By Dan Bobear (@dbobear)

For the last 12 years Beloit College has released the Beloit College Mindset List, a compilation of cultural touchstones that shape the lives of people entering college this fall. Born in 1992, these millennials or Gen Y-ers represent both present and future prescription and OTC pharmaceutical consumers. Every generation has unique characteristics, but for the class of 2014 who have never used a phone with a spiral cord and find e-mail too slow, their overall consumer and personal behaviors are quite different from those of previous generations. For pharma, this means rethinking the marketing strategy to tap into this demographic and build lifelong customer loyalty.

How is this generation different? For one thing, today’s young people are living much of their lives online through social networks and chat rooms. They view their mobile devices and other communication technology as an extension of their online lives – able to access their social networks from wherever they are.

Audience segmentation and targeted marketing is nothing new; pharmaceutical companies divide their audiences through such criteria as demographic, lifestyle, disease type, medication usage, etc. However, the youth market is often overlooked when it comes to direct-to-consumer (DTC) drug information, other than warnings about abuse and just say no campaigns. It’s important to recognize that today’s young adults are empowered in ways previous generations were not and pharma companies need to begin marketing to their future customers now.

Previously, reaching this demographic has been achieved largely through indirect contact – targeting young adults through their mothers in family and parenting magazines. When doctors prescribed medications, parents were instrumental in influencing their children – regardless of age – to follow doctor’s orders. However, that model is now obsolete as today’s youth is more empowered, information savvy, confident in their choices and overall, more educated than any previous generation.

To raise awareness and reach today’s incoming college freshman while building customers for life, pharma companies should recognize the following:

Young adults are social consumers who trust their network. Social dialogue is a key element in how the younger generation gets and validates information. They are more likely to trust their peers and if marketers want to reach them, they need to find authentic means of inserting brand messages into social conversations. Then, extending that reach relies on identifying individuals who are considered “influencers,” and encouraging them to generate buzz through their networks of friends.

Research shows that millennials are on track to be the most educated generation in history. These “knowledge consumers” are far less likely to accept information on face value. Instead they expect rationale and justification. Pharma needs to acknowledge this and when talking to young adults, prepare to provide education around what specific medications do, how they work, why they are important and what consumers can expect from the brand or company.

Passive consumption is a thing of the past. While brochures and product inserts might work for older consumers, younger people are used to interacting with information through video games, handheld devices, mobile texting, instant messaging and so on. Driving brand engagement is contingent on developing and promoting interactive communications to get people involved in their own health care.

Instant gratification is essential. Phone conversations and e-mail is much too slow for today’s incoming college freshman. Empowered to get information from wherever they are either through peer relations or online, the want-it-now-get-it-now generation expects information at their fingertips. Create engaging websites, portals, communities and credible brand ambassadors who can deliver on this expectation. Pharma companies should focus on bringing online content to mobile devices, enabling people to gain ready access to information.

Customers of the future are used to actively participating and collaborating with brands while relying on each other to discover new products, medicines and treatments. To engage college freshman and build customers for life, pharma needs to participate socially and find new ways to become part of this age group’s brand rituals.

By Sven Larsen (@zemoga)

The average American logs about 60 hours a month online, and spends one-third of that time on social networks and playing games, according to data from recent Neilsen surveys. By extrapolation, that means the average American is spending 2 hours a day online, and 40 minutes of that is with social networks and games.

I think most of you would agree that that’s a very reasonable estimate. It might even sound low. But when you begin adding the numbers up, it does get startling. Even just 40 minutes a day is more than ten days a year. This is not watching television, reading email, instant messaging, searching, or even watching YouTube, but just specifically using social networks and playing online games.

Ten days a year on Farmville? Couldn’t you grow real crops in about as much time? Well, you can use these numbers to bemoan the state of the world today, if you like. And many people do. What a waste, what a sign of intellectual decline, how spoiled we are…. You’ve heard the complaints.

However, you could also choose to look at the situation differently. Consider the concept of “cognitive surplus” coined by author Clay Sharkey. The point is, he says, that we in the developed world have this free time. That’s neither good nor bad, but fact of life.

