Creating communications excellence

The pharma world has engaged with patient and healthcare professional (HCP) influencers forever. We have rocked along together comfortably, highlighting underserved patient needs and new innovations. But, as with so much else, the COVID-19 pandemic changed the landscape.

In the post-pandemic era, the number of influential voices, and the scope of health matters they talk about, have grown exponentially. Social media has become the place to go to for pseudo-legitimate health influencers looking to build followings. While HCPs have a duty to do no harm and talk about the facts, many of those without any such qualification get the opportunity to share misinformation on a daily basis.

It is within this crowded and clustered space, pharma has an opportunity to support the distribution of fact-based health information, bringing the most credible and balanced voices of influence to the fore.

To do this, a deep understanding of the audiences you are trying to reach via proprietary data platforms (such as Omni Health) is critical. By using smart metrics, we are able to move beyond conversation sizing to mapping category dynamics and spotting emerging narratives. By deploying network analysis we’re able to identify centres of influence and key opinion leaders based on a variety of metrics.

Investing the time in finding the right voices of influence is beneficial not only to pharma but also to those they partner with, providing them with legitimate and cutting-edge research and information that can provide new takes on the issues they see and speak about with their communities.  And connecting them with new and interested audiences.

Through our innovative influencer methodology, we are able to map voices of influence through three lenses:

1. The people you want to bring in (both emerging and established voices)
2. The people you want to communicate with
3. The people you have who can communicate (ie your spokespeople).

Katy Davidson is Managing Director, Health at Ketchum