1.
Leveraging
Social
Media
for
Pharmaceutical
Companies
Realized
by
Synthesio
Summary
Introduction
.2
Social
media
and
the
new
health
paradigm.3
Millions
of
online
consumer
conversations
to
explore.4
Detecting
and
reacting
to
secondary
effects.5
A
super-­‐regulated
environment
that
limits
digital
initiatives.6
Best
practices
for
laboratories
.7
Conclusion
.8
Synthesio
–
Leveraging
social
media
for
the
health
sector
–
December
2010
1

2.
Introduction
20%
of
the
content
generated
by
Internet
users
mentions
health
in
some
way.
According
to
Pew
Internet
Research,
60%
of
«
connected
»
people
use
Internet
as
their
first
source
of
information
about
health-­‐related
matters.
This
natural
tendancy
of
patients,
their
families,
and
their
doctors
to
express
their
opinions
on
certain
subjects
arises
certain
interests
among
pharmaceutical
laboratories
searching
for
customer
feedback.
The
thousands
of
conversations
published
each
day
on
social
networks,
like
blogs
or
forums
have
an
essential
role
for
these
professionals
seeking
to
better
understand
the
desires
of
their
demanding
customers.
The
main
issue
of
these
laboratories
is
being
able
to
participate
in
virtual
focus
groups
while
respecting
the
rule
of
this
super-­‐regulated
environment.
Synthesio
–
Leveraging
social
media
for
the
health
sector
–
December
2010
2

3.
Social
media
and
the
new
health
paradigm
Social
media
responds
to
a
primary
need
for
safety
People
behave
online
as
they
do
in
“real
life”.
In
a
recent
survey,
Forrester
made
an
interesting
correlation
between
the
Maslow
hierarchy
of
needs
and
what
motivates
people
to
share
content
online.
According
to
the
analysis,
people
join
online
communities
and
share
with
others
to
fulfill
a
need
for
safety
;
this
is
the
second
level
in
the
Maslow
hierarchy
of
needs.
Many
people
wishing
to
socialize
converse
on
online
forums,
Facebook
or
Twitter
to
ask
for
or
look
for
advice,
gain
experience
and
particularly
to
be
reassured
about
their
health
condition.
Thus,
it
was
not
surprising
to
find
out
that
10%
of
all
the
comments
published
using
social
media
mention
the
word
HELP.
A
new
relationship
between
patients,
physicians
and
the
web
The
exponential
growth
at
which
content
is
being
published
each
day
on
social
media
has
had
a
significant
impact
on
the
relationships
formerly
established
among
physicians,
laboratories,
and
their
patients.
The
latter
now
use
the
Internet
to
search
for
information
about
their
symptoms
before
going
to
a
doctor.
They
readily
visit
sites
suchas
Doctissimo
or
PatientsLikeMe
in
order
to
diagnose
themselves
using
information
published
by
other
Internet
users.
Labs,
clinics,
hospitals,
and
physicians
find
themselves
increasingly
meeting
with
patients
that
are
overinformed
that
visit
their
doctors
with
a
pre-­‐formed
idea
of
their
pains,
associated
treatments
and
the
medications
most
often
used.
In
this
context
of
sur-­‐information,
professionals’
reputations
have
come
under
attack.
In
2010,
new
social
platforms
such
as
Vitals.com
even
allow
patients
to
grade
their
physician’s
practice.
Forced
to
adapt
to
this
new
mode
of
consumption
of
medical
information,
some
chose
to
meet
up
in
virtual
communities
(like
docboards.com)
to
exchange
between
health
professionals
and
have
new
information
on
diseases,
their
evolution,
and
patient
expectations.
Synthesio
–
Leveraging
social
media
for
the
health
sector
–
December
2010
3

