Who are the Physicians Posting to Social Media for Professional Purposes?

by Client Services

In our last post, we discussed the number of physicians who are posting to social media for professional uses. Kantar Media's Sources and Interactions Study measures this information, and the recently released March 2015 data brings insights about what it all means for you.   

You might think that physicians with the strongest professional presence on social networks are on the younger side. However, it turns out this is only somewhat true. In actuality, these physicians do tend to skew younger, but not as young as you might think. Physicians between the ages of 35 and 44 are the most likely age group to write/post on social networks for professional purposes.    

Beyond knowing about their age demographic, we can get even more granular and take a look at their practices. Of the physicians who use social networks for professional purposes, 83% of them work in an office-based practice. You already know what the age bracket is as well as where they work. If you combine these factors together with your current strategy, you can sharpen up your marketing and better understand your target audience. 

Reaching out to this group comes with its own rewards because we also know physicians that write/post on social networks for professional purposes are 66% more likely than the average physician to be a key opinion leader. This means that if you're successfully reaching socially savvy physicians, they're going to build on your message for you. They will share your product with colleagues via social media and in person. Connecting with a voice that is in a position of influence might just be your biggest marketing win of all.     

The Sources & Interactions™ Study is a detailed examination of doctors’ online and mobile activities, e-detailing experience, and exposure to (and evaluation of) information sources including traditional and emerging media, pharma reps, CME, convention and more. The study is conducted every six months and targets more than 3,000 physicians annually across 22 specialties, exploring their media preferences and habits. Sources & Interactions was designed to help marketers and their agencies cost-effectively allocate resources to their overall promotional mix, and provide publishers with specific insight about where their offerings fit into physicians (and other healthcare professionals’) information inventory.

If you need specialty-specific data, let us know. We study physician media behaviors and preferences annually across 22 specialties.