Over the past few years, it has become increasingly difficult to ignore the rising cultural influence of social media. One of this year’s top movies documents the founding of Facebook; even major news outlets report on recent tweets from Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber; and it’s no longer shocking to catch one of your colleagues posting photos of a recent vacation on his blog during a business meeting.
It may seem like the primary purpose of social media is to create a vast time sink of gossip, romance, and silly games, but platforms like LinkedIn and Twitter also provide numerous opportunities for OINDP specialists to develop new contacts, to keep abreast of developments, and to get timely answers to questions. In the last year or two, a number of suppliers looking to market products and scientists who need technical information have been starting to take advantage of social media.
Linda Batykefer
Linda Batykefer, marketing manager for ChemImage Corporation and Gateway Analytical, which provide spectroscopic imaging equipment and analytical services for OINDP applications, estimates that approximately 20-25% of the industry participates in some sort of social media experience, particularly on business networking site LinkedIn, through blogs, and on Twitter.
Corporate IT policies have been one barrier to greater participation within the industry, according to Batykefer and Paul Kippax of particle size analysis company Malvern, both of whom actively participate in social media on behalf of their respective employers and as individuals, as many companies have blocked access to social networking sites from company computers due to fears of potential misuse. However, as companies begin to realize the potential business value of social media, more are loosening their restrictions, and OINDP specialists who are not participating could potentially miss out on important discussions.
As of December, 2010, LinkedIn claims more than 85 million members in more than 200 countries. While LinkedIn markets itself primarily as a career networking site, it also hosts discussion groups among its members that provide access to expert advice and information.
More than 500 members have joined a discussion group on dry powder inhalers run by Jag Shur of the University of Bath, and more than 325 belong to a group called “Inhalation Specialist.” The AAPS Inhalation and Nasal Technology Focus Group (INTFG) also runs a LinkedIn group, and there are groups devoted to aerosols, cystic fibrosis, drug delivery, particle size analysis, and other topics of interest to OINDP developers.
Recent discussion in the Dry Powder Inhalers group ranges from technical discussion of the role of resistance in DPIs to questions about the availability and market share of various inhaled drugs to businesses announcing partnership opportunities or their planned attendance at DDL 21.
Relatively few of the group members actually participate in the discussions, notes Batykefer; but many more are paying attention and because LinkedIn sends email updates of new discussions to group members, it is possible to follow what is going on without logging in to the site.
While LinkedIn allows OINDP scientists and suppliers from around the world to share technical information at any time without any travel expense, it is unlikely to usurp the role of meetings like RDD or DDL anytime soon, she says. The site has, however, improved her companies’ efficiency at such meetings because they have the ability to introduce themselves to people online prior to the event; when they meet face to face in the exhibition hall, they can get right to the specifics of what the customer needs.
Blogging and microblogging
Twitter, which was launched in mid-2006, now has more than 175 million registered users who “tweet” and/or “follow.” Although usually thought of as a microblogging site that people use to post the minutiae of their lives, Twitter describes itself as “a real-time information network” and points out that, “You don’t have to build a web page to surf the web and you don’t have to tweet to enjoy Twitter.”
Linda Batykefer agrees that keyword searches for information on Twitter can be much more difficult than on LinkedIn, but a number of pharma news outlets tweet, and users can follow them to keep up with the latest developments in the industry.
Paul Kippax
Twitter participants can also follow user-created lists on various topics. The Inhalation list created by Paul Kippax, for example, follows news sources, organizations, and companies that tweet about topics of interest to OINDP developers.
“The media uses Twitter probably just as much as individuals do,” Batykefer notes, “because they are constantly looking for the latest news.” From a business standpoint, that’s very valuable to her companies, she says, because it allows her to engage with editorial and media people. On the other hand, Batykefer and Kippax both agree that individuals probably don’t want to read tweets that simply link to press releases.
Both are exploring ways to engage individual OINDP specialists through Twitter; for example, Gateway recently tweeted about an IPad giveaway at its booth during a recent meeting. “Everyone is still feeling out Twitter to see what it can do,” Batykefer suggests; “We have some ideas for using that medium next year.” Among the ideas are offering special prizes only on Twitter or providing certain information only via tweets.
Malvern has recently created a blog, which, Kippax points out, “gives you something to point to from your Twitter stream” that is of interest to individuals. The blog, he says, creates “much more one-to-one” conversation with readers. The blogger can write much more in depth than on Twitter and in much more personal terms than he would be able to in a magazine article, and the reader can post comments to join in the conversation.
“One of the key advantages of Malvern for people,” Kippax says, “is access to its expertise and to its applications knowledge, so the blog is kind of a natural extension of that.” He cites author Seth Godin’s theory of “tribes” involving the creation of a group of people through social media channels in which a certain amount of trust develops, so that when you are ready to develop something new, you can go out and pose questions to them. The blog will allow Malvern, he says, to get feedback on new techniques in a way that is not possible on Twitter.
“There are only so many labs I can visit where I can talk to people one-on-one,” he says. Although personal visits are preferable, and social media will never replace that kind of interaction, having an online connection with a group can come close and may allow a company to pick up on themes that it might otherwise miss.
Participating in social media via any of these routes, notes Batykefer, also increases the chance that potential customers will find your company online since search engines like Google take social media content into consideration when ranking sites in displays of search results.
Getting involved
For individuals wanting to begin participating in social media, Batykefer recommends first registering for LinkedIn because of the opportunity to take part in the OINDP-related discussion groups, which can lead to networking opportunities and which provide opportunities to pose questions for which they can’t find answers within their own organizations. “It’s a very professional approach,” she assures skeptics; “you won’t get bombarded with sales people, and they protect your information pretty well.”
Kippax suggests spending a little time monitoring various pharma media on Twitter to see what kinds of discussions are going on and which will be useful to you. Businesses wanting to begin a social media campaign should first put together a plan and develop it at a sustainable pace given the number of people available to write content. “As long as you set a predictable period for posting, then you start to get people tuning in;” he says; “The worst thing to do is to tweet three times in a week and then not do anything for the next two weeks.”
