Social Media's Role in Healthcare Education, and the Implications for the Marketer

Recently, the Pew Internet and American Life Project published a study entitled The Social Life of Health Information.  The study is quite informative, but as Cymfony's resident healthcare analyst, I found two of Pew's findings to be especially signicant:

1) Over half of what Pew calls "e-patients" (those who rely on the internet for health information) are turning to social media in the course of their research.

2) While 66% of "e-patients" research specific diseases or medical conditions, 55% research specific medical treatments or procedures.  The percentage of "e-patients" who research specific diseases has not increased significantly since 2002, however the percentage who research specific treatments has climbed from 47% in 2002 to 55% in 2008.

Marketing professionals in all areas of healthcare must understand the implications of these two facts.  Let's begin with the first fact that over half of all "e-patients" are turning to social media.  Whereas "non-user generated" healthcare content is generally based on academic knowledge, clinical results, and marketing spin, social media healthcare content is built on patient opinions and personal accounts.  Therefore, over half of "e-patients" are making healthcare decisions based, at least in part, on information provided by other patients.  This makes it imperative that the marketer is aware of these online opinions.  Rather than speaking to patients and potential patients, healthcare marketers must listen first and then develop communications that not only speak to consumers but also respond to prevailing attitudes and concerns.  In this sense, an understanding of social media is similar to the insights gleaned from traditional focus group and survey-based research, though social media provides a platform for unsolicited feedback.  Two other advantages of social media are that conversations are peer-to-peer rather than "moderator-to-consumer", and patients are often afforded a greater level of anonymity in social media.  The psychological differences between these two scenarios likely lead to the expression of more honest opinions.

The second fact, that 55% of "e-patients" research specific treatments and procedures, serves to emphasize the importance of the implications mentioned above.  One of the first thoughts that should cross the marketer's mind when developing communication strategies should be, "the chances are very good that my target market will search the internet for specific information about my product."  The natural follow-up question should be, "what will my target market discover about my product in online media?" 

Pew's study shows that without a thorough understanding of the attitudes expressed in social media, a marketer can not develop optimal communication strategies.

Posted by Ronnie McNeill on July 10, 2009 at 11:36 AM | Permalink | Comments (1) | TrackBack

Cymfony's Super Bowl Analysis is a Double Award Winner!

AMEC_Awards_logo-[Converted]  Pardon me while I toot our horn and go blatantly hard sell for one post!

I'm pleased to announce that the Association for the Measurement and Evaluation of Communications recognized our Super Bowl Advertising Audience Impact Report with 2 awards!

First, we took the Gold in the category "Best Use of Measurement for a Single Event". The award judges cited our combination of traditional and social media as a "benchmark for the future" and praised it as "an intellectual piece of work" that "had real value for advertisers".

In fact, they liked it so much the judges also awarded it Grand Prix -- Innovation Award. In explaining why we were selected for this award too, the judges said it was a "ground-breaking analysis" and we earned "Top marks for the idea and the execution"

Thanks, AMEC! We are honored!

PS. If you are with a brand that is advertising on the Super Bowl, or an agency for one of those brands, we are offering this service again this year! Come to the Super Bowl page of the Cymfony site to learn more.

Posted by Jim Nail on November 25, 2008 at 05:08 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack

Super Bowl Ads -- It's Not About the Game!!!

A WSJ article today says that many long-time advertisers are wondering if, in this tough economy, they should invest $3 million for :30 seconds on the game. The key is not the game: they key to ROI is the PR activity before the game.

Come to my ARF webinar tomorrow -- "Effective PR and Word of Mouth Strategies to Maximize a Brand's Investment in Super Bowl Advertising" -- to learn more but here are the topline findings from two years of analysis Cymfony has done on Super Bowl advertising:

  • PR adds significant audience. The prospect of reaching 90 million people on February 1, 2009 makes media planners drool. But PR can add brand reach prior to the game: Doritos drove 40 million impressions prior to the 2007 Super Bowl.
  • To get WOM, drive PR. Spurring word of mouth discussion after the game is a key goal -- that's why brands and agencies go to great pains to come up with breakthrough creative. But the brands that are successful in post-game are consistently the brands that get the most pre-game coverage in traditional media.
  • Social media discussion is a good proxy for likeability. For the 2008 Super Bowl, we collaborated with our colleagues at TNS who conducted a classic ad likeability research survey and compared their results to the "favorability" of social media posts. The same10 advertisers were on the top of both lists. While the social media audience displays some unique characteristics, their opinions accurately reflect the broader population.

So GM, Fedex, Monster, Pedigree, and others who are on the fence: tune in to my webinar before you make your final decision!

Posted by Jim Nail on November 11, 2008 at 12:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBack