Recently, Justin Chase, Executive Vice President of Media, EVERSANA INTOUCH, was interviewed by Maria Fontanazza, director of content for PharmaLive and Med Ad News.
They talked about trends in social media, about how to build relationships with patients and HCPs across platforms, and about AI’s effects, coming from the agency’s nine years of experience using AI for clients.
Here are a few of Justin’s quotes from the interview, slightly edited for length, and you can read the entire interview here.
On social media comments: Recently, I’ve seen clients revert to turning off social media comments. I think that’s a major mistake because, no matter what, if you’ve successfully commercialized a clinical asset, there will be people commenting. Early on, it’s investors, analysts, and the media. Post-launch, it’s patients, caregivers, HCPs, and the media. Don’t you want to be involved in that conversation and help shape the narrative? The best way to correct misinformation is with science and data. If you turn comments off and choose not to engage, you miss an opportunity to ensure accuracy in the flow of information around your brand.
On a common omnichannel error: Put your patient or HCP at the center of your experience, and surround them with triggered, dynamic sequential messaging at scale: this sounds good, and it is, but I don’t hear social media being talked about nearly as much as it should be, considering that an omni experience needs to engage with people on the platforms they organically engage on – not just owned, promotional channels. Too often, omni is thought of as a funnel to the site, but in reality, most patients or HCPs are not going to actively or consistently choose to engage there. They are, however, spending hours every day on social channels. As you’re building and nurturing your omnichannel experience, social should be at or near the center. Then, as you start to build out your first-party database, you create a flywheel, learning more about their behaviors and mindsets, improving your strategy and your communications.
On how AI can help media: I absolutely do not think that AI is going to replace the social experience, but we’re spending a lot of time thinking about the intersection of AI and media, and certainly social media. The sweet spot is going to be AI as a tool for identifying other like-minded people, then rallying those people around a topic.
Read Maria’s entire interview with Justin at PharmaLive/Med Ad News.