The open question is figuring out what’s to be done with it. The great example of free time spent online to a purpose is, of course, Wikipedia, which was developed in 100 million hours. Check out this great visualization comparing that amount to our annual TV-watching time, for some perspective. It sounds like a lot of hours, but it’s not.

So, how can you use cognitive surplus to your advantage at work? You know your colleagues and staff spend time online at work when they are not working. Is there a way to harness that to everyone’s benefit? Perhaps there is.

The keys are, to make the project mentally engaging, and to make the goals enjoyable to work towards.

Think of a project analogous to the SETI@home project, which has worked for over a decade, using spare computing power of volunteers around the world to search for intelligent life transmissions from throughout the universe. Except you don’t want people’s spare bandwidth or processor speed – you want their brainpower.

You always hear that keeping a question in the back of your mind will give your subconscious time to work on it. This is why you often get an answer to a problem that had stumped you while you’re getting ready for work the next day. While you’re not thinking of anything in particular, suddenly the right answer will pop into your head.

Your company has hired people, one assumes, for their intelligence. Why keep them so siloed?

Here’s an idea. Post two Top 10 lists: one of the biggest recent accomplishments, and one of the most important current questions to answer. Everything can be fair game, from sales, to HR, and everything in between.

“Reps increased physician calls by 12% year-over-year” and “employee cafeteria meals now post nutrition facts” – both are important improvements in how the business is run. “Our biggest product is losing patent protection next year” and “employees are proud of their department but nobody understands what R&D does” – both of these are questions worth answering. Anything that’s legally able to be disclosed should be.

Make them visible – on the intranet, in break rooms – and, here’s the important part, make it easy, almost required, to provide answers.

Then, start harvesting the solutions. Hold meetings of randomly selected employees; reinstate the old “suggestion box” concept. Get people talking about the topics for the quarter, and start listening to the answers.

Good ideas come from unexpected sources. Honey Bunches of Oats was created by a Post Cereals employee’s 18-year-old daughter. Post-Its were some leftover paste stuck to a hymnal bookmark. Einstein, of course, developed the theory of relativity in his spare time.

Don’t wait for your colleagues to think of great things. Help them out by putting the questions in front of them and helping them percolate.

Videos are a great medium to connect with customers and engage them in your brand. According to a study by the University Of Pennsylvania Wharton School Of Business, prospects are 72 percent more likely to purchase a product or service when video is used. That’s because when people view a video, they gain a greater understanding of the subject or product.

If you’re considering producing a marketing video, chances are your intent is to have it go viral a la the Old Spice Guy. Since its launch last February, the “Man Your Man Could Smell Like” campaign has received 1.5 billion impressions, including 130 million video views. However, it’s important to note that the company and their production team worked hard to make it happen. Rather than a video produced in isolation and released in hope of  a viral effect, the campaign included TV spots, print ads, and online display ads, as well as social media.

Research by eMarketer shows 66.7 percent of the 147.5 million U.S. internet users watch video online monthly. By 2014, eMarketer estimates that number will rise to 77 percent of internet users (193.1 million people).

Pharma has joined the video bandwagon as well. Search YouTube and you’ll find commercials, keynote speeches, corporate sponsorship and patient care videos from Pfizer, Merck, Novartis, Abbott and others.

Yet for pharma, the viral phenomenon has yet to take hold. Truth be told, there is no magic formula for getting a video to go viral. If there was, there would be a lot more people successful at doing it. That’s because viral is not a strategy; it is an outcome.

How can pharma increase its chances of producing a video that raises brand awareness, achieves marketing objectives such as increasing product sales and has a shot at going viral?

Make it matter – Size doesn’t matter much when it comes to videos that garner the most attention. Some studies say the most successful videos are more than a minute long. Others advise keeping clips under half a minute – even less if the intent is for users to view content on their mobile device. Experts agree that producing a video that is engaging is more important than video length in driving people to share content.

Optimize online video content – Insert keywords into the filenames of videos on your site and employ advanced tactics like writing keyword-rich captions, descriptions and annotations or creating online video libraries. This will help search engines find your videos.

