It’s no secret that social media is the trend of the day in pharmaceutical marketing.  A combination of constant evangelism on the part of social media wingnuts (I mean advocates), an uptick in real-world examples from pharma companies and the FDA public hearing has vaulted social media into the limelight.  Since attaining such prominence, social media seems to have a stranglehold on the marketing discussion (or maybe it’s that whole echo chamber thing I posted about).  But the limelight can be so bright that it causes you to miss other things right before your eyes.

If you haven’t picked up on my thinly veiled metaphor just yet, social media is the bright light in this case.  In recent months, social media has been relegated to shiny object duty.  It’s the marketing tactic of the day being waived before pharma executives at every strategy session to increase patient engagement, raise brand awareness and break into new markets.  That’s a good thing.  The level of conversations that are occurring regarding social media is encouraging.  It indicates that pharmaceutical companies are slowly but surely buying into its potential.  But there is a fine line to walk between realistic potential and hype—we are getting dangerously close to the edge.

Social media enters into the hype zone when it causes otherwise level-headed marketers to write off alternative, viable marketing tactics.  And if they are not written off, they are certainly placed on the backburner.  As an aforementioned wingnut, I believe in the value of social media as much as the next guy.  But social media CANNOT exist in isolation.  It has to be conducted in the context of a larger marketing strategy that includes a broad range of tactics.  I’m a PR guy.  In fact, while I tout the benefits of social media on a regular basis, a large chunk of my work is dedicated to so-called traditional PR.  That’s right, writing press releases, reaching out to editors and forming relationships with the main-stream media.  Can you imagine?

(Warning, here comes a small commercial, bear with me, I think it is relevant).

At my agency, SHIFT Communications, we describe ourselves as a hybrid agency in the sense that we do both traditional PR and social media.  I think that’s crucial.  We do this not so we can sell both services, but because we firmly believe that social media, and traditional PR should happen in concert, not in isolation.

Social media is important.  It will only grow in importance as companies become better at engaging with relevant communities.  But remember, social media should not happen at the expense of the remaining parts of the marketing mix—even traditional PR.

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