Surprised to read that title?  Think I’ve finally gone off the deep end (it’s been a long time coming after all)?  I’ve been spending so much time discussing how social media depends on personal interactions, why would I advocate for ignoring the consumer during a social media engagement?  Common wisdom suggests that you should listen, respond and interact with the consumer to provide a personal brand experience and to cultivate brand loyalists.  Surely, ignoring the consumer isn’t the way to go about building brand loyalty—is it?

Glad you asked.

Tell me: who is the consumer?  Is it me, you or the guy in the cube next to you?  Go ahead; I’ll wait while you ponder the answer to that question.  The reason you are struggling for a response is because “the consumer” doesn’t exist.  The consumer is a statistical body that points out buying trends, tendencies and behaviors among a group of people.  The consumer is an entity that is extremely important to the advertising industry because it highlights how to reach the most people possible with a single message.  Consumers are what motivate companies like Budweiser to buy ad spots on channels like ESPN during football games.  Because the consumer is a statistical entity, it is utterly useless when it comes to social media.

My advice to pharmaceutical companies seeking to engage in social media: forget about the consumer; focus on the customer (in this case, the patient).  Social media at its core is relationship marketing.  Relationship marketing is predicated on forming 1:1 relationships with customers and engaging in meaningful conversations.  The 1:1 aspect of social media makes dealing with the statistical body that is the consumer nearly impossible.

Marketing programs that are focused on the consumer are inherently set up to hit as many eyeballs as possible.  It falls squarely into the realm of traditional marketing techniques.  A social media engagement that focuses on the supposed needs of the consumer is doomed to fail because it sets the expectation that a blanket message is appropriate.  That won’t fly in any social media circle and it certainly won’t fly when you are dealing with people’s health.  Focusing on the consumer is the type of thinking that breeds lazy approaches to PR and social media (think spamming reporters, leaving the same comment in 55 different locations, mass blasting a group of bloggers with the same pitch).

In the case of healthcare, patients are on social networks for a unique experience.  It appeals to such a large number of people because each individual gets a different experience.  Shaping your engagement based on “the consumer” stomps out that aspect.  Pharmaceutical companies need to focus on the customer/patient.  This brings social media down to the individual level and provides a greater understanding of what is unique about each individual.

Health is highly personal, social media should be too.