Is There A Doctor Online? Marketing In A Regulated Industry

Jake Wengroff Global Director, Social Media Strategy & Research, Frost & Sullivan

In 2004, Jeffrey Livingston observed his daughter using MySpace and was curious about her interactions. The Irving, Texas-based obstetrician-gynecologist asked his daughter to show him the functionality, “and then the lightbulb went off,” he explained. “I realized at that moment that I needed to speak to teenagers in the way they communicate.”

Livingston, who often speaks at the local high school about sexually transmitted diseases and teen pregnancy, immediately created his own MySpace page. He then set up a presence on Facebook and Twitter, mentioning these networks in his regular interactions with patients and nonpatients alike.

“My goal is to provide better healthcare,” Livingston explained. “Marketing was secondary--if it grows your practice, great, but if it engages your patients, then you end up providing better care.”

That’s savvy advice from a medical doctor. By and large, most physicians--and healthcare marketers--have avoided practicing social media, citing the inability to control information, the relative ease of giving free advice without compensation, and, of course, the possibility of violating disclosure laws. In fact, those are many of the same reasons why marketers in other highly regulated industries, such as financial services, have been cautious. But no matter the field, their concerns all boil down to one main question: How far can they go to promote their businesses and services, while still respecting regulation--and ethics?

The answer doesn’t come easy, and it’s one that continues to evolve as marketers test different best practices and strategies. This article takes a look at a few such efforts.

Healthy Friendships
WellPoint, the largest provider of healthcare benefits in the U.S. and operator of 14 of 39 Blue Cross Blue Shield plans, waded into the social media waters a few years ago, but not without doing its proper due diligence. In 2008, the organization spent five months conducting research before extending its digital media and marketing efforts into social. “Our Health Connects Us,” the name of WellPoint’s brand positioning, “became a nice entry point for us to move into the social media space,” explained Kelly Colbert, marketing strategy director at WellPoint.

The idea was to develop a community in which people could learn more about themselves--and then share that information. For its Facebook page, WellPoint developed a tool, the Health Footprint Calculator, to measure not only an individual’s health and wellness, but also to measure one’s social network. “What the score tells you is how much of an impact your health habits have on your network,” said Colbert, who is also in charge of social media for the company.

The results: More than 50,000 have calculated their health footprints. Additionally, WellPoint has experienced a 75% completion rate, well more than the standard 45% completion rate for online tools.

WellPoint promotes the calculator not only just to members, but also to prospects. As for data, the company—which is well-aware of the need to respect privacy as well as to heed HIPAA laws--does not collect personally identifiable information, such as names and addresses. “ZIP codes and answers, that’s all we need,” Colbert said.