Smarty Social Media
Re-imagining Medical Marketing with a Social-First Approach

The Internet is becoming the town square for the global village of tomorrow. – Bill Gates

Over the years, this two-decade-old quote has come true, as the internet has indeed become the go-to-meeting ground for information exchange and sharing of ideas and opinions across the globe. Within this digital “town square”, social media has emerged as the dynamic, interactive bulletin board, completely transforming the way people as well as businesses interact with each other. With social media, individuals are empowered with the ability to connect with anyone, anywhere at any time, while enterprises are able to introduce their latest creations to the world and reach out to potential customers directly.

Though healthcare enterprises understand that social media can be a powerful force to reach out to wider clientele, they are also well aware of its associated risks. But they are unsure of the right approach and role social media should play in facilitating mass adoption of novel medical solutions. The power of social media can be very well harnessed to empower med device, biotech, and pharmaceutical companies with a desire to expand their direct-to-customer marketing. However, it takes a lot more than just a few filtered pictures, eye-catching videos, and fancy prose to convince healthcare providers that a certain technology, service, or medical device is the apt solution for their patients. Neither is it a cakewalk to inform and educate patients about the efficacy of the novel disruptions in the healthcare field, to the point where they start asking their doctors for the new medical solutions. The most constructive solution here is to implement a two-pronged approach that answers the medical practitioners’ queries, as well as create a demand on the end patient side.

This two-pronged approach is brought by Smarty Social Media, a full-service social media marketing agency providing expert marketing aid to healthcare companies operating in the age of social media. The company specializes in social media strategy and planning, content creation, social advertising campaign development and execution, advocacy, and analytics, coupled with an emphasis on enhancing customer experience via social customer care and community management. Focused in the healthcare space, with specific emphasis in med device, biotech, wellness, and aesthetics, Smarty Social drives provider and patient demand by enhancing brand awareness and applying its expertise in social advertising to these highly regulated industries. “We serve the healthcare sector with a social-first mentality in helping our clients reach their business goals,” says Jami Beaton Eidsvold, Founder and CEO of Smarty Social Media.

Jami – who brings with her 12 years of experience in handling social and influencer work specifically in the healthcare industry – and the Smarty team of social media experts deftly tackle the obstacles faced by the clients in marketing their healthcare solutionsin the social space. On one side, they educate healthcare providers about the benefits of the new disruptive technology and the improvement it will garner toward the patient outcome. On the other side, they build consumer awareness that drives patient interest and action to embrace and seek out new developments in health care. “We craft campaigns and go-to-market plans that utilize social media platforms to not only drive upper-funnel awareness but also the downfunnel action that demonstrates consumers’ desire for these products, services, and treatments,” remarks Jami.

The Strategic Approach

Smarty Social’s social-first approach begins with market analysis prior to creating a strategy. The team extensively audits a client’s current social activity, desired positioning and call to action, considers the competitive landscape, and then identifies the social “white space” they can own. Once conclusions are drawn, a social media strategy is formed with clear social KPIs addressing the approach and purpose of social platforms and content pillars. The approach is thendefined for paid amplification and advocacy that would be most effective toward the target audience while adhering to the regulations involved in the healthcare space. In the next step, Smarty Social brings the strategy to life with a social playbook that clearly outlines the creative and tactical execution of the social strategy.

To empower the clientele to reach out to their customers in the most effective manner possible, an extensive amount of thought is put into building a winning strategy and then providing the roadmap to developing the content and enriching provider and patient experience. “We build a holistic social strategy from the top down, and use it to provide social proof and efficacy of these disruptive technologies we’re bringing into the market,” extols Jami.

However, what truly distinguishes the company is its Social Academy, Smarty’s one-of-a-kind program providing extensive social media training and education to company executives and marketing leaders. The Smarty team conducts social workshops and training programs that clients can package for distributor and provider partners – a win-win that often fills the social media marketing gap while helping to extend on-brand, on-message content to consumers at the point of decision. Furthermore, with an in-depth focus on adhering to regulatory aspects required in healthcare, Smarty Social educates on the critical guardrails and processes to ensure disclosure and compliance and avoid unjustified claims that might construe as false advertising. “This focus on regulatory perspective has helped us build a name in the industry, and this makes clients choose us,” remarks Jami.

Social Media Marketing Expertise in Action

With an elite clientele of healthcare companies, Smarty Social’s approach has proved to be exemplary. For instance, Align Technology, a renowned global medical device company and maker of Invisalign clear aligners, was seeking new ways to engage with patients and support their providers. Smarty Social worked closely with Align Technology’s team to develop a full-funnel social media and influencer marketing strategy, coupled with a social consumer care framework, which enabled them to become the trailblazers in the industry. As part of their ongoing 12-year collaboration, Smarty Social has also developed professional programs to educate and train Invisalign providers on marketing through social media.

For yet another medtech client that developed a revolutionary device and procedure that has transformed bunion surgery, Smarty Social designed a robust social media campaign to build awareness and drive patient demand. The campaign proved to be a decisive factor in driving their business growth. “They are now a huge force in their industry with growing sales, and social media remains one of the largest channels driving this growth,” informs Jami.

Future-Ready in the Social Space

Giving a glimpse into Smarty Social’s future, Jami envisions focusing further development into video production, being aware of the higher impact of videos on the public. “We want to build our team to support all forms of social media content, whether in expanding influencer marketing or blogpost writing, with more video content,” she says. Smarty Social also plans to enhance its Social Academy with an aim to pour further resources into social media training and education for company executives and marketing leaders, and to offer the same services outside of the healthcare realm as well.

In addition to providing exemplary social media services to healthcare businesses, Smarty Social has introduced a People Ops function dedicated to nurturing its culture and people to their full potential. It includes career and personal goal setting aligned with internal recognition and bonus programs. A crucial part of this vision involves ensuring a nurturing environment for professional women to grow and excel. This is demonstrated by the team of 25 extremely talented individuals comprising mostly women, who are the pillars behind the company’s exceptional success. “We’re looking to scale and grow, but remain at core committed to our culture of creating a safe, inclusive, and empowering work environment, especially for women,” concludes Jami.