• by Chris Iafolla , February 9, 2011

"Content is king." "It's all about the content." "All good social media efforts start and stop with good content." No matter what tired, overused cliché you use, the prevailing thought is that without creating killer content, your social media efforts are doomed.

It's a valid line of thought; content is the currency of social media. At the same time, content is one of the most challenging and time-consuming aspects of an engagement. The burden of producing consistently good content is enough to halt social media efforts before they ever get off the ground.

For pharmaceutical companies, the content burden is even more pronounced. Not only do they face the same demands on content frequency, they also have the added pressure of dealing with strict Food and Drug Administration regulations. This not only limits what healthcare companies are able to say via social media, but also how compelling the content winds up being by the time it's stripped down to comply with existing regulations. It's not an impossible task, but it adds a layer of complexity not faced in all industries.

In highly regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals or financial services, is there a role for a "content curator" as opposed to a content creator? Is it possible to add value, build relationships and stay engaged if your company is not responsible for churning out content?

Absolutely. If your social media engagement is stuck on content creation planning -- change your plan. Your company can still add value as a content curator. In the pharmaceutical industry, patients crave reliable information that helps them manage their health and feel a sense of community. Healthcare companies can achieve both objectives without ever penning a single blog.

When it comes to health, pharmaceutical companies have added authority. The patient population would welcome their help in identifying content that a credible expert deems reliable.

Did a recent article on managing diabetes appear that offers useful insight? Retweet it. Come across a video on YouTube on how families with a cancer-stricken loved one can best provide support? Share the link. Read a blog post that offers fresh advice on how to safely lose weight? Comment on it, and share it. The patient population will recognize your efforts to sift through the noise and identify factual content, backed by your authority as a respected pharma brand.

Being part of a community does not just mean churning out content. Healthcare companies can engage with patients and identify useful content put out by other reliable sources. Is it a perfect social media engagement? No. But in a space that is beholden to regulations, like Pharma, it's a step on the path to a full social media engagement strategy. So what are you waiting for? Go move some content!

This Just In: Top Pain Relievers
1 Advil
2 Bayer
3 Aleve
4 Motrin
5 Excedrin
6 St. Joseph's
7 Tylenol
Source: Brand Keys Customer Loyalty Engagement Index 2011