Social Media Listening and Monitoring for Pharmaceutical Companies

There are tons of things to do in digital marketing to make people know about a company, but many people skip the most important part of social media marketing. It’s social listening and monitoring. Here we discuss what are those two terms and what is the difference between them.

What Is Listening?

Social Listening is the process in social media marketing of extracting information from social media of a brand or company to analyze it then, act upon the insights. It involves collecting information about a brand’s direct mentions, discussions based on related keywords, competitors, etc.

This is done using social listening tools that collect all the data on a platform which makes it clear and accessible for use. 

What Is Monitoring?

Social monitoring is more of a reactive process where the customers reach out to the account first, then the social representative interacts with those customers to solve a problem or answer a question. After this, the role of social listening starts.

What’s the Difference Between Social Monitoring and Social Listening?

Even though social listening and social monitoring are used interchangeably, they mean different things.

Social media monitoring is a short-term solution, a reactive process that aims to respond to customers efficiently. 

Social listening, on the other hand, is a long-term solution, a proactive process, uses those interactions to get actionable insights then build a strategy based on it.

Why Pharma Is One of The Top Sectors That Need Listening and Monitoring

Due to the many regulations that are put on digital marketing for pharmaceutical companies while marketing their brands, they can come across many challenges managing their social media. These challenges include:

• Rumors about a brand
• Myths about a health issue
• Frustrated customers
• Increased customers’ expectations. 
• Increase in the self-medication

Read Digital Marketing For Pharma…Opportunities And Challenges

Listening Is Not Only for The Brand

A brand might want to gather information about a specific topic, for instance, the therapeutic areas, what people say about that condition which will later help to set a strategy talking about this therapeutic area, product positioning and eventually increasing sales.

Read The Best Digital Agency For Pharmaceutical Companies

Effect of Rumors on Sales of Pharma Products

Like said, bad news travels fast. If you’ve been on social media for a while following or managing medical pages, you’ve probably come across the many rumors that are been said on a pharmaceutical product and how it might be difficult to manage those rumors and change the audience’s minds about it. 

These rumors can affect the bottom-line of a company and if resolved immediately can hurt a brand’s reputation for a long time. This is a case where the role of social monitoring and social listening becomes critical. 

Social monitoring and social listening can help detect a problem before it happens. When a rumor is detected through social mentions, a social media team can start as early as possible to nip it in the bud. 

Effect of Misconceptions on The Healthcare Sector in General and on Pharma Accordingly

Another thing is the misconceptions that show up about a disease or a product. Social media is a double-edged weapon since news can travel fast and it can be difficult to reverse these misconceptions. This requires us to detect it as early as possible and take action to fix it.

Do you need help with social listening and social monitoring? Contact one of our team members now!