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Social Media Influencers in Healthcare and Pharma: What’s Their Role?

What exactly is a social media influencer? A social media influencer is a person who has built a reputation as being a credible source of information online.

But do social media influencers play the same kind of role when it comes to healthcare and pharma? Let’s take a look.

Looking to social media influencers for advice makes sense when you’re shopping for fashionable jeans, your next great vacation, or even inspiration for your fitness regime. Most retail brands agree. According to the research firm L2 Gartner, 70% of retail brands are working with influencers through Instagram partnerships. Why Instagram? Because 72% of Instagram users say they’ve made a purchasing decision based on something they saw there.

The PR and content agency, Good Relations, conducted a survey of 1,000 consumers. In their Good Influence Survey 2017, they found that 57% of those surveyed bought something solely on the recommendation of a social media influencer. Only friends and family had more sway (83%) regarding purchasing decisions. When looking at which segments were most important to consumers by age, they found:18–24 year olds were most interested in what social media influencers had to say about entertainment, retail, and tech;
35–45 year olds focused mostly on food; and
Those over 45 focused on health and travel.

While health may not be at the top of everyone’s list of interests, there is plenty of evidence that when faced with a health issue people turn to the internet and social media for information. Studies by Pew Research Center and PwC Health Research found that:35% of adults in the US have gone online specifically to “figure out” some medical condition.
16% of internet users went online in the last year to find others who might share the same health concerns.
Nearly 90% of people in aged 18–24 (i.e., millennials) would trust health information or engage in health activities found on social media.

Health and its related topics are part of the mix for all age groups when it comes to social media.
The unique social media influencer landscape for healthcare and pharma

Certain aspects of healthcare and pharma (among them government regulations) have traditionally presented marketers with a challenge when trying to connect with their target audience. Now with the vast majority of people turning to the Internet for health information, the way people shop for healthcare and pharma is beginning to resemble retail.

Social media is having an impact on the doctor-patient conversation. By sharing information and experiences, social media influencers shape the expectations and questions their followers have for their doctors. But their impact isn’t limited to the doctor’s office and the pharmacy counter. Social media influencers are also having an impact on B2B companies. With their mentions of cutting edge technologies and services not directly available to the consumer social media influencers are creating expectations and building demand among patients that can only be addressed by payers, insurers, and providers.
Professionals, advocates, and patients replace tastemakers

As people search online for information related to their health concern they are finding the mix of social media influencer for healthcare and pharma differs from the retail space. Instead of tastemakers, healthcare and pharma social media influencers include industry experts, researchers, policy makers, medical professionals, advocates, and patients. Some of these social media influencers base their insights on professional experience and formal education. For others their insights are based on personal experience and independent study.
Regulatory restrictions shape social media influence in healthcare and pharma

Another thing that distinguishes social media influencers for healthcare and pharma is the regulatory restrictions they face. In addition to the FTC’s disclosure requirements, some communications about pharma and medical devices are subject to FDA guidance. Earlier this year, Kim Kardashian faced push back on an ongoing campaign for Diclegis that generated an FDA warning letter two years ago. Operating in a regulated industry, it’s understandable that some brands and social media influencers are concerned about the negative consequences of a poorly conceived or poorly executed campaign. Brands and social media influencers can navigate these dangers by practicing transparency and authenticity, along with always complying with regulatory requirements.
Facebook is the most popular social platform among patient influencers

While Instagram is the dominant channel for retail social media influencers, many health industry expert, researcher, policy maker, and medical professional social media influencers can be found on Twitter. WEGO Health found that patients and caregivers identified Facebook as their top channel for sharing information about health-related topics.
Health agencies now recognize the positive impact of social media’s influence

National and transnational health agencies have gone beyond recognizing the impact of social media to encouraging its use to provide health education and emergency notifications. Both the CDC and WHO formally recognize the potential for social media, and presumably social media influencers, for reaching underrepresented and hard-to-reach communities and individuals.
Social media provides opportunities to do more by doing good

When used as an educational platform, social media presents an opportunity for social media influencers to do more than encourage people to buy a product or service. It presents healthcare and pharma social media influencers with the opportunity to do good and improve lives. Doing good can mean reaching out with a health awareness campaign like #AdvocateForArthritis, or soliciting donations to pay for healthcare and supplies when disaster hits, or recruiting underrepresented patient groups for drug trials.

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