Social Media Monitoring and Analysis: Gain intelligence on brands and researchers, through scientific data and social media

Web scraping softwares, popularly known as listening platforms, are inadequate since they only provide data and no in-depth analysis. The importance, influence and complexity of patient comments merit a strong human intervention from an analysis perspective. That’s where PharmARC Social Media Monitoring and Analysis (SMMA) is pioneering and unique.

PharmARC SMMA completes the loop by feeding the analysis of patient generated content back into the decision making process of pharmaceutical companies.  Such social media analytics can be used in making strategic decisions as they relate to: identifying unmet needs, generating research ideas, brand building, marketing communications, patient engagement, KOL/physician engagement, recruitment to clinical trials, development of patient friendly mobile applications etc.

Needless to say, as we continue to explore Health 2.0, additional areas of application of social media monitoring and analysis will emerge.

PharmARC’s methodology

The ‘WWW’ or World-Wide Web contains an overwhelming amount of patient generated content waiting to be tapped into. While it is important to ensure that nothing is left out, it is also challenging to maintain the required focus and minimize costs by reducing the time spent in filtering. We have solved this problem using a blended approach.

PharmARC follows a unique methodology which is specifically designed to be a near-perfect amalgam of automated data extraction and gathering, and human dependence on analysis and interpretation.

Data Gathering/ API Extraction- Although we occasionally use listening platforms, we prefer not to be entirely dependent on them. Our customised API programs are configured to extract and gather this content directly from social media platforms, whether they are popular social networks such as Facebook, Twitter and YouTube, global or geography-specific disease related forums, blogs, or review and rating websites.  Such an approach allows us to simultaneously maintain relevancy and efficiency.

Contextualization and Refinement- Human intelligence and analytical skills come into play in the contextualization and refinement of the gathered content. Our team composition – individuals with a rare blend of in-depth pharma-knowledge, analytical skills, expertise in social media and digital marketing capabilities – ensure objectivity and accuracy. Our team manually categorizes data, tags relevant data with specific objectives in mind, consolidates the output into structured analysis, and finally, builds a case for decision making on various aspects.  We don’t believe that all these activities can be meaningfully carried out by software or textual analysis tools at the current level of technological advancement.

Human Analysis and Interpretation– The analysis and interpretation of patient generated content focuses on critical parameters related to drugs and treatment such as the side effects of drugs, their efficacy, switchovers between drugs, reasons for switchovers, patient concerns in disease management, cost issues, issues related to drug administration, life style issues, patients’ unmet needs, etc. Such coverage of a multitude of areas ensures that our analytical perspective is comprehensive and insightful.

Recommendations and Actionability - Our final product is extensive and consultative. We ensure that our recommendations are actionable and fit well within the regulatory framework of the pharma industry.  Insights derived from PharmARC’s social media monitoring and analysis can be applied to various strategic activities such as market research, competitive intelligence, brand building, communication, generating research ideas, patient and physician/KOL engagement, mapping patient journeys, modifying clinical trials and developing patient friendly applications.

Strategic implications of PharmARC’s SMMA

Market research– SMMA can help in tracking specific brand related inputs such as side effects, efficacy, switchovers, reasons for switchovers, issues related to drug administration, patient concerns, cost related issues, etc. Identifying unmet needs and understanding how patients manage their disease is also possible using SMMA.

Competitive Intelligence–Tracking sentiments around competing brands for various aspects of disease management as mentioned above helps in identifying areas of differentiation. Such insights can be used in positioning and communication.

Brand building– The information we provide can be used to take up brand awareness initiatives such as online marketing campaigns, community development initiatives, workshops, co-pay programs, webinars, live chats, etc.

Marketing communication– Insights from SMMA can be used as inputs in PR/Corporate communications in order to better engage industry analysts, media reporters and bloggers and influence print and online trade publication positively. Engagement opportunities may include activities around conferences, industry events and trade-shows.

Research ideas– Patient comments point out not only challenges in managing the overall disease but also specific issues related to comorbidities, side effects and compatibility of drug combinations. Potentially, a detailed analysis of such issues may highlights areas of further scientific research implicating on diagnostic procedures or new treatment regimes.

Patient/Physician engagement –Specific social networks such as Twitter help in identifying influential individuals who may or may not be patients, as well as advocacy groups working towards patient rights and increasing awareness. Such Key Social Advocates (KSAs) can be decisive in projecting the image of the company or the brand to the general public. SMMA insights can be used to engage KSAs on a long term and strategic basis. Similarly, KOLs among physician advocates can also be identified.

Patient journeys– Analysis of patient generated content can help in establishing representative patient journeys as they undergo treatment at various stages of the disease. This may be particularly applicable in cases of complex chronic diseases in which patients get treated by various specialists at different healthcare facilities.

Modifying clinical trials– Insights from social media data can be used in modifying Phase IV trials of drugs and designing follow-up studies, diagnostic procedures and treatments guidelines. One can also potentially recruit patients for said clinical trials – patients suitable for specific drug trials can be identified from the online patient pool.

Patient friendly mobile applications– PGC is rich in patients’ drug related opinions. Consolidating such information from a large number of patients over long durations and building analytics around this data can be quite insightful. These analytics can help both patients as well as physicians in making better treatment related decisions. Said analytics can be delivered to mobile screens (smart-phones, tablets and other mobile computing devices) through mobile applications. 

What sets PharmARC SMMA apart?

PharmARC’s Social Media Monitoring and Analysis have four unmatched strengths.

1. Human dependence at every stage guarantees depth and breadth to the analysis. Our reliance on human intelligence also reduces costs and maintains efficiency and accuracy. There is reduced dependence on listening platforms and since data is gathered directly from the source based on specific queries, no time is wasted in tedious filtering.
2. Our extensive experience in pharmaceutical industry, years of experience working with large pharma companies, exposure to various functions in the healthcare ecosystem and coverage of diverse disease areas, uniquely positions us at an advantage.
3.  PharmARC’s ability to extract and gather patient generated content in a wide range of languages covering diverse geographic areas such as the Americas, EU and Asia guarantees insights with regional and global relevance. We offer flexibility in terms of either conducting SMMA based on specific objectives or conducting a comprehensive analysis sans specific objectives. Based on the availability of data, we offer options for frequency of updates, thus customizing the offering to the client’s requirement. We also create a pilot solution to ensure that our client has a clear understanding as to the extent of the content available and the SMMA possibilities of the outlined project.
4. The Social Media Analytics team comprises individuals with an extensive background in pharmaceuticals, deep-rooted connections to social media, comprehensive training in digital media and global exposure.

Contact us to learn more about how Social Media Monitoring and Analysis can help enhance your commercialization efforts.