Social Networking in Health Sciences: Is Medical Devices Missing a Trick?

In yesterday's webcast "Social Networking in Health Sciences: Is Medical Devices Missing a Trick?", we shared a good volume of information with our viewers, but unfortunately we didn't have time to address everyone's questions.

We've therefore reproduced the questions below, along with our answers.

Q. How precisely can advertising be targeted on a platform such as Facebook?

Because platforms such as Facebook know a great deal about their users - based upon information provided by the users themselves (e.g. hobbies, likes, job, education, home location etc) it is possible for Facebook to 'target' advertising very precisely. When advertising on Facebook it is possible to narrow down the target audience by a number of criteria, such as location, language, education level and work role, age and gender and even likes, interests and connection status to other users.

Note however that Facebooks own advertising guidelines prohibit the advertising of pharmaceutical products and on-line pharmacies (but not medical devices!)

This can be useful when attempting to restrict advertising to appropriate target audiences and geographies but it certainly isn't foolproof

Q. Is it legal to set up patient social networks?

It depends upon the geography and applicable regulations, but in many cases it is acceptable to set up patient network groups on-line. However, when a medical device company effectively pays for or owns the media, careful control over the content must be maintained (as discussed in the webcast). Also as discussed in the webcast, it is much more difficult for medical devices companies to controlled earned media which is posted in a group, forum or page which they have set up.
Another allowable option in some geographies may be for medical device companies to support patient groups financially, who then set up their own social networks.
In all cases is good practice to provide transparency even where this is not required legally.

Q. How effective is social media for marketing purposes?

There is no doubt that using social networks can be effective, but this has to be part of a carefully planned multi-channel marketing strategy, coordinated through the use of a relationship management platform or system.
Our own experience (as a consultancy rather than as a CRO)  is that earned social media can be effective in terms of initiating relationships that can then lead to business. As a business we generally strive to achieve a balance between delivering value in our on-line interactions and promoting our business. Medical device companies are best advised to leverage this 'trusted advisor' status through the use of earned media, but it’s important not to underestimate the amount of time required to develop and maintain such trust.

Thanks to those of you who attended yesterday's event and we hope that this answers your questions. The webcast recording will be on-line for those of you you missed it and remember that you can always get in touch via e-mail or by using the 'Ask An Expert' form on the Business & Decision Life Sciences website.