Posting with a Purpose: Using social media to reach your audience: Part 2 Making a Plan
This continuation of our Social Media series will delve into how to establish a Medical Affairs social media presence, the latest developments in social media platforms that can help improve medical communications, and practical solutions to potential challenges.
Jennifer Ghith, Global Scientific Publications and Innovations Director at Pfizer. Her areas of focus include artificial intelligence, advancing digital dissemination through social media and closed platforms, and programs aimed at achieving true patient-centricity.
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Rob Matheis:
Hello and welcome to Informed, a podcast series where you'll hear industry experts share their thought-provoking insights and lessons in the field of medical communications. This series is brought to you by ISMPP, and is generously sponsored by MedThink SciCom.
I'm Rob Matheis, President and CEO of ISMPP. With us today we have Jenny Ghith, Global Scientific Publications and Innovations Director Pfizer. Our areas of focus include artificial intelligence, advancing digital dissemination through social media and closed platforms, as well as programs aimed at achieving true patient centricity.
Jenny is a Certified Medical Publication Professional, author on several high chaired period publications and has presented at national and local meetings. Today we're going to continue our previous conversation about social media, where things are heading, and a little look at the future. Welcome back, Jenny.
Jennifer Ghith:
Thanks for having me, Rob.
Rob Matheis:
Jenny, great to have you back again. We had a terrific conversation about some of the nuts and bolts of social media and medical publishing in our last episode. Today I want to take a look at the future if we can, and see where things are going. Maybe take a look at the crystal ball and what could be happening next in this space, because it truly is an exciting area.
Maybe I'll just start us off very, very broadly, and ask you where we think medical communications are going in the future and social media in that regard, and how things are going to be changing.
Jennifer Ghith:
Yeah. I think it's a great question, and I think we're at a very important time. I see us as incorporating social media, and we call them open platforms in general, more actively and more proactively within our plans, within our day to day life. It's already part of the day to day lives of many, including the broader public. So I also think it's an opportunity for us to really ultimately share information, and share all of the great work and research that we've been doing, in ways that we haven't been able to do before and in ways that are more equitable, quite frankly, and that allow people to find information, and read it, and increase their awareness of major data releases, for example.
So I'm looking forward to it. I think we will see the platforms themselves evolve. I think that we are even seeing a lot of change in these moments today, and that will continue in the future. So we've seen a proliferation of platforms that are available to us, and I think it's important to understand the communities that are evolving, and where people are going to receive this information. And I would also just say that what you're able to do within these platforms is changing too. So you are able to release videos, release polls, link to your publication enhancements, go into Twitter spaces and engage, again, in ways that we haven't been able to do before. And I very much look forward to seeing more of that, and understanding ways that we can, again, utilize these opportunities as people who are working to share our data with the rest of the world.
Rob Matheis:
It's so interesting that you say that, because there's all these different channels now, and I was even thinking in our last episode about the training that's going to go into being a publication medical communication professional, and the things that we need to be thinking about as we embrace social media.
I'm also thinking about your responses now, and how you're chatting with me about there's different types of platforms and things that my kids probably know quite a bit about, but maybe I don't necessarily. It scares me a little bit though, to think that the dialogue is changing to two way in some respects. Right? And so with these polls and things that we can do in these different spaces, are there challenges and controversies even outside of the traditional compliance issues we face?
Jennifer Ghith:
Definitely. So since we're talking about our kids, there's an analogy. "With great power comes great responsibility, Spiderman." I have a 13 year old son, and I think that's very true in what we're dealing with now. So yes, there are increasing opportunities, and it is very challenging to keep up. The speed of it is just really incredible. It's really important to try to understand what's out there, to engage your colleagues, and get their opinions, and really kind of, again, investigate online and do your discovery work to find out what's available to you.
Find out who the audiences are within these platforms. At your company you may even have experts in this area, so definitely talk with them and have some one-on-one sessions. But in terms of the responsibility that comes with it, so again, think about the overload that we're all facing, the massive amounts of information that are able to be released on these platforms. That is very daunting, and reaching your audience is very important, because you know, you need to always be cognizant that there is a broader audience on the line as well, who are also listening.
So things like misinformation exists, right? And we talked a little bit about popularity bias before as well. So there are facts online and on these platforms that can seem very real, that aren't necessarily true. Okay? And then there are the facts that are important, but there may be a debate in the field, and other facts are out there too that might not go as viral.
