Gardasil and Twitter Moms: No dialogue = no strategy
So you think that social media cant hurt your brand and that people are not using social media to talk about healthcare? Well then, you obviously have not seen Twitter Moms and the controversy around Gardasil. Here, for example, is a quote WOW! I was basically ready to get my kids the vaccine within the next year. I have no problem with it on the level of morals. But I just looked up the medical side of the controversy, and as much as I wish I felt it were safe, I just can't be sure. So, I'll be waiting to get my daughters vaccinated until there's more safety reliability in the vaccine itself. Still another person writes I could care less about the "morality" arguments - I have concerns about the *safety* of this vaccine.
Twitter Moms shows the power that a few well connected online people can have over product and healthcare decisions. One woman writes:
The debate itself is quite lively as another women said This is not a cancer vaccine, it is a vaccine to prevent a handful of HPV strains known to develop into Cervical cancer. Women will still need to have regular pap smears and both men and women will continue to need Oral cancer screenings. HPV can also cause Oral cancers in both men and women. All vaccines come with a risk and representing Gardasil as a cancer vaccination might make some parents think that it is safe, when there have been some serious adverse reactions. There is even a lengthy response from a physician trying to explain the risks in plain language.
There are a number of posts from physician on the site but what is really lacking is someone from the brand talking to and engaging these consumers. Obviously this person should be from the medical side of the business and should disclose their relationship with Merck but to stay quiet is only going to let misinformation get out there. Here is what I would do if I were Merck:
1. Have a physician KOL engage consumers on the site.
2. Disclose that in fact the vaccine may NOT be right for everyone and there are risks involved but that there is also a more substantial risk of doing nothing.
3. Lead people to a website and collect the eMail addresses of people who are waiting for more safety information so that they can be informed about new information as it becomes available via ongoing clinical data.
4. Highlight the successes. People like to talk about issues but what about the people who received the vaccine and are doing well?
5. Engage people one at a time with key influencers first.
The risk of ignoring social media can be very costly and pretending like its not there is not a strategy at all.