4.
Millions
of
patient
feedback
comments
to
explore
Super
focus
groups
Thousands
of
patients
and
doctors
talk
with
each
other
on
a
massive
scale
on
networks
created
specifically
for
pains
such
as
cancer,
depression,
or
diabetes.
They
join
together
and
form
“super
focus
groups”
to
share
their
experiences
with
the
disease
and
its
associated
treatments.
These
new
media
provide
an
opportunity
for
marketing
directors
to
create
intimate
long
term
relationships
with
consumers
that
they
can
only
get
a
hint
of
through
traditional
focus
groups.
By
using
social
media
as
a
source
of
customer
feedback,
laboratories
can
also
overcome
the
structural
costs
related
to
traditional
focus
groups
(responsible
forrecruitment,
infrastructure,
personnel
costs)
and
benefit
from
a
clear
vision
of
the
complex
trends
and
expectations
of
your
customers
at
a
lower
overall
cost.
A
source
of
inspiration
for
targeted
marketing
content
Diverse
barriers
tied
to
social
image
or
the
fear
of
expressing
your
feelings
publicly
don’t
exist
on
online
forums
on
which
anonymous
identities
are
still
used.
This
allows
patients
to
share
their
reflections
and
questions
that
they
might
not
think
to
or
dare
to
share
with
their
doctor.
Feedback
from
patients
identified
are
more
sincere
on
the
Internet
as
they
are
not
subject
to
the
bias
of
questions
asked
by
researchers.
Exploration
of
these
conversations
provides
a
better
understanding
of
language
and
phrases
used
by
patients
that
can
be
used
by
laboratories
to
develop
more
effective
marketing
materials
(packaging,
digital
communication,
etc..)
targeting
both
physicians
and
their
patients.
Case
study
:
The
milk
lobby
Milk
often
has
a
negative
online
reputation
due
to
environmental
concerns
and
worries
about
allergies
and
organic
vs.
genetically-­‐modified
milk.
The
milk
lobby
began
monitoring
and
has
since
discovered
new
insights
on
customers’
needs.
The
results
were
surprising
for
them
:
They
first
noticed
that
70%
of
the
content
was
provided
by
women
worried
about
their
children’s
health.
Several
topics
reported
as
important
in
their
last
“traditional”
surveys
were
not
well-­‐represented
(eg
environmental
issues),
while
other
topics
that
they
weren’t
expecting
were
well-­‐represented
(eg
“weight-­‐loss
diets”
and
milk
were
associated).
They
hired
a
community
manager
to
work
side-­‐by-­‐
side
with
a
nutritionist
to
provide
consumers
with
up-­‐to-­‐date
information
on
milk’s
benefits
and
conveniences.
Synthesio
–
Leveraging
social
media
for
the
health
sector
–
December
2010
4

5.
Detecting
and
handling
adverse
events
online
The
impact
of
social
media
on
adverse
events
When
putting
into
place
a
social
media
monitoring
system,
laboratories
must
be
absolutely
ready
to
discover
adverse
events
that
must
be
communicated
to
the
authorities.
Recent
studies
reveal
that
the
percentage
of
conversations
reporting
side
effects
varies
between
0.2%
(Nielsen
Survey
2008)
and
7%
(Survey
Patientlikeme
2010).
These
low
percentages
are
due
mainly
to
the
difficulty
in
finding
all
4
criteria
that
define
an
adverse
event
on
social
media
(citing
drug
name,
brand,
identity
of
the
patient
and
his/her
prescribing
doctor).
However,
given
the
large
volume
of
discussions
published
every
day,
we
can
assume
that
some
drugs
with
dozens
of
side
effects
will
be
identified
daily.
In
practice,
the
detection
of
new
side
effects
is
much
rarer.
Indeed,
in
over
2
years
of
active
watches
for
large
laboratories,
Synthesio
has
only
identified
two
adverse
events
that
created
a
major
crisis
for
the
brand.
In
both
cases,
these
side
effects
were
identified
simultaneously
on
other
channels
(doctors,
the
FDA,
patients,
etc..),
but
social
media
represented
over
60%
of
all
content
published
surrounding
the
crisis.
Facilitating
the
detection
of
adverse
events
The
process
for
detecting
adverse
events
must
be
prepared
well
in
advance
of
any
monitoring.
It
requires
close
collaboration
between
analysts
that
are
sifting
through
published
discussions
on
products
and
services
and
your
communications
responsible
for
communicating
about
side
effects.
A
simple
system
of
automatic
alerts
based
on
chosen
keywords
allows
the
department
in
charge
of
pharmacovigilance
to
take
the
necessary
measures
quickly.
Anticipating
a
crisis
In
the
midst
of
a
communications
crisis,
each
statement
has
to
abide
by
a
lengthy
list
of
regulations
that
cannot
let
a
Pharma
company
respond
quickly
and
be
as
transparent
as
social
media
“rules”
would
like
them
to
be.
This
leaves
little
room
for
a
Pharma
company
to
say
what
they
would
like
in
a
crisis
situation
and
they
must
be
prepared
by
putting
a
social
media
crisis
plan
into
place
a
before
the
“fire”
happens
:
• Know
what
can
and
cannot
be
said
on
social
media
• Define
which
people
will
be
alerted
when
a
“fire”
occurs
• Identify
key
opinion
leaders:
both
advocates
and
detractors
• Analyze
which
areas,
products
and
countries
are
susceptible
to
a
crisis
• Define
the
right
KPI’s
to
measure
the
evolution
of
the
crisis
over
time
as
well
as
the
impact
of
your
communication
UCB,
a
community
for
epilepsy
PatientsLikeMe
is
a
leading
US
social
website
with
which
UCB
partnered
to
launch
a
patient
community
for
epilepsy.
This
platform
created
particularly
for
people
with
epilepsy
enables
UCB
to
better
understand
patients,
their
day-­‐to-­‐day
lives
and
treatment
experiences.
UCB
is
also
taking
the
lead
in
providing
patients
with
more
information
about
the
disease.
The
program
was
also
designed
to
capture
and
report
adverse
events
associated
with
approved
UCB
epilepsy
therapies
to
the
U.S.
Food
and
Drug
Administration
(FDA).
Learn
more:
http://www.patientslikeme.com/epilepsy/community
Synthesio
–
Leveraging
social
media
for
the
health
sector
–
December
2010
5

