Cooper Munro is the Chief Executive Officer of The Motherhood Inc. For two decades, The Motherhood has connected established brands with influencers in all niches.
When influencer marketing first took off, it was nearly impossible to imagine it would be a viable strategy for brands in highly regulated industries. When consumer brands started using bloggers to share their stories, pharmaceutical, medical and financial institutions were mostly operating in a world of more controlled tactics. We studied influencer marketing and the idea of bringing it into industries with the strictest protocols was far fetched.
However, two decades later, the use of influencers for pharmaceutical marketing, financial education, and disease awareness is starting to peak (just look at #finance on TikTok and its 14.5 billion views).
As the head of an agency specializing in influencer marketing for regulated industries, managing thousands of campaigns, I have seen some consistently non-negotiable best practices for proactive risk reduction and campaign success; the right balance between people and people. Knowledge of technology, complex verification processes and strict compliance protocols.
Let's dive into what makes a successful pharma influencer marketing campaign, even for other regulated clients.
People-oriented, technologically advanced
Investing in a well-chosen tech stack is key to scaling influencer marketing. There are a number of AI-powered tools, dashboards, and platforms that offer different promises when it comes to talent access and business communication. The options are attractive due to the promise of efficiency in influencer vetting, integration and engagement.
Regardless of the technological resources chosen, even an out-of-the-box solution requires a human driver. Once the AI analysis and reviews are complete, don't fully check out the creator just yet.
A dedicated influencer marketing agency with regulatory experience will run an additional checklist to ensure all potential influencer partners have all the T's and I's. While some elements of these lists are part of the agency's proprietary process, such as At a minimum there should be man-made safeguards to ensure that the partnership between the brand and the agency is completely authentic, true and believable, as well as incontrovertible. past, present or future collaborations of others.
After this review, onboarding is another important step for a successful campaign implementation. To turn influential partners into true brand ambassadors, think carefully about how to most effectively engage with the community. Concept overviews, clear and concise project descriptions, virtual trainings, and workshops help developers have all the resources they need to become trusted sources of information for your brand and their followers.
process capability
There is a fine balance between content that feels completely authentic to the creator and meets all the requirements of regulated industry companies, some of which can be very strict. The intrinsic value of a quality agency is that it makes sense.
Take, for example, a pharmaceutical company. In addition to branding and marketing review, legal, medical, and regulatory groups must also review influencer-generated content to ensure, among other things, that it is accurate, fair and balanced, adequately disclosed, and presented in accordance with guidelines. established. With such a thorough review process, there are plenty of opportunities to frustrate companies. The spirit of influential content can be lost, schedules can be messed up, and budgets can be cut because content rewrites can be avoided.
To avoid as many potential pitfalls as possible, it is important that all parties, from the influencer to the agency to the internal team, are clear about the evaluation process, expectations and contingencies.
Ideally, the lead agency should act as a hub, using their expertise to move content through development and approval as smoothly and efficiently as possible. A high level of knowledge is required to be directive and flexible, with uncompromising attention to detail but never losing sight of the big picture. These things have to coexist at every turn.
Running content for brand credibility
Some of the best content creators go to great lengths, usually in the form of additional Instagram Stories, to make their content as visible as possible. However, in the regulated arena, even the simplest frameworks can run into problems if released without a proper review process. What was considered an added value becomes a burden.
The moral of the story is that once your content is approved, the bigger problem is (usually) fixed, but you can't take your eyes off the ball. There are many additional points that you need to know and check to make sure that the company is the perfect fit.
The content must also be published in accordance with the approval. Even a small change to the original will result in a fine for the sponsor. If subscriber comments are lost, the agency should closely monitor reports of reporting problems or request a response and report adverse events.
Thorough consideration of content relevance and a comment upload process designed to provide content creators with unquestionable brand clarity and trust are the hallmarks of a proficient influencer marketing agency specializing in highly regulated companies.
When everything is going
Businesses in a highly regulated industry require complex choreography and specialist knowledge honed over time. The prize is the power and privilege to carry important public health messages and share important information that often saves lives.
Despite the delicate dance of such campaigns, or perhaps because of them , healthcare and pharmaceutical marketing campaigns can be the most effective.
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