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Selling Social Media to Skeptics: The Medical Affairs Playbook

by Janna Crabb on

Many Medical Affairs leaders remain understandably hesitant about social media, citing regulatory concerns, resource constraints, or doubts about HCP engagement. But as digital opinion leaders shape therapeutic conversations and misinformation can circulate, the cost of staying on the sidelines continues to grow. 

Healthcare professionals are already engaging in robust scientific conversations on social media — discussing data, sharing insights, and forming opinions about therapeutic approaches. The question isn’t if these conversations are happening on social platforms, it’s whether or not your Medical Affairs team will be part of them.

As with any Medical Communications, the solution is to approach social media strategically, with the right internal partnerships and governance structures. Here’s how to chart a path to measurable, compliant success.

Why Social Media Belongs in Medical Affairs

Medical Affairs teams that write off social media are writing off an opportunity to join HCPs in these active spaces and participate in the conversation. The most compelling arguments for Medical Affairs social media make it clear that embracing these channels is necessary to fulfill core MedComms responsibilities. 

1. Adapt to Changing Content Preferences

Medical Affairs teams are tasked with connecting with HCPs where they already are and engaging them in ways that align with their evolving content preferences. Today’s HCPs are increasingly active on platforms like X (formerly Twitter), LinkedIn, Instagram, and TikTok as well as newer channels like BlueSky. 

HCPs use these networks for peer-to-peer education, journal clubs, and case discussions. Some therapeutic areas have established robust digital communities with professional societies hosting regular educational sessions and collaborative discussions online. 

2. Provide Accurate Medical Information

While social media is a space for experts to share valuable information, it’s also true that misinformation about therapeutic data can spread easily on social platforms. 

This typically isn’t the result of malicious intent. Instead, the culprit is usually an incomplete understanding or misinterpretation of complex studies. Medical Affairs teams have both the expertise and — more importantly — the responsibility to provide accurate, scientifically sound information to course-correct these discussions.

3. Expand Your Reach

Social media is a force multiplier. It complements and amplifies existing Medical Affairs initiatives. Publication strategies, congress presentations, and educational content all gain broader HCP reach and deeper engagement when supported by a strategic social media presence. 

The goal is creating an integrated, omnichannel digital ecosystem that meets HCPs where they already consume and share scientific information.

Know Before You Go: Stakeholder Research and Platform Selection

One of the biggest mistakes Medical Affairs teams make when developing a social media strategy is defaulting to familiar platforms without validating where their specific HCP audiences actually engage. LinkedIn might feel safe and familiar, but if your key stakeholders are active in specialty-focused communities on X, Facebook or other platforms, you’re missing critical opportunities for meaningful engagement.

To determine the most effective platforms, start by partnering with your field medical teams to gather intelligence from direct HCP interactions. Ask targeted questions:

  •  Are your stakeholders active on social media? 
  • Which platforms do they use? 
  • Are they consuming content, creating it, or both? 
  • What type of content do they produce? 
  • What type of scientific information do they seek or share, and how does that differ by platform?

Use those answers to begin identifying the best social media channels. When evaluating platforms, consider the following four key factors: 

Remember, the goal isn’t to be everywhere — it’s to establish a strong presence on appropriate platforms where your target HCPs are already most active and engaged.

Some therapeutic areas may find their communities concentrated on specific platforms due to professional society engagement or historical adoption patterns. Others might discover their audience is distributed across multiple channels, requiring a more diversified approach.

HCP-Specific Platforms

Consider HCP-specific networks and other Third-Party Platforms that offer unique engagement opportunities. Platforms like Sermo and Doximity serve as prime examples of these specialized sites. Each provides a dedicated space for medical professionals to engage in clinical discussions, share insights, and seek second opinions — enhancing clinical decision-making and professional development in the process. 

Leveraging these platforms offers Medical Affairs teams a number of benefits, including:

  • Enhanced Clinical Decision-Making Support: These platforms are specifically designed to support clinical decision-making and professional development, making them ideal channels for Medical Affairs teams to share evidence-based information that directly impacts patient care.
  • Quality of Engagement: Unlike general social platforms where medical content competes with non-medical noise, HCP-specific networks ensure your content reaches a concentrated audience of relevant healthcare professionals who are actively seeking clinical information.
  • Professional Context: The specialized nature of these platforms means discussions tend to be more clinical and data-focused, aligning well with Medical Affairs’ educational mission and scientific communication goals.

