My feeling has always been that pharmaceutical marketers have leaned on the regulatory and legal concerns of social media as an excuse for a lack of engagement. Phrases like “my legal team won’t ever approve that” seem to be commonplace. And while legal issues for pharmaceutical social media are important, they are not insurmountable.
The phrase “my legal team won’t ever allow it” is less a commentary on the regulatory environment and more a commentary on the relationship of the communications and legal departments. In other words: the fall back of blaming the legal team is a symptom—the outward expression—of internal strife. A marketing department that is quick to blame the legal team for an inability to execute is really saying: “my company is made up of several distinct factions of people.” That’s a problem.
So forget pharmaceutical social media for a minute and just take an introspective look at your own company. What is your answer to the question: who is my team? In the book, The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable, Patrick Lencioni points out that most managers when asked that question immediately start naming their direct reports. Even when pressed, most managers don’t call out leaders of other teams across the organization. Why is that? Shouldn’t the entire organization ultimately be viewed as one team working toward a common goal? At large organizations with multiple divisions this might be nothing more than a pipe dream, but it’s worth striving for.
This concept has some relevance to pharmaceutical social media. Discussions are often halted at the assumption “it will never get by legal.” Instead of trying to “get things by legal” we should spend more energy on including legal in the process. This tried and true mechanism of halting social media programs is an indication that there is internal dysfunction. Structuring your internal social media team can be a challenge but it’s a crucial step and legal hast to be involved. Next time you have a brainstorm, think about inviting a few individuals from the legal department. Ask for input along the way rather than assuming the answer will be no.
Attorneys are reasonable, smart and creative people. Their jobs are not to halt the creative process of a company. They are paid to protect a company and all of its assets from legal sanctions. The brand image is one of the most important assets to a company so it makes sense that the legal team inspects every minute detail to protect it. But until you start acting as one team and not separate competing forces, chances of a successful social media engagement are almost zero.
Instead of "getting things by legal" pharma marketers should involve legal in the social media process: http://bit.ly/ahBUzP
RT @PRforPharma: Gr8 ideas abt legal in creative process. Easy 2 say "they won"t approve" Get them involved : http://bit.ly/ahBUzP
This is an interesting piece that is relevant to those who work in the marketing/PR departments at big law firms as well. Some law firm marketers might agree that they need to involve the law firm’s partners in the process. But I imagine many more would say that despite their best efforts, the majority of their firm’s lawyers are too busy with billable hours and/or don’t yet understand the connection between social media and business development/law firm reputation. The good news is that much has changed in the past five years in that more attorneys are paying more attention to online reputation and social media than ever before.
@ Rich, thanks for your comment. You are absolutely correct. In an industry where billable hours rule the roost, it’s difficult to get time contributed to something that can’t be directly billed. As a PR professional, this is a dynamic I understand quite intimately. But as you see, this is starting to shift to a point where the connection between online reputation and business development is better understood.
Start involving legal in the creative process instead of as the roadblocks of pharma social media: http://bit.ly/ahBUzP
RT @PRforPharma: Start involving legal in the creative process instead of as the roadblocks of pharma social media: http://bit.ly/ahBUzP
Good pts on lack of engagement RT @PRforPharma: The Dirty Little Secret of Pharma Regulatory and Legal Concerns http://bit.ly/bbKJ7P
'So forget pharma soc med for a minute & just take an introspective look at your own company' | PRforPharma http://ow.ly/2yXP2 #hcsmeu #hcsm
RT @andrewspong: 'So forget pharma soc med for a minute & just take an introspective look at your own company' | PRforPharma http://ow.ly/2yXP2 #hcsmeu #hcsm
RT @andrewspong:'So forget pharma soc med for a minute & just take an introspective look at your own company' http://ow.ly/2yXP2 #hcsm #in
RT @andrewspong: 'So forget pharma soc med for a minute & just take an introspective look at your own company' | PRforPharma http://ow.ly/2yXP2 #hcsmeu #hcsm
It’s hard not to agree to this concept, and it should at least be attempted. However, I’m afraid it overly simplifies a very complicated topic.
@ advocacy99, I don’t disagree that this oversimplifies the concept drastically. It’s tough to do anything but oversimplify in a 400 word blog post. As you say, it’s a complicated topic–one that takes months to get right. However, it is possible and I have seen it done well within my own client base here at SHIFT Communications–both inside and outside of pharma. The main idea is that if you leave legal outside the circle, you are destined to fail.
The Dirty Secret of Pharma Regulatory and Legal Concerns | PRforPharma: So forget pharmaceutical social media for … http://bit.ly/cJcgRb