Engage the social networks – The time spent visiting social media sites now exceeds the time people spend emailing. Post videos on YouTube, Google Video, Facebook, Digg, blogs, etc. and embed them into your company site. In addition to sharing content, encourage individuals to pass the video and marketing messages on to others, extending the message’s reach and influence. For example, when posting a video link on Twitter, ask followers to retweet the content. Also, don’t forget about your friends. Ask everyone you know to watch the video and share it with their network.

Make it personal – The purpose of a video is to make a connection. The most successful global viral interactive film, produced for Radiotjänst, Sweden’s public TV and Radio, enabled people to put their likeness or a friend or family member into a video clip, creating millions of personal films (sound familiar, Old Spice?). Since the launch of “The Hero” campaign on November 16^th 2009 through February 2010, the site has had a total of 26.1 million visits with 17.9 million unique visitors and 66 million page views in 230 countries.

Bring on the babies! – I once worked with a marketer who said you can never go wrong with attractive men and women, puppies and children. Certainly you remember the late 90s phenomena of the dancing baby? Having a sense of humor can also make the difference between a video that lays stagnant and one that gets passed among friends. Who doesn’t like a good laugh?

Provide valuable information – Mayo Clinic in Rochester has achieved attention for its videos, and supports their campaigns using Twitter, Facebook, and their blog – making them easy to share. What makes their videos different – besides the really great content – is that they are shot by patients, establishing an authentic voice and providing a depth of information that patients cannot get anywhere else.

While pharma faces some unique challenges when it comes to producing video content – regulatory requirements make it hard to have a sense of humor or take a light approach to serious subject matter – content is still king. By producing high quality videos that can be found and shared by others, pharma can build a community of followers and use video to attract attention and grow their brand.

By Guy Mastrion (@gmastrion)

Across all industries, people are using new technologies, tactics and communication mediums to connect with customers and accelerate business momentum. What qualities do other industries possess that can be beneficial to pharma?

Retail – Think Outside the Store

Retail has broken free from brick-and-mortar establishments and catalog shopping to include social media, online and mobile communications to attract customers and motivate them to buy. These trends are applicable to pharma, too. If you’re stuck on launching in-office tent cards and the same old promotions, chances are, you’ll get the same results you’ve always gotten. Instead, create some excitement by interacting with patients and health care professionals using new interactive mediums and get them engaged in your product or services.

Conducting an in-store event at the neighborhood CVS offering customers free blood pressure or cholesterol screening? Consider creating an opt-in mobile phone campaign that alerts individuals to these happenings. Build excitement by pulsing out valuable information and while you’re at it, supply them with a coupon on their mobile device. Who doesn’t love convenience AND a good bargain?

Food & Beverage Industry – Supplying the Full Spectrum of Consumer Needs

Lo-cal, low-carb, gluten-free, made with natural ingredients or loaded with extra cheese – whatever you fancy, chances are you can find a product to whet your whistle from one of your favourite brands. Food and beverage vendors appeal to the senses – whether that’s taste, touch, smell or packaging – and whatever the latest trend is, they provide a full spectrum of options when appealing to their consumer.

Likewise, pharma should forge deeper relationships with its target customers, encompassing the full spectrum of care. Marketing a diabetes drug? Go beyond product details and empower consumers with knowledge about diet and lifestyle so they get the most benefit from your relationship while achieving optimal health.

Leisure and Hospitality Industry – Experience-based Differentiation

Experience matters, especially in today’s economy and in an environment where choices abound. Leisure and hospitality companies that harness the art of delivering an outstanding experience are able to soar beyond customer’s expectations, differentiate their brand, raise awareness and build customer loyalty. Attention to detail and the right technology from always-on access to guest reservation systems to equipping public spaces and guest rooms with the latest electronics are some of the ways these companies are making people feel good while delivering on the promise of exceptional experience.

For pharma companies, it’s important to communicate with health care professionals and invest in strengthening those bonds, but it’s also critical to connect with patients – the end customer – and provide the right customer experience. Our knowledge-based society gives patients more power to educate themselves, request prescriptions and have a greater say in their own health care. Whether it’s a sales rep meeting with a physician or a consumer at-shelf choosing between one OTC drug or another, give them a reason to understand why your product is the choice most likely to suit their needs and deliver the best experience possible.