Before implementing a strategy on any specific network, partner with field medical teams to understand the platforms on which your target HCPs are most active. Key questions include whether they’re consuming content, creating it, or both, and what type of scientific information they seek. When evaluating HCP-specific networks, consider:

  • Audience alignment with your target HCP segments
  • Platform features that support scientific discussion
  • Integration capabilities with your broader HCP engagement platform
  • Your ability to support and drive success on that specific platform

Coalition Building: Turning Compliance into Strategic Partners

The key to overcoming internal resistance around social media lies in transforming potential gatekeepers into strategic partners. That means you should involve compliance, regulatory, and corporate communications teams from the project’s inception, not as final approvers but as co-creators of the strategy. 

These colleagues bring valuable perspectives that Medical Affairs teams might not immediately recognize. Their concerns aren’t barriers — they’re considerations that require thoughtful solutions and preparation.

Competitive Benchmarking

Your compliance colleagues, in particular, will want to see how peer companies are already operating in social media safely and effectively. This concrete evidence helps establish baseline expectations and demonstrates that compliant social media strategies are not only possible but increasingly standard practice.

Governance

Build clear governance structures that establish decision-making authority for both forward progress and issue management. Create content review processes that integrate with existing Medical Legal & Regulatory (MLR) workflows without overwhelming the system. Develop escalation protocols for handling adverse event mentions, negative reactions, or other sensitive situations that may arise.

Of course, most organizations already have a corporate social media presence, which means governance structures, escalation protocols, and content review processes likely exist and can be adapted for Medical Affairs use.

Drive Results With a Smart Social Media Content Strategy

An effective Medical Affairs social media content strategy should align closely with your broader MedComms strategy while leveraging the unique capabilities of social platforms. For instance, you might focus on amplifying congress data, key publications, and scientific narratives that support your therapeutic area’s education goals.

Use Social Media as An Entry Point to Your Engagement Platform

Create content that provides immediate value while encouraging HCPs to engage more deeply with your other digital properties such as your website . This might include visual abstracts that summarize key publication findings, congress highlights that link to comprehensive data on your HCP engagement platform, or educational snippets that direct HCPs to detailed resources and training materials.

Tailor Formats to Different Social Channels

Consider adjusting content formats to suit different platforms and audience preferences. Some HCPs prefer concise, data-driven posts with compelling visuals. Others respond more positively to video content or interactive discussions. Specialists might seek detailed clinical evidence and trial data, while general practitioners may prefer practical guidelines and patient care applications.

Establish a Process for Drafting and Publishing Posts

Finally, make sure to define the underlying processes you’ll use to develop social media content. Your goal is to develop a sustainable and scalable approach that prevents team burnout while maintaining quality and consistency. This often means starting with one platform, refining your approach, and gradually expanding rather than attempting to manage multiple channels simultaneously from the outset.

Measuring Performance: Metrics That Matter to Stakeholders

Measurement is key to understanding the efficacy and impact of your social media strategy. 

  • Start with simple metrics that demonstrate reach and validate your ability to surface information to relevant HCP audiences. Impression and click metrics help confirm that your content is reaching the intended stakeholders and provides foundational evidence for continued investment. 
  • As your program matures, evolve toward engagement metrics that demonstrate meaningful interaction — think likes, reposts, bookmarks, and downloads. These user-driven actions indicate HCPs are not only seeing but actively engaging with your content. Set appropriate expectations by educating stakeholders that a lot of social media consumption happens passively, meaning significant value can be derived even without a high volume of readily apparent engagement-related activities. 
  • Fill in the gaps by tracking qualitative success signals that may not appear in standard analytics but demonstrate program impact. For instance, when key opinion leaders share your visual abstracts or digital opinion leaders reference your content in their own posts, these represent meaningful validation of your program’s credibility and usefulness.
  • Consider platform-specific metrics carefully, as different channels measure and report engagement differently. Building a centralized dashboard that aggregates data across platforms can provide clearer overall program performance visibility.

The Path Forward

Social media is no longer optional for Medical Affairs teams. With thoughtful platform selection, strong internal partnerships, and strategic content approaches, Medical Affairs can move beyond hesitant pilot projects toward scalable, integrated digital engagement strategies that truly deliver impact.

The competitive advantage belongs to organizations that act now, building expertise and stakeholder relationships while others remain on the sidelines. Start with one strategically selected platform, establish solid governance, set clear goals, and prepare to meaningfully amplify your medical communications.

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