Have you been noticing the recent online chatter about weight loss drugs? It is difficult to ignore! That online chatter and the power of social media influencers have created unexpected market upheaval, including regional drug shortages and patients unable to secure their needed medication. Whether it is social media sites, apps, a favorite online influencer, or your trusted health site, someone is providing information, accurate or otherwise, or opinions about your product.
PHSL recently assisted a major pharmaceutical company in performing a robust dive to identify and monitor sites that present that manufacturer’s product information to healthcare professionals and consumers. This is social monitoring. PHSL analyzed this information to determine why it was being presented to healthcare professionals and consumers. This is social listening. Monitoring is what is being said and where. Listening is analyzing to determine the why.
Social media has become an untapped wealth of information that should be monitored and analyzed. It provides vital information, such as opinions and promotions of consumers online, which cannot be found in traditional data sources. Social listing can allow for the discovery of inaccurate, missing, and potentially dangerous product information in these sources.
Research
Manufacturers can use social listening to better understand the opinions of their products, address any negative opinions, and stay ahead of the curve by being the first to recognize trends in the industry, which may drive unanticipated financial and regulatory issues.
It is common for people to consult social media whenever they are faced with a health issue. A recent study published in the Journal of Medical Internet Research looked at inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) social media posts; over 55% of the posts included in the study were related to medication advice, beliefs about safety of IBD medications, personal experiences with medication use, or fears or anxieties about the safety of IBD therapies. Manufacturers who are aware of specific concerns would be able to set themselves apart by addressing such concerns.
Manufacturers who utilize social listening would also be able to understand and respond to some of the buzz surrounding their products. Take metformin, for example; nearly all healthcare professionals think of diabetes whenever metformin is mentioned, yet there is intrigue coming from Americans consumers concerning off-label uses of the drug, none of which have anything to do with diabetes. This interest is fueled by information shared on Tik-Tok, Instagram, and health-focused blogs. Social media influence has created an enormous demand for drugs that are commonly used for the treatment of diabetes or obesity, in an effort to lose weight. Hashtags of various drug names have blown up on social media. One drug hashtag has over 600 million views and counting.
FDA and Social Media
Did you know even the FDA performs widespread social monitoring and listening? One way the FDA is harnessing the power of social listening is to monitor and track drugs of concern. Paula Rausch, the Associate Director of Research and Risk Communications in CDER’s Office of Communications, says the “CDER has begun to use nontraditional sources to explore the social contexts in which substances are being used, as well as to identify potential drugs of concern that may be emerging. These data can provide clues about the dynamics of use, misuse, and abuse, and potentially identify changing patterns.” The FDA is currently monitoring more than 95 million online and social media sites.
More information on the FDA’s process can be found here. FDA has issued guidance on social media content and a summary can be found here.
Pharmaceutical Social Monitoring and Listening
Actionable market insights are expanded through the inclusion of social monitoring analytics. Evaluation of current and future marketing strategies should incorporate the potential market dynamics of social media. Product information presented on professional, industry, and consumer-driven sites may have an effect on production and product availability planning. Off-label claims and other regulatory or legal issues may be identified as having the potential to skew current market analysis.
What exactly is the role of social listening in the pharmaceutical industry? It seems prudent for a manufacturer to identify and monitor high-priority web sites that may publish incorrect or incomplete information about their product, especially as the FDA is also monitoring these sites. This is important so that healthcare professionals and patients have access to the most complete and accurate product information. The results of a social listening analysis provide manufacturers with the knowledge to understand the opinions, both positive and negative, around their products on professional and patient healthcare locations.
Getting Started
The exponential growth of social media, relevant websites, and healthcare apps will only continue. Social listening can uncover invaluable information, but it is often difficult to know where to start and what to do with the findings. The different types of information retrieved must be efficiently and accurately categorized into insightful information, which can be analyzed to ultimately create the greatest benefit. PHSL can assist in the identification and selection of online listening sites in alignment with your company’s strategy, followed by the analysis and recommendations for mitigation if necessary. Trend analysis can be performed over time for newly launched products, high-priority, or high-risk products. PHSL can focus on disease-specific or professional practice sites.
PHSL has experience helping manufacturers engage in social listening and providing strategic recommendations based on our findings. Let us know if we can help!
Posted May 16, 2023
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