What does the changing social media landscape mean for pharma?

It’s been an exciting year for social media with three major events changing the digital comms landscape: the Twitter rebrand, the launch of Threads and TikTok cementing its position as one of the most popular platforms for healthcare content.

Just when pharma companies were finally becoming confident in using social media channels for corporate, brand and stakeholder engagement initiatives, these changes forced them to re-evaluate strategies and once again investigate the risks and opportunities offered by social platforms.

Elon Musk’s takeover of Twitter has dented the trust the platform had built within the healthcare community. The decision to profit from the ‘blue tick’ verification badge spread concerns about how misinformation could quickly escalate among professionals and the public. It also directly impacted pharma companies’ reputations, for example when a fake, but verified, Eli Lilly account announced free insulin for everyone, tanking its stock price and dragging insulin makers Novo Nordisk and Sanofi down too.

The rebrand to X was plagued by glitches and further concerns about the rise of fake news due to low investment in moderation tools. As a result, popular medical conversations #MedTwitter (or #MedX) are down 30% year-on-year since April’s rebranding. Healthcare professionals (HCPs) haven’t abandoned the platform, but they are interacting less because of the low-quality content seen in their feeds. Pharma has a clear role in making X the great source of medical knowledge that Twitter has been for years. Focusing on high-quality content, developed with authoritative experts, that responds to HCPs’ needs, will be key in regaining trust and increasing engagement on this platform.

Meta took advantage of the X/Twitter turmoil to launch a new text-based platform: Threads. Powered by the connection with Instagram, Threads reached 100 million sign-ups within days, demonstrating that the public is actively looking for new social media spaces. The app was branded as X’s rival because of the emphasis on text and conversations; however, it lacks the immediacy and search functionalities that have made X/Twitter the go-to platform for up-to-date information on topical issues and healthcare breakthroughs. Excitement for Threads has waned since launch and daily users sit at just 10 million, 79% less than its July peak, and a fraction of the 200 million that X/Twitter can still boast.

While most pharma companies have secured their presence on the platform, little to no activity has been attempted as it’s hard to find an audience to engage with and a reason to reach out. The fact that accessing Threads is only possible via an Instagram account is fine for patients and the public, but Instagram has never been as popular with HCPs as Twitter was, so their uptake of Threads is much less likely to happen.

Most professional organisations and media outlets have a small following on Instagram and have yet to move their activity to Threads. Without an active community, there will be little reason for pharma to engage on this platform apart from corporate or disease awareness initiatives. Patient organisations have slowly started to become active on Threads, securing on average 1/10 of their Instagram audience. 2024 will be an interesting year as Meta will bring new features that could make or break this platform, and pharma should keep monitoring for changes.

TikTok has taken the healthcare world by storm. After years of declining organic reach on social media and frustration with the time it takes to build a community, this platform has unlocked the opportunity to reach millions of users with every video. HCPs have jumped at the chance to interact with patients and peers in exciting new ways. A young generation of medical professionals and patient influencers are sharing their experiences, best practices and opinions in authentic, unfiltered videos like never before.

Pharma, like most brands, is still confused about how to approach a platform that doesn’t require polished content and is grappling with the regulatory challenges of such a powerful global reach: how can it manage campaigns that can easily cross borders? Working directly with influencer and digital opinion leaders to co-create informative and entertaining content can help pharma accelerate its understanding of the platform and start engaging with users in a genuine and credible way. Disease awareness campaigns can be a safe space in which to start experimenting and, as more HCPs join TikTok, the conversation can expand into more scientific topics.

Change and uncertainty can stall comms programmes so that outcomes aren’t maximised. To avoid paralysis, now is the time for pharma to review its strategies, knowing that trust, purpose and collaboration will be three pillars on which to build social media success.