So you really want to understand the source when you look at the information that's being released, and think about the fact that we actually can take on some of this and think about it as a responsibility, that it's an opportunity for us to provide factual and accurate information to people, and to help them find trusted sources of information to help them reach the journal articles that they need to reach and the publication enhancements, that will help them become more educated and understand the therapeutic area, and their needs even as lay audiences, in understanding the data as well.
Rob Matheis:
Interesting. So you mentioned misinformation, popularity bias, and last time we chatted about these digital opinion leaders, DOLs. When you take those two concepts together, take your crystal ball for a moment and think about if you could, whether or not we're going to be embracing DOLs in the future, trying to proactively engage them, do you think? Or will we just be more or less concerned about them not moving forward? What's your future look on that?
Jennifer Ghith:
Well, I think the truth as oftentimes lies somewhere in between. I think we need to understand them and engage them. I think we need to speak with them, and talk with them about the challenges that they're facing as well in disseminating information, because they do see themselves as having responsibility as well, and they have built these audiences that they are very engaged with. So I see us working with them.
In some cases, they may want to collaborate more. Right? In other cases they may not. For example, in working with industry, it's really important that any collaborations with industry, just as with our medical writing when we disclose it in the publications, we need to disclose that in the tweets. Right? And that's kind of difficult in 280 characters. So I think their authenticity is critical as well.
So in the end, I think we need to engage them in dialogue, understand them. I do think we need to work with them. We may not want to always work with all of them, but at the very least we need to be aware of what they're doing, and even what they're sharing as well, because we can learn from that.
Rob Matheis:
So where does that sit in these organizations? Again, just your opinion. Is this a medical communication professional responsibility? Does it fall to the field medical team, because it's floating out there is similar to KOLs?
Jennifer Ghith:
It's a very good question. Clear roles and responsibility help, always. So it's a lot to take on as pubs professionals, and as those who are working in medical affairs. You may have folks who are actually specializing in this area, who you can engage with to work on it and explore it further with you.
If you don't, if you're just learning and you're really struggling to find out what all this is about, I think the best advice is really to think about what your objectives are, think about what you really need, because you're going to have to make some priority choices. And you may, for example, look around for DOL specific to a specific tumor type or therapeutic area, or you may look around regarding a specific publication release or data release. So you could also only monitor at certain times of the year. Right?
So I think the best thing to do is not to try to necessarily boil the ocean and to cover everything, but to really try and understand what you're aiming to achieve, and that'll help guide how you determine what your most urgent needs are.
Rob Matheis:
Great. Great. So as I'm thinking about our conversations, one of the things that's going through my mind is many of our listeners are thinking, "Well this is all terrific and I'd love to jump into it, but I can't get past this compliance component to it. I really can't figure out what I'm going to do in that regard." I'm going to ask the question a little bit different of a way. Do you anticipate that there'll be more regulation in the future, that we can point to help to guide some of this? Or are we just going to be going at it haphazardly in the future?
Jennifer Ghith:
Well, I'm hopeful that there is more regulation, and I know that regulatory bodies are thinking about this and watching as well. So I'm hopeful.
I'm also just hopeful that we as professionals can share experiences and establish some best practices for ourselves, that we can come together with organizations like ISMPP and others, to guide folks who are trying to learn, and trying to wade in, and really trying to do what is most appropriate and what is best.
So I don't want us to be so worried or so overwhelmed perhaps that there's inertia. It's kind of analysis by paralysis, if you will. You could watch Twitter all day long, and in fact we know some people do, but I think that we need to still try to remember that this is an opportunity. That this is a chance for us to really release information in ways we haven't been able to do so before. So I guess what I'm saying, Rob, is kind of go boldly, but wisely and carefully. Really, and be as practical as you can about it.
Rob Matheis:
And it sounds like a step-wise approach is probably the way to go, to take small little steps in and see how things progress, and then take bigger steps as time goes on, even in the absence of direct regulation. It's probably some sound advice, so I appreciate that.
Jennifer Ghith:
Yeah, and measure, measure, measure. Right? So when you set up your plan, think about your objective, and what you're going to measure to know if you're succeeding or not, right? Because that'll guide you on your next step.
Rob Matheis:
Yep. So you're stealing the next thought, because we promised our listeners in the last episode that we talk about metrics and KPIs a little bit, what we get for all this effort. So if there's going to be a little bit of risk involved in this, then of course we want to make sure that we can measure some outcome for that. So tell us what we get for this effort.
