Making social a manageable part of your communications plan
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Why should I care about all this social media hype? Biotech companies aren't really doing anything in this space. FDA regulations don't allow us to use social media. Our regulatory/legal/senior management/shareholders really don't think this is a good idea. Are the benefits of participating in social media worth the risk? What can social media do for my brands? How can I use it? Where is all this social media stuff going in the future? I don't have time for social media!
If these are some of the things you are saying and asking about social media you are right!
However, social is not going away - the Internet is now a venue for dialogue - whether that's chatting with friends on Facebook or tweeting job openings for your company.
Social is one more tool in your communications strategy and CAN be used effectively if you make it a manageable part of your communications plan. It's no magic bullet and may never be a suitable tool for direct product promotion but with a few practical steps you can start to use the social world to support some of your company goals.
1) Set a Policy - who can use it, what they use it for, how is it monitored. Set a policy that accommodates your audience. There is no point in setting a policy that meets all of your company requirements but limits your communication to the extent that you cannot have a meaningful dialogue - that would defeat the purpose before you start!
2) Educate the Team - if your management and legal regulatory team have never used social tools and don't know how to they are not very likely to be enthusiastic supporters of a social media plan. Educate them - use examples of other companies efforts, start small and build support over time.
3) Listen and learn - keep up to date on what companies are doing, what the FDA is doing, keep an eye on your own brand online using monitoring services - but don't try to monitor everything especially if you have no plan to do anything about it.
4) Make a Plan - choose a communications project and use social media as part of the execution. Present the plan to your team with prepared resourcing and set a timeline for implementation.
5) Try it! Recruiting might be a good place to start. Use Twitter to promote open jobs, post a jobs forum on LinkedIn where potential candidates can ask questions, set up your corporate Facebook page and post corporate and IR materials regularly.
6) Call Zoomedia :)