Financial Services Industry – Have an Eye on the Future and Educate the Workforce

The financial services industry is always in a state of continuous change, facing new regulations and changing compliance requirements. While a constant state of flux is de rigueur, financial services firms also require an infrastructure of knowledge-worker talent. Typically, financial downturns are the time when companies get lax on training and development of their workforce. However, those financial services firms with an eye on the future realize this is not a time to rest on their laurels; successful organizations empower their people to amass new skills.

As pharma companies innovate for the present and the future, they need to continue to invest in educating their workforce. Similar to financial services, the pharmaceutical industry offers a steadily evolving business landscape as manufacturing processes chance, new drugs are discovered and lower-cost generic drugs enter the market.  To take advantage of new opportunities and to grow and thrive, companies need to recruit qualified individuals and get them to stay. By investing in their workforce, defining career paths and providing coaching so employees develop new skills and competencies, pharmaceutical companies can keep an eye on the future and succeed amidst change.

By learning from other industries, pharma companies can increase the impact of their marketing efforts, stimulate innovation, and discover new ways to provide care. The wealth of lessons abounds – what are you doing with it?

By Dan Bobear (@dbobear)

Now that AstraZeneca’s experimental blood thinner Brilinta has been given the green light by an advisory committee of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, they need to prepare for the next hurdle they face: usurping category leader, Plavix, which is slated for generic availability sometime next year.

Most critical: changing physician prescribing behavior.

The lessons coming out of the Brilinta approval process are a key for marketers. Like the study that showed Brilinta’s less favorable results in the U.S., compared to the entire 18,000+ international population of patients studied, what works in one place may not work in another.

What should AstraZeneca (and every marketer) be thinking about?

Location-based promotional activity – You can have the right message but in the wrong place. With the effectiveness in U.S. participants in question, the company needs to address that concern, giving patients and physicians confidence in the drug as an appropriate course of treatment. Traditional marketing vehicles, social media, conference exhibits and direct mail pieces combined with insight gathered through the CRM system will ensure the right message is delivered to the right audience at the right time.

Creating a positive brand image – This article references a poll that showed that 75 percent of physicians were prescribing Plavix for a year or more. For Brilinta to successfully penetrate the market, they will likely need to break physician behavior of prescribing a medication out of habit. Reaching an increasing number of doctors with no-call policies, as well as a consumer audience, will require a multi-channel approach, especially when a low-cost generic option is available. Where to focus?  For doctors, the brand needs to communicate the safety and efficacy of the drug. Patients also need to understand the advantages they will gain through treatment.

Interacting directly with patients – Patients who request a drug, provided they are a candidate for it, are likely to get it. Direct-to-consumer messaging is no longer limited to print and broadcast advertising and educational resources. Today’s patients head online and research treatment options across a variety of sources. Community forums enable patients to get information from other users, medical professionals, and company-sponsored materials. While changing physician prescribing behavior is an imperative, it’s also important to create demand among appropriate patients.

Incorporating social media – Discussion groups, You Tube videos, Twitter, and blogs as well as improved search engine optimization can increase brand awareness and create a positive connection with the target community. Facebook has become an extremely important referral source to drive people to a company’s website. There are brand pages, disease awareness groups and fans or followers that can carry the message to a larger audience. AstraZeneca has taken a deliberate but dedicated approach to social media, but to shift the opinion of doctors and patients, they will need to produce social content that is a little less sterile and a lot more engaging.

The September 16 decision looks favorable. How do you see this changing the competitive landscape? What do you think Brilinta needs to achieve peak sales?

This year, it’s all about the customer at the 5^th annual eyeforpharma eCommunications and Online Marketing Summit!

Come join the many interesting and inspiring people from the healthcare industry November 8 and 9, 2010 at Boston’s Hyatt Harborside and learn what the most forward-thinking leaders in the industry are doing. The action-packed schedule includes opportunities to discover a broad range of perspectives from industry leaders and real-world success stories in addition to fantastic networking opportunities.

