Clinical Trial Recruitment