Consumer Healthcare on Social Media Channels

Social is the way forward. With the majority professionals shifting to social media for their everyday needs and information, it is the easiest channel to reach to the end consumer. Use of social media to reach the consumer has transcended its role as an information providing platform to a two way engagement podium. With rising affordability, rate of online networking among users is increasing at an exponential rate, making it easier for various businesses to exploit this channel more effectively. In a particular survey of 1004 Indians, a whopping 39% use the internet for general healthcare information. Users today are not only using the internet to search for secondary information, but also using social media to interact with their physicians. Today, a physician, can reach and interact with his patient sitting thousands of miles away just by a tweet. Such conversations have helped mould the interaction process into a virtual environment where online doctors provide medical solutions in the most cost effective manner.
Let’s look at a few consumer healthcare brands which are have made sure their presence on social media makes their brand visible to their consumers.

With more than 7 Lakh followers on facebook, Vicks steals the first spot being the most popular brand . With the multi-pain relief gel and the brand ambassador as the youth icon, Virat Kohli, endorsing the brand, Vicks have had a significant impact in the body pain gel category. Vicks multipain relief gel provides caring and immediate relief from 7 different pains : Back pain, Neck & Shoulder pain, Joint pain, Muscular cramp pain, Arthritis, Tendinitis and Sprain. Vicks pain relief offers comfort from all of these 7 most common body pains in a jiffy and can be used anywhere- office, home or on the go.

With a lot of buzz around sexuality and feminism, the promotion of condoms has seen a sharp rise. The taboo around sex and sexual health products is loosing its grip and people are now more open to talk about it. With youth being the major target audience, Durex launched many campaigns like #connect which gave the message to disconnect from your mobile devices to give more time to your loved ones. Turn off to turn on, a global wake up call for tech savies on World Earth Day, to reconnect with their loved ones, gathered huge attention worldwide.
In India, Ranveer Singh, a popular figure loved by young people across the country, endorsed the brand with #dotheRex campaign striking a chord with the youth to celebrate safe sex. The message was to ‘Make love without fear’, encouraging the youth to talk openly about sex and take care of their sexual wellbeing.

Moov, popularly recalled today by the lines ‘Aah se aha tak’, is the most common brand in every household. With a strong presence on Twitter, moov was able to drive a lot of traffic with its engagement ideas. With a brand promise to give instant pain relief, this product has ensured a top of the mind recall product with regular advertisements and social media programs. Its recent ‘moovofthematch’ gathered huge attention during IPL matches where winners were given fancy gifts for every right answer.

Consumers are turning from a doctor dependable individual to an actively participating informed individual. Today, he seeks more information on the internet before consuming any health/pharma product. He is ready to spend more time and money to understand the product/service he is availing. Thus, it becomes imperative to craft a marketing campaign on social media as a brand building exercise.