Jennifer Ghith:
Oh my gosh. Well, I think one of the hard parts as well is you get a ton of information out of this, out of your social media efforts when you do put it out into the world, because you are able to track impressions, for example, or how many times something appears in a feed, you're able to track views. If you post a video, you get metrics on that. You're almost a victim of your own riches. You get a lot, so it's really important to think up front, again, about what your objectives are. And I can give you an example to bring it down to earth a little bit.
So is your objective to extend the reach of your data, purely? If that is the case, what you want to do is think about views, impressions, whether your platform is reaching a particular kind of audience. Right?
If you're looking to see whether you're increasing understanding, that's different. That may be something where you're trying to monitor and listen more actively, and see what sort of tweets come out in response. If you're at a Congress and there's a lot of activity on Twitter, you can actually monitor in very real time what people are saying about the data that is being shown on the podium. So again, it comes back to basic foundational principles. Think about what your objectives are and let that guide ultimately what you desire and what you look at for your outputs.
Rob Matheis:
Do you have any favorite metrics or KPIs that you like to look, at or would suggest to people?
Jennifer Ghith:
So it's an interesting question. I think the favorite metrics often start out as followers. We all kind of hang our hats on the wonderful numbers of followers and the reach that we're getting, but what I'd like to evolve to more of is think more engagement. And it is also very easy to very quickly become irrelevant in the social media space, as well. So I really want to see people watching videos. I want to see them actually replying. I want to see kind of what's happening in the space, and how they're talking about the data, whether it's increasing their understanding. I want to see likes, right? Or dislikes, too. I want to learn from our mistakes as well, and I want to understand how to do polling, how to really get good responses that help us achieve a greater understanding ourselves. So I would encourage people to think beyond just the numbers that you're reaching, in terms of the masses.
Rob Matheis:
Okay. Okay. Very helpful. So if you're thinking about metrics and output, and we think about the different platforms, and this may be a tougher question, what would be your go-to platform, if you had only one to choose?
Jennifer Ghith:
Well, I actually don't want to answer that directly, and let me tell you why.
Rob Matheis:
Okay.
Jennifer Ghith:
I think we should really strive to think first about who we're trying to reach, and then build the platforms in. So I might have a platform of the moment, but it might not be the best one for what I'm trying to do. So I hesitate. I know I have ones that I go to every day, and that's my shtick. Right? But it's also interesting how the platforms themselves are changing and converging.
So video on these platforms is, I think, just so interesting. So everyone is doing video now. It's not just TikTok guys. Right? There's a lot of other options out there. So I dodged the question a little bit, Rob, because I think it's really important not to establish too much favoritism. Don't get too wedded to one platform. Actually explore and think about what your objectives are.
Rob Matheis:
Yeah, and I'm going to translate that response into the notion that we had last time, around being purposeful.
Jennifer Ghith:
Exactly.
Rob Matheis:
'Cause what I hear you saying pretty consistently is we may have listeners out there thinking, "My leadership told me I have to get into social media. I've got to do something, so let me just tweet something or put something out there on LinkedIn, or whatever it may be." But what I hear you saying, very consistently, is don't just do that. Think about what you're trying to accomplish. Think about the outcomes, the metrics, what you're trying to do, and then work backwards for that, which basically is good old fashioned publication planning, when you think about it.
Jennifer Ghith:
Exactly. Which hopefully is reassuring, right? Your basic principles apply. It's really challenging, the speed. Again, the speed of this space is just truly incredible. But really, I hope that people who are kind of learning can come back to the basics, and that helps them to be purposeful.
Rob Matheis:
Yeah. Yep. Very consistently purposeful. Be stepwise. Be bold, but be cautious is what I hear you saying to our listeners. And Jen, I just want to thank you again for your time today. I think it's been a great two-part conversation, and I'm sure our listeners got a lot out of it.
Jennifer Ghith:
Thank you for having me. Appreciate your time as well.
Rob Matheis:
Thanks for listening to Informed, for Medical Communication.
Thanks for listening to Informed for Medical Com-
I messed these up.
Thanks for listening to Informed, for Medical Communication Professionals. Please take a minute to subscribe to the show on your favorite podcast app, inform your colleagues, and rate our show highly if you liked what you heard today. We hope you'll also join us at an upcoming ISMPP University Webinar, or even considering becoming a member of our association. Just go to ISMPP.org. That's I-S-M-P-P.org, to learn more. I'm Rob Matheis.
Content from this presentation reflects the collective experience and opinions of the presenters, and is not intended to represent the past or current views of Pfizer.
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