Pop Quiz – How many Twitter accounts does the FDA and these Pharma & Medical Device companies have? Medtronic, Pfizer, Genentech, Baxter, Novartis, Zimmer, Abbott Medical Optics, J&J and Bausch + Lomb?
Reading time: 2 – 4 minutes
One thing I will say is that the pattern is that industry leaders are trending toward leading in social media. Second and third place contenders in product categories both in medical devices and pharma tend to be lagging far behind in social media. Below, I list how many Twitter® addresses some popular companies have active.
- Medtronic – 13 – This is one 800 pound gorilla that knows how to tweet. This innovative industry medical device leader is also being the innovative leader in social media. Hello!! Boston Scientific….are you asleep at the Social Media wheel?
- Pfizer – 12 – One of the powerhouses of pharma is giving its competitors a lesson in social media. Lilly and Merck, if you have Twitter profiles, they are hard to find.
- Genentech – 3 – Not bad.
- Baxter – 1 – A token corporate presence. Active and up-to-date.
- Novartis – 7 – They are rocking.
- Haag-Streit USA – 3 – Used regularly. A small company making social media waves.
- Zimmer Orthopedics – none – for a company that is aggressively conducting DTC advertising, this is a bit of a shock. Maybe their Twitter address is related to a specific product. They don’t make it easy.
- Carl Zeiss Meditech – none – one of their markets is optometry. Optometrists are young, social media savvy and gregarious. Big mistake not to be on Twitter.
- Topcon Medical – 1 – Unfortunately, they are not using their account. The last posting was in May 2010. They get a failing grade. To have a Twitter address and not use it makes you look incompetent.
- Alcon – none – the mother company, Novartis, has 7 addresses. Alcon better catch up.
- Abbott Labs – none active – embarrassing.
- Abbott Medical Optics – none – what can I say, they belong to Abbott. With patients actively involved in decisions about refractive and cataract surgery, AMO should be having a conversation on Twitter. They are AWOT (Absent With Out Twitter).
- Bausch + Lomb – at least 6 – several found on Twitter search . Hard to find on their website. Pleasant surprise. I thought B+L was more conservative than this. However, the CrystalensToday address doesn’t seem to work.
- JNJ – JNJStories – can’t find easily on a Twitter search. Had to go to the JNJ site to find it. I am surprised they don’t have a Twitter program to support their Nurses campaign. JNJ should have 8 Twitter feeds. They have plenty to talk about.
- FDA – 8 – The agency we all complain about so much actually is trying harder to communicate than many pharma and medical device companies.
Twitter is relevant in Medical Devices and Pharma. Some of the above companies are proving this.
Start considering how to make it relevant to your business!
