Consumers using social media for health but...

Sure consumers are using social media for health but…

According to a post in this mornings eMarketer “In its April 2011 survey, Deloitte Center for Health Solutions found that 11% of US healthcare consumers use social networks to find or share health information and 8% use blogs. The respondents who use blogs and social networks for health purposes do so to comment about the healthcare system, to comment about doctors and hospitals and to share personal healthcare experiences with others.” The question then becomes who do they want in the “health conversation“?

If you talk to someone about their experiences in treating cancer the last thing they probably want is someone from a biopharma company listening in and then interrupting them with “sales talk”. Social media marketing is just like any conversation you have to listen first and only speak when you have something of value to the people in the conversation. I mean can you imagine some women talking about treating breast cancer and having a marketer say “Avastin may be right for your ask your doctor” ?

Pharma companies CAN use social media as a brand marketing tool but they first have to align the organization to listen to what consumers want and need in information and they then need to determine how the hell they can add value to the conversation and who should be the voice of the brand.

Patients use social media to listen to one another and share experiences and my research has clearly indicated that they don’t want pharma companies part of that conversation right now but that’s because they don’t see value in adding someone from pharma to enter the conversation. The truth is that if you have something to say that is valuable to the group users will be responsive. If you’re going to talk like a marketer than you’re probably going to get the cold shoulder.