The two-day event will feature case studies on how to launch a branded app or what SEO strategy to adopt for the best ROI. The schedule is brimming with dynamic presentations from more than 20 speakers on future trends, integrating online and offline strategies, getting more mileage from your website and more. Exchange ideas and thoughts on the complexity of digital marketing solutions for the pharma industry with peers and industry luminaries from pharma, biotech, medical devices and other regulated industries.

The conference kicks off on Monday, November 8 and session titles include:

• Get clarity in the chaos: An overall perspective
• What makes your customer tick? Storytelling as a key weapon in your arsenal
• Embrace open communication and engagement with customers in a regulated industry: a banking perspective
• The evolution of physician behavior: Implications for new digital physician access models
• Cover all your bases: Integrate online and offline tactics
• Mobile: A wonderland for your brand
• Direct To Consumer 2.0: How to zig when everyone else is sagging
• Social Media in Corporate Communications vs. Brand Communications
• eSampling: Bright future or false dawn?

…and more!

This year’s dynamic speakers will offer a range of perspectives and an overarching look at what can be achieved with any budget in any part of the industry. Speakers include:

• David Stern, Executive Vice President, EMD Serono
• Walter Christensen, Senior Vice President, Neurometrix
• Cynthia North, Consumer Marketing, Director, Bayer
• Shwen Gwee, Digital Strategy and Social Media Lead, Vertex Pharmaceuticals
• Christine Coyne, Senior Director, Adult Endocrinology, Endo Pharma
• Paul Butcher, Director of Communications, Citi
• Preeti Pinto, Executive Director, Promotional Regulatory Affairs, AstraZeneca
• Harold Johns, Manager, Global Web Solutions, Worldwide Commercial Pharmaceutical IT, Johnson & Johnson
• Cynthia North, Consumer Marketing Director, Bayer
• Paul Kang, Director/Team Leader, Pfizer

For a full list of speakers, click here.

Pixels & Pills will be on-site covering the event and bringing you the news you can use – be sure to stop by and say hello! Readers of our blog can also get $400 off the registration fee with exclusive P&P discount code “PIX+PIL”!

This is a pharma event you don’t want to miss! For more information, visit http://www.eyeforpharma.com/ecomm.

By Jason Brandt (@Jasondmg3)

GlaxoSmithKline has decided to change the way they pay bonuses to their sales representatives, tying the amount of the bonuses to the rep’s efficacy at customer service, not just the sales figures of the doctors they’re responsible for seeing. (Read more about it here.)

Are you thinking this way too?

“What are you talking about?” you’re thinking, “I don’t have a sales force to motivate – actually, I don’t run any kind of customer-facing team at all.”

Doesn’t matter.

GSK is changing their structure so that they can be seen by their customers less as salespeople and more as educators. They know that’s what their clientele really wants. Customers don’t want to spend their valuable time being cajoled into using a product; they want to spend that time acquiring useful information that can help them do their own jobs better.

That’s a sentence that’s true for all of customers and clients, no matter who or where they are.

Here’s an exercise.

Step 1: What are you trying to sell? Write the answer to that question down. Then put a big #2 in front of it.

Step 2: What would help your customers do their jobs better? Make as long of a list as you can. Put a big #1 over it. And then spend all the time that it takes figuring out how you can be responsible for giving them as many of those things as possible.

You’re going to say that you can’t do many of those things, that nobody can do many of those things, that many of those things are outside your capabilities, that some of those things are directly counterproductive to your success. But there’s one answer for all of those arguments, and it is: fewer than you think.

Step 3: Set up a giant brainstorm with all of your people. Not the kind that you’ve probably become used to throughout your career. In these sessions, everyone has agreed upon the business goals and objectives, and the goal is to come up ways that you can – let’s call a spade a spade – trick or placate or otherwise get people to behave the way you want so that you can meet those objectives.

Never, never have one of those sessions again. Figure out who you want to affect. Then figure out what would make their lives better. Then, and yes this is the hard part, figure out how to do that for them.

Here’s an example.

If your end users are patients with diabetes, they want to not have diabetes, you might flippantly say. And you can’t magically cure them – of course, no, you can’t. But in not wanting to have diabetes, what those patients probably really want is to be able to live like anyone else. And to do that they’d like to be able to understand and predict their disease better. And to do that they could really use a new method of entering in all of their variables and the results, one that’s friendly, not time-consuming, not confusing, easily portable, discreet, and effective at combining everything in one place.

