The Unique Value of Social Media Comments in Pharma

January 22, 2025
Posted by: Dawn Lacallade, Chief Social Strategist, VP- Healthcare

Peer advocacy—patients sharing their own stories, encouraging others, and even addressing misinformation—is a powerful tool for brands, especially in industries like pharma where patient trust and adherence are vital. Here’s a look at why peer advocacy is effective and how it brings unique value to patients and brands alike. 

Why Patients Trust Peer Advocacy 

A substantial 76% of individuals are more likely to trust content shared by peers rather than brand-generated content. This trust translates to tangible results: brands implementing peer-led advocacy see an 80% lift in click-through rates and up to four times the social conversion rate. This power comes from the authenticity of real patient experiences and recommendations, which resonate deeply with audiences. (citations at end) 

Key Peer Advocacy Benefits: 

  • Patients say things brands can’t: Patients feel comfortable sharing their experiences and this often goes beyond what brands can say. For example, patients often share guidance they received from their doctors, experiences with treatments and even peer recommendations for how to manage their condition.  
  • Community Corrects Misinformation: Patients often step in to clarify common misconceptions about the condition, products, pricing, or even side effects, which can be incredibly valuable in healthcare. 
  • Encouragement for proactive healthcare: Patients openly encourage each other to be advocates for their own healthcare and to overcome healthcare obstacles. They encourage each other to seek care from doctors who listen, building a sense of camaraderie and empowering individuals to prioritize their health. 

Real-Time Patient Support: Answering Questions Where They Arise 

For patients, especially those navigating new diagnoses or treatments, Finding answers promptly via information that is comprehendible by the patient/caregiver audience is important. Brand responses and peer conversations in social comments can address questions that patients have, when they have them. Without this resource, patients might forget their questions by the time they have their next doctor’s visit. LiveWorld has found that these interactions improve patient satisfaction by meeting them where they are with timely, trusted answers. 

Case Studies:  Insights that Drive Business Decisions 

Below are several recent examples of comments driving business insights. These highlight the importance of quick identification of the insight and action taken in response to the finding. Here’s what happened: 

  • Patient Feedback on a Getting Started Kit: Patients posted negative comments about a “getting started” kit for a new treatment. Despite limited mentions, LiveWorld flagged these comments for the client, who then conducted focus groups and ultimately redesigned the kit based on feedback. The revised kits were very well received by the patients. In addition, the company came across as engaged, willing to listen to feedback and to act. 
  • Increase in Adverse Events: With the launch of a client’s new media partner, LiveWorld noticed an increase in the adverse events for branded campaign ads. LiveWorld’s further research uncovered a couple of comments about having “unsubscribed” to marketing from the client. LiveWorld escalated this finding to our client and ultimately uncovered an error with the client’s new media agency including an opt-out group in their marketing audience. The error was corrected, and the campaign was turned back on. Without comments, the client and their media agency would not have discovered and corrected the error in just the first few days of the campaign.   
  • Breastfeeding Advocacy Incident: A new campaign ad used language that unintentionally offended breastfeeding moms. The Ad was launched over a weekend and LiveWorld promptly identified the negative comments.  As a part of LiveWorld’s Risk and Crisis Plan, we quickly escalated to the client’s Social Media Response Team (SMRT). In the time it took the client to respond, the ads were shared with a breastfeeding advocacy group who created content and a petition about the ads. After several hours, the client responded, the SMRT met and took action and removed the offending ad, apologized, and reassured the community. This transparent and prompt action strengthened the brand’s rapport with the audience, who removed their petition and expressed appreciation for the quick response. 
  • Building a UGC (User-Generated Content) Engine 

User-generated content can create an invaluable repository of patient stories that resonate with others in similar situations. LiveWorld’s approach to sourcing patient stories is far more cost effective than traditional patient advocacy programs and includes: 

  • Identifying impactful comments in which patients share meaningful experiences. 
  • Obtaining permission to use these stories, often via direct message where the company explains the planned content use, explains privacy rights, and includes necessary disclosures and releases and includes required compliance messages such as the ISI (Important Safety Information) for branded content. 
  • Providing a simple opt-in, where patients can agree to the terms by responding with a “Yes.” By ensuring each story is genuine and voluntary, brands maintain ethical standards without compensation. 
  • In fact, many patients are willing to share: 56% respond “yes” to sharing their experiences, with a clear understanding of how the brand may use the content. 

Moderation and Compliance: Ensuring a Safe and Effective Program 

LiveWorld offers a structured moderation framework critical for brands operating in regulated industries like pharma. This framework simplifies the setup of new programs and reduces significantly the work needed by marketers. This framework includes: 

  • Moderation Guidelines: A custom work instruction that is specific to each program or page that walks a client through the key decisions for how content will be managed including program setup, roles and responsibilities shared between LiveWorld and the client and content specific guidance. This document is then used to train the LiveWorld team to act on behalf of the client. 
  • Response Library: A repository of pre-approved responses, allowing quick and consistent engagement with patients. LiveWorld’s process includes intros and closings as well as several versions of the approved responses, allowing the agents to vary and customize the responses to seem very conversational and less robotic while having the compliance comfort of pre-approving it all. 
  • Risk Management Plan: A well-defined escalation process to handle high-risk or unexpected situations. This plan includes forming a Social Media Response Team (SMRT), allowing brands to quickly assess and respond to social media issues. 
  • The Unique Value of Comments in Pharma 

Peer-driven comments carry unmatched value for brands, both in supporting patients and building community trust. Here’s why: 

  • Credible recommendations: Patients trust patient stories and recommendations more than brand statements, as they are perceived as more genuine and experience based. 
  • Immediate answers: Patients can get answers to question they might otherwise forget in the time it takes to have their next opportunity to ask their healthcare providers, supporting better health outcomes. 
  • Content value: Comments provide new content ideas, enable you to identify patient ambassadors, suggest potential keywords, and give insights into what resonates, allowing brands to refine their content strategies. 
  • Boosted algorithm performance: Patient engagement can increase visibility on social platforms, increasing the success of paid campaigns and reaching a larger audience organically. 
  • Peer location of target audience: Patients often @mention or share brand content with people they know that share the same condition or within condition specific groups. This behavior is a strong audience location tool. 

In Summary 

Peer advocacy in pharma marketing isn’t just about storytelling; it’s about empowering patients, answering questions in real-time, and building trust through transparent and proactive moderation. By leveraging user-generated content and ensuring responsive engagement, brands can foster a community where patients feel supported, informed, and encouraged in their healthcare journey. This trust ultimately benefits both the patients and the brands that prioritize authentic, patient-first conversations. 

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CITATIONS: 

(https://www.adweek.com/brand-marketing/infographic-how-millennials-and-baby-boomers-consume-user-generated-content-175307/)