The Pharma-sponsored Online Communities of 10 Years Ago

UCB announced this week they have launched their partnership with online community PatientsLikeMe for people living with epilepsy.

Pharmaceutical Executive reported on the launch, stating the partnership is "the first truly open online forum involving a pharmaceutical company ... this is the first time a pharma company is getting involved in a truly open community where patients can say whatever they want. "

First, let me say I appreciate what UCB is doing for the epilepsy community. The partnership sounds like a nice way for them to support and foster online conversation about the condition and treatment options. I also admire UCB's foray into social media at all, where many of their more risk-averse counterparts have stayed far away.

And, in my opinion, UCB probably did it right. They didn't set out to create a brand-new place of their own for people to converse about epilepsy. They saw an opportunity with a site that already existed, and one that has a solid reputation as a trusted online forum for patients, with all the cool tools, metrics, bells and whistles already in place.

And I don't want to split hairs, nor rain on UCB's or PatientsLikeMe's PR parade. But I do feel the need to correct the misinformation that this is the "first truly open online forum involving a pharmaceutical company."

Because it isn't. There are sites around today that easily fit this description. And going back as far as 9-10 years ago, there were other sites that were closer to being the "first" examples, such as MSWatch and DiabetesWatch. I'd even go so far as to say these sites were better examples, because they were wholly owned and maintained by the pharmaceutical companies, not through a partnership with an existing patient forum.

MSWatch and DiabetesWatch aren't around today for various reasons (and the reasons do not include FDA warnings). But, as you know, things live on the Web forever. So you can see this article from December 2000 on DiabetesWatch and this one on MSWatch (from 2006) as proof they actually existed.

And, as fellow blogger Jonathan Richman pointed out on Twitter, you can't forget about PKU.com or any of the other pharma-sponsored communities currently live and featured on his wiki. J&J's http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/ and Novartis' http://www.cfvoice.com/ are yet more examples that are active today.

But I didn't write the post to be contrary. The points I wanted to make are this:

• For good reason, there is tons of talk about pharma and social media today and the opportunities to connect with the consumer. It may surprise some to know the connection between pharma and social media goes back 10 years or more!


• All of this social media hype can backfire. People get excited and sensational statements are made. Marketers get overzealous and over-sell social media to their managers and regulatory folks. At some point, "social media hype fatigue" will set in, if it hasn't already. It is our responsibility to control the hype so social media can be looked upon with level heads by all.

Finally, the industry needs trailblazers to lead the way. We need more (real) firsts that represent open, public dialogue between industry and customers. Often pharma co.'s regulatory approaches are set on precedent, so we all need good examples out there to show it can be done, and that pharma won't be held responsible for what is said in open forums.

I believe 2010 will reveal some more new "firsts" for the industry when it comes to social media. And I, for one, am excited to see them!

The Importance of Search in 2010

I decided my first post of 2010 wasn't going to be about social media. I'm certainly a proponent for the opportunities that social media brings to the marketing mix, done well and for the right reasons. But I am also a realist that sees there are still many other important tools in the digital marketers toolbox shouldn't be ignored.

So my first post of 2010 isn't about social media, and it's not even written by me!

For specialized online marketing tools, I leave that to the experts. So the below is posted with special thanks to guest Intouch blogger and Search Manager, Dave Anderson, who reminds us it never hurts to get back to (search engine marketing) basics ...
____________________________________________________

As we enter 2010, there are certain topics that are buzzwords for pharmaceutical marketers across the board – social media, mobile web, and video to name the big ideas. These are excellent topics and definitely are what pharmaceutical companies need to be thinking about if they want to continue to “move the needle” online. These are pertinent tactics to consider and include in your online brand initiatives, but there is one tactic left off this list – search engine marketing (both organic and paid search).

While social media and other emerging media are very important channels for online marketing, search engine marketing can serve as a stabilizing, powerful base for your entire online approach. With a well-planned search strategy in place, you can help to ensure a larger piece of the online pie is able to find your site. It doesn’t do any good to build something if no one can find it. Statistics have shown that search is still the most prevalent traffic driver for digital pharmaceutical marketing.

What is Search Engine Marketing?
Search Engine Marketing (SEM) is the process of marketing a website within search engine results. There are two basic arms of SEM:

• Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the process of optimizing a website in order to increase its visibility within organic search engine results.
• Paid Search Marketing (PPC) is the process of bidding on relevant keywords in order to increase visibility within search engine results “sponsored listings.”

Why is Search Important?
In November 2009 at the FDA Social Media Hearings, Google presented statistics that reinforce the importance of search for digital pharmaceutical marketing. According to Google's statistics, there are 110 million unique users performing 4.6 billion monthly health-related searches. During their presentation, Google also shared the above graphic which shows that health condition searches have been increasing exponentially since 2006. In our opinion, this trend is only going to continue in 2010 and beyond.

These numbers show how search can provide a very significant opportunity to raise awareness and increase the volume of relevant users finding your various online campaigns. The key thing for search is to find out what the users search for and to provide content relevant to those searches. Regardless of whether you’re talking about a branded website, an unbranded microsite, social media channels, or mobile site optimization, search provides insight into what people actually want to find.

Search is all about providing the right content at the right time to the right audience.
____________________________________________________

This is Wendy speaking again. One of Dave's main points really sticks out to me:

The key thing for search is to find out what the users search for and to provide content relevant to those searches.

This is something we often remind our clients, but it's a tough sell. Great content done right doesn't come cheap, and there's already a lot of great content out there on (diabetes, cancer, asthma... you pick the disease category) on the Web.

So to meet this need, we're always looking for new ways for our clients to provide "added value" content to patients and professionals, such as a new interactive tool, a unique service, proprietary information, videos and podcasts, or access to experts they wouldn't normally have access to.

Also, providing deep but basic disease-state information such as info on symptoms may seem like a stretch to tie back to ROI and sales. But when it's done for the right reasons - such as increasing the number of relevent people that find your site - it makes a world of sense. Your entire online strategy should tie all of these components together to lead your patient, caregiver or professional to the information they want to find -- but also to the information you want to give them.

What are your plans to refocus (or not) on search engine marketing in 2010, and what relevant content will you be providing?