So if you sell meters or pumps or strips or insulin – why aren’t you making yourself the company that gives them that solution, along with your other products to help them manage their disease?

Consider how you can make the decision of whether you’re succeeding or failing include more measurement of how much you’ve improved your customers’ lives.

By Kimberly Reyes (@CommDuCoeur)

Even if you are the most graphic of all designers, even if you are the most chemical of all researchers, you write at work.  You write reports, you write PowerPoint slides, you write emails, you write Post-It notes. You write staff reviews.  You write, and you tell the world about yourself every time you do it.

But is what you write illuminating and informative – or is it more likely to require a Rosetta Stone, a dictionary, and a mind reader?

Some people seem to think that the more words they use, the smarter they look.  In our experience, these people are either six months out of college and used to padding word counts – or they’re senior executives nobody has the nerve to edit anymore.  But in either case, it doesn’t work.  When you talk to sound smart, you end up proving the opposite.  When you talk to make yourself understood as quickly and easily as possible – that’s when you’re getting somewhere.

As a creative writer myself, the same problem pops up often in peer review groups: some people write for themselves, not their audiences.  Across all industries, these people are usually incredibly smart, and work on very specific and complicated projects.  These people, due to their brains and projects, are often expected to explain what they’ve done and why it matters.  And that’s where they shoot themselves in the foot, because their writing doesn’t serve their valuable, interesting work.

But particularly in medicine, making yourself understood does more than help your career – it saves lives.

A new federal program is working to improve that – both improving the literacy of the public, and the communication abilities of healthcare professionals.  The Health Literacy Action Plan hopes to raise healthcare standards, lower costs and inform everyone.

Why does it matter so much?  Well, as chair of the department of health policy of George Washington University Medical Center, Sara Rosenbaum is quoted as saying in the above-linked Wall Street Journal article, “People who have only limited ability to understand their choices in health care are more likely to have serious health problems and more likely to have their treatment delayed, which leads to higher costs.”

Clarity is, in healthcare, very literally a matter of life and death.

However, in an interesting new development, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s OpenNotes project is experimenting with giving 25,000 patients direct access to their physicians’ notes about their visits.  Is this the next logical step toward more clear patient-professional communication?  It may be, but it will certainly require a shift in thinking.  Many physicians think of their notes as proprietary, private, and easily misunderstood by less specialized readers – even the subjects discussed in the notes themselves.

Consider how you can improve the clarity of your communications with your colleagues, with your clients, with your business prospects.

Moreover, consider how a project like the OpenNotes project would work in your own business.  What parts of your business do you keep behind the scenes?  Why?  What would happen if you opened them up?

By Todd LaRoche (@toddlaroche)

Whether you’re just dabbling in social media or if blogging, posting, friending and following are already old hat, your people skills can make or break your social media success. In the boardroom or on discussion boards and social media sites, proper business etiquette can be a key differentiator that delivers a competitive advantage.

As more people use social media to build their careers, promote their business and strengthen their reputation, being mindful of offline social skills and applying them to your online presence can protect your personal and professional brand. If your objective is to use social media to interact and develop relationships, these considerations will help you be a more effective and influential community member.

Enter gracefully. Whether you’re joining a discussion group on LinkedIn or following your prospects on Twitter, avoid coming in gangbusters. Take the time to eavesdrop on the conversation before diving right in. Also, while it’s ok to promote your knowledge, avoid blatantly promoting your company, blog or products unless you have an already established relationship or if the information is relevant to the current conversation. To boost credibility, consider promoting other people, too. Social media is a great tool for engagement, but conversations require two-way participation.

Take time to know your audience. If you want to communicate effectively, measure your audiences’ interests and provide information that has value. As you get to know your followers, give back to show them you’re listening to their contributions. If you read a great blog post, either leave a comment or pass it along using StumbleUpon, Delicious or via a shout out on Twitter.

