Opinion

Social media isn't for everyone.

Social media isn't for everyone.

I was recently invited to contribute an article for the November issue of John Mack's Pharma Marketing News. You can read the published story by signing up for the newsletter at http://www.news.pharma-mkting.com. I didn't come up with the article's headline, but I really like it and I think it speaks volumes:

"Measuring & Communicating eSuccess: Strategy First, YouTube Later... Maybe"

In October, I attended the EyeforPharma eMarketing conference in Boston. (I blogged about key findings on my ePharma Rx blog at http://intouchsolutionsdigital.blogspot.com.) There were lots of great speakers, but by far one of my personal favorites was Novo Nordisk's Aaron Uydess. The article in Pharma Marketing News is a review of his presentation.

What I liked about Aaron's approach the most was what the headline explains: social media is not necessarily for everyone. And looking at social media as a single tactic is simply having a tactic without a strategy. Look at your business objectives, strategies, product, and audience first, and THEN decide if YouTube might be right for you. In fact, social media and Web 2.0 should be looked at as something (as appropriate) that is woven throughout other things you do online ... not just on a campaign basis.

It seems so simple. But I see so many marketers fall into the trap where a senior-level decision maker gets excited about YouTube or Facebook and "wants us to figure out how we can get on there." Having a public relations background, that is a little scary to me, because the power of social media can go both ways.

I invite you to check out my review of Uydess' presentation, and to take his sage advice to heart. And next time someone asks you how to get on YouTube, ask them what the strategy is -- and tell them you will be happy to get back to them.