6.
A
super-­‐regulated
environment
that
limits
digital
initiatives
An
extremely
regulated
environment
limits
certain
initiatives
Over
the
past
few
years,
the
few
creative
initiatives
for
virtual
communities
on
networks
like
Twitter
or
Facebook
have
become
heavily
criticized.
These
media
promote
real-­‐time
responses
that
is
incompatible
with
strict
legal
regulations
of
laboratories.
This
environment,
severely
regulated,
leaves
little
room
for
strategies
such
as
those
that
worked
for
Novartis
or
Sanofi-­‐Aventis.
Novartis,
Tasigna’s
Facebook
page
ruled
to
be
illegal
Norvatis
set
up
a
Facebook
page
for
its
new
drug
Tasigna,
designed
to
treat
leukemia.
In
2010,
the
FDA
sent
a
letter
to
the
laboratory
in
order
to
report
a
misuse
of
Facebook's
sharing
tool.
According
to
the
FDA,
"the
shared
content
is
misleading
because
it
highlights
the
effectiveness
of
Tasigna
without
communicating
the
risks
of
using
this
drug.
"
Sanofi
Voices,
a
charter
for
controlling
content
created
by
users
Sanofi
Voices
is
a
network
of
employees,
retirees
and
partners
of
the
brand
that
decided
to
use
Facebook
as
their
communication
platform.
Soon
after
launch,
the
page
was
taken
over
by
consumers
reporting
adverse
events.
The
company
had
not
put
moderation
policies
into
place
and
began
by
unadeptly
deleting
critical
comments
before
tardively
deciding
to
publish
a
comment
directly
from
Sanofi
Voices
on
behalf
of
all
products
sold
by
the
group.
Synthesio
–
Leveraging
social
media
for
the
health
sector
–
December
2010
6

