J&J: we’re proud to top social media leaderboard
pharmafile | January 27, 2014 | News story | Medical Communications, Sales and Marketing | IMS, J&J, JJ, Janssen, digital, epatient, pharma
Johnson & Johnson says recognising the rise of the ePatient and being willing to share its corporate plans with the public are the key reasons for it topping a new social media leaderboard for pharma.
A spokesman for the firm’s UK subsidiary Janssen told Pharmafile it ‘was proud to see’ that its efforts in social media have been recognised. This follows a new report by IMS Health’s informatics unit that put the company top for being the most engaged on Twitter, Facebook and YouTube.
IMS rated pharma companies who used all of these three media by measuring three ‘indeces’ according to their reach, relevance and relationship (each of which used likes, shares and re-tweets).
Of the 10 pharma firms that were active across all three channels, Johnson & Johnson came out on top by a wide margin with an engagement score of 70. The runners up: GSK, Novo Nordisk and Pfizer were all tightly bunched behind it with scores of between 20 and 25.
The spokesman from Janssen said the company was “particularly pleased to see a high engagement score, because that tells us we are sharing the things our stakeholders want to hear and that our content resonates with them enough to take action by liking, sharing or leaving us a comment”.
When asked what the company had been doing in the digital space to get to this position, it said that both Johnson & Johnson and its Janssen unit have “long recognised the importance of digital media and the opportunities to enhance communication”.
The spokesman went on: “Our intent with our social media channels is to show people who we are and what we value as a company. We offer news and information, we share stories, we answer questions, and we hear feedback from our stakeholders.”
The spokesman points that the firm doesn’t spend all of its time talking about its products on corporate social channels, something which can irk many users of social media when following a pharma company.
It says that instead the content is “more about social good, health and wellness, philanthropy, parenting and family, sustainability, and our history”. The intent, the spokesman says, isn’t to sell products. “It’s to show up where people want to talk to us and to add to the conversation”.
The rise of the ePatient
One of the elements that has seen J&J rise through the ranks to take the top spot is its understanding of the ‘ePatient’ – a digitally engaged, often young person who generally has a chronic disease and is using the likes of Twitter, Facebook and blogging to understand more about their disorder and treatments, whilst also sharing their experiences of living with a condition.
Johnson & Johnson said that it recognises the growing importance of ‘empowered and “connected” patients’.
It also believes that social media has enabled “rapid assimilation of insights and outcomes” that have directly influenced the practice of medicine at every stage of the patient journey as well as doctor’s expertise.
“Patients and their caregivers are becoming more empowered, seeking authenticity and co-creation of solutions about their health. An emerging and evolving discipline, social media has demonstrable outputs – from shortening the time to arrive, to condition diagnosis, to informing a treatment decision, improving compliance and adherence and generating disease insights that are beginning to influence the direction of medical research.”
It says that its aspiration as a company is to help people around the world live longer, healthier, happier lives. “We see the growing importance of social media as a way to help fulfil this aspiration by helping patients find information, connect with resources and experts, and find communities to support their healthcare needs.”
Drug adherence
One way it is doing this is by using the recently launched Care4Today Mobile Health Manager, a free mobile platform and website designed to help people stay on schedule with their medications.
The programme was recently rated the number one ‘Health & Fitness’ app in Apple’s iTunes store, according to the firm. It adds that the app includes an ‘important social feature’ for caregiver that allows them to link family members to their account and monitor medication adherence for their loved ones.
The platform is currently only available in the US but the firm told Pharmafile that it is slated for launch in the UK this spring.
Whilst being praised for its digital engagement, the company is not planning to rest on its laurels.
J&J concluded to Pharmafile by saying that social media will continue to be an important way for it to connect with its stakeholders, adding that it will ‘enhance and expand our presence’ wherever it needs to in order to meet the needs of its stakeholders, as well as its business goals.
Ben Adams
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