer even criticized the buzz, telling everyone to, "Get over the FDA letter ... There continues to be a lot of discussion around the FDA letter to Novartis on the Facebook share button. However 99% of the talk centers around agency people who are slowly seeing a gravy train pull out of the station."
Hmmm. I have my opinions about that one, but that's not the point of this post.
Bottom line: the letter represented important new information with implications for many pharmaceutical companies currently using (or planning to use) sharing tools on their sites.
The flurry of excitement and commentary reminded me a bit of sanofi-aventis’ bout earlier this year with the Facebook “Taxoterrorist.” And more recently there was commentary around sanofi-aventis’ removal of its much-lauded GoInsulin YouTube page (the comments alone on this post from Andrew Spong are worth a read).
It’s only August, but haven’t we already learned a lot as an industry about social media this year!
Social media is new, yes, especially to pharma. But these situations aren’t. Situations will arise. Approaches will be challenged. Small mistakes will happen. New information will come to light. Even new or previously unclear rules will come into play.
As an industry, we will learn from these things and be better for our brands and our customers in the end. To be able to do that sooner, pharma companies should reach out for help and let the experts guide them.
Who should handle the strategy, setup the YouTube page, reach out to bloggers? Who should serve as the community manager, the voice, the guide? I’ve blogged about who “owns” social media in the past, and 14 signs you’ve found the right social media partner. Others have blogged that it doesn’t really matter who owns it. But the above situations certainly speak for a need for pharma companies to partner with a team of specialists – no matter in what type of agency they reside - that:
1. Understand public relations, communications, and crisis management. Especially for corporate-level social media communications and situations such as SA’s Facebook and YouTube situations. Social media at its core is about communicating.
2. Know social media and all of its tenants and watchouts. This doesn’t mean they themselves have a Facebook page or have a particularly pretty presentation on Slideshare about social media. It means they have actual experience, are actually doing work for pharma clients in the space, and continue to evolve with the changes.
3. Know digital technology. This seems secondary, but with the recent FDA letter regarding social sharing widgets, it’s become clear this is critical. You need partners that can think creatively about digital solutions to problems. For example, partners that can look at the best way to use metadata, what data is shared with which platforms, and weigh the pros and cons of sharing the same metadata for search engine optimization and social sharing.
For someone to be able to develop creative solutions for you, they need to know the wide range of possibilities that the digital channel offers, and they need the people that can build it right. More examples and questions to ask: Does the partner understand the specs for building your Twitter background so that your ISI displays no matter the screen resolution? Can they build robust moderation tools for your forums and other social spaces that allow you to arbitrate the conversation (because we are still, after all, in pharma). Can they easily optimize your online efforts for mobile viewing? And can they do all this while keeping your users’ experience intact?
Add to all of the above, the context of pharma’s highly regulated, highly litigious, and ever-evolving environment. Pharma experience itself, too, is critical, and anyone that has spent years in pharma knows it is so.
If you’re thrilled with the agency that does your print or TV creative – that’s great. But if you think that expertise naturally translates into the ability to develop a solid social media strategy and the ability to implement it prudently on your behalf, think again.
We’ve all learned a lot. And there’s still lots to learn. Expect social media itself to teach us. And expect FDA to do the same. Meanwhile, engage in the pharma social media community, learn from them, and choose your partners wisely.
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