7.
Best
practices
for
laboratories
The
race
for
disease
oriented
online
spaces
began
in
2008.
Brand-­‐sponsored
or
not,
these
discussion
spaces
are
popular
among
patients
and
families
that
are
attracted
by
the
brand.
Certain
labs
have
even
come
to
create
their
own
platforms
to
which
numerous
patients
flock
in
search
of
information
about
their
illness.
We
often
find
medical
research
in
these
spaces,
indications
of
different
treatments
that
are
avilable,
as
well
as
a
forum
of
co-­‐helping
for
sick
people.
Parle
avec
elle,
breast
cancer
site,
France
Parle
avec
elle
is
a
community
site
for
breast
cancer.
Thanks
to
a
collective
blog
and
several
forums,
the
platform
has
maintained
a
convivial
atmosphere.
The
community
is
animated
by
Sophie,
a
community
manager
and
author
of
a
personal
blog
Femmes
avant
tout
that
is
clearly
marked
as
being
in
a
partnership
with
Roche.
The
sentiment
of
belonging
to
a
community
is
reinforced
by
photos
of
recently
connected
members.
Find
out
more
:
http://www.parleavecelles.fr/
Children
with
Diabetes,
USA
In
2008
Johnson
&
Johnson
purchased
this
site
for
a
reported
amount
of
$6
million.
Children
with
diabetes
is
an
online
community
for
parents,
children,
adults,
and
families
living
with
type
1
diabetes.
The
site
offers
advice
from
health
professionals,
gives
updates
on
research
progress
and
provide
care
suggestions.
A
forum
with
over
600,000
conversations
is
available
for
visitors.
Learn
more:
http://www.childrenwithdiabetes.com/
CML
Earth
CML
Earth
is
a
social
network
for
patients
suffering
from
chronic
myelogenous
leukemia.
It
enables
people
from
around
the
world
to
gather
in
a
single
space
and
share
about
their
lives
with
the
disease.
The
site
has
interesting
geolocalization
features
that
allow
people
who
gather
virtually
to
find
their
peers
that
are
around
them
physically.
Learn
more:
http://www.cmlearth.com
More
case
studies
are
available
here:
Pharma
and
Healthcare
Social
Media
Wiki
Diabetes
in
6
countries
Interested
in
diabetes,
a
major
Pharma
brand
wanted
to
listen
to
online
conversations
to
identify
new
insights
around
diabetes
in
6
countries.
An
in-­‐depth
listening
of
social
media
uncovered
several
new
trends
that
had
not
yet
been
identified.
Surprisingly,
most
discussions
were
about
insulin
devices
rather
than
the
disease,
itself.
Pumps
and
pens
were
the
main
source
of
concern
of
recently
diagnosed
patients
who
were
struggling
to
find
the
best
device
option
for
themselves.
Using
these
results,
the
brand
reported
that
their
goal
is
to
work
on
new
materials
for
physicians
and
patients
on
how
to
cope
with
the
disease
by
answering
simple
questions
such
as:
How
to
choose
a
device?
What
are
recent
improvements
in
research?,
etc.
Synthesio
–
Leveraging
social
media
for
the
health
sector
–
December
2010
7

8.
Conclusion
Adverse
events,
suggestions
for
product
optimization,
emerging
trends
or
potential
crises
are
identifiable
via
social
networks.
The
main
issue
is
being
able
to
separate
the
gold
from
the
rest
and
reducing
the
time
between
data
collection
and
its
internal
processing.
Appropriate
communication
in
real
time
involving
different
departments
(marketing,communications,
press
relations,
legal)
can
transform
onilne
consumer
feedback
into
real-­‐time
marketing
efforts.
About
Synthesio
Synthesio
is
a
global,
multi-­‐lingual
Social
Media
Monitoring
and
research
company,
utilizing
a
powerful
hybrid
of
tech
and
human
monitoring
services
to
help
Brands
and
Agencies
collect
and
analyze
consumer
conversations
online.
The
result
is
actionable
analytics
and
insights
that
provide
an
accurate
snapshot
of
a
brand
and
helps
answer
the
ultimate
questions
–
how
are
we
really
doing
right
now,
and
how
can
we
make
it
better. Founded
in
2006,
the
company
has
grown
to
include
analysts
who
provide
native-­‐language
monitoring
and
analytic
services
in
over
30
languages
worldwide.
Brands
such
as
Toyota,
Microsoft,
Sanofi,
Accor,
Orange
and
many
other
well-­‐known
companies
turn
to
Synthesio
for
the
data
they
need
to
engage
their
markets,
anticipate
and
prepare
for
emerging
crisis
situations,
and
prepare
for
new
product
or
new
campaign
launches.
In
2010,
Synthesio
continued
its
rapid
growth,
launching
offices
in
the
United
Kingdom
and
the
United
States
to
keep
up
with
demand
Synthesio
–
Leveraging
social
media
for
the
health
sector
–
December
2010
8