Inform customers, prospects, colleagues and others about your interests. Use your “about us” section or profile to communicate who you are interested in connecting with. A critical mistake many organizations make is putting too much emphasis on their number of followers or friends. While it’s great to attract lots of eyeballs, attracting your key audience is more likely to yield the business results you want.

Quarreling is not ok. What happens online stays online. That’s why it’s important to consider your actions and ensure your participation paints you in the most positive light. It’s ok to address negative feedback, but don’t get into flame wars or use profanity. Criticism should be thoughtful and constructive. When monitoring your own community or reputation, avoid insults and snark and have a strategy for how you’ll respond to naysayers.

Understand who is following or friending you. Did your mother ever warn you that you’d be judged by the company you keep? The same is true of your social circle. Check out the people who want to follow you or be your friend and make sure that they will be a positive influence on your online reputation.

Edit yourself. Too much information (TMI) is never a good thing. Channel your internal editor and avoid over-posting mundane information. Providing some personal details adds dimension to your online persona, but constant griping or sharing that you had pastrami on rye for the third time in a week may cause you to lose followers or irritate those that stick around.

Tell enough about yourself to pique other’s interest. Are you a thought leader? A member of a particular community or industry? Located in a particular geographic region? Providing enough information lets people know who you are, what interests you have in common and why they should pay attention to what you have to say. Make sure your profile is complete on each of the social networks that you participate in and include a picture to humanize the relationship. After all, social media is supposed to be about social interaction.

Transparency is essential. Companies that demonstrate transparent communication are seen as credible, trustworthy and are more likely to build more meaningful relationships. Disclose your connection to your organization when participating on social platforms, create authentic messages, follow industry guidelines and be sure to get the tone right when communicating with others.

Engaging people requires a personality. The simple truth of social media is that people interact with people, not companies. It’s prudent to define your corporate positioning and brand image, but don’t forsake the importance of being personable. Be friendly and show the human side of your company.

Online relationships can translate to real world success. By following social etiquette rules regardless of where you operate, you’ll build better relationships and strengthen your reputation.

Photo courtesy of Fast Company

By Sven Larsen (@zemoga)

A recent survey investigated physicians’ use of smartphones, and how it fits in to their detailing preferences. Here are some of the top findings:

1. The majority of doctors own smartphones.
2. While just about all of them still permit detailing rep visits, the numbers are dropping.
3. And almost a fifth now use their smartphones for e-detailing. That’s age-independent: they’re doing it whether you’re talking about an older physician or a younger one.

You can see the Pharmalot coverage of the survey here and the original press release here, but I know you’re busy, so I’ll cut to the chase of what this all means.

Here’s the point. If doctors purchase your product, and you aren’t developing smartphone apps to sell it to them, you’re failing.

It’s as simple as that.

The handheld communications device most stereotypically associated with physicians is the pager. It’s still common, especially with hospital-based physicians, but increasingly, it’s becoming a historical image. Your doctor is spending his or her time with a Blackberry, a Droid or an iPhone, not a plastic matchbook with ten LED numbers on the edge.

Physicians have adopted smartphone technology. We have to stop talking about that in the future tense, or as if it’s an eventual possibility. We have to stop doing doctors a disservice and treating them as if they haven’t had the time or the brainpower to pick up on what the rest of us have.

You need to think about the possibilities. These are the statistics as they stand now – with the paucity of physician-specific information available to them. Sit and imagine all of your physician outreach translated to smartphone apps. How much more would physicians use their phones then, with your new offerings adding that much more utility to their experience?

In another article on the survey findings, the founder of the surveying company noted that, “For a lot of doctors, they have the smartphone, but it’s not integrated with anything.”

This is a major drawback. It is also a massive opportunity.

How can physicians’ smartphones be better integrated? Let’s brainstorm for a moment.

Why can’t they write prescriptions on them?
Why can’t they communicate securely with patients through them?
Why can’t they call up complete charts on them?
Why can’t they order tests with them?
Why can’t they have apps for the PDR, the Merck Manual, and Taber’s?

Some of these are possible. Some aren’t possible yet. But we’re teetering on the edge of an ocean of possibilities – and if you can be the one to provide these options, to make physicians’ smartphones that much smarter – just imagine how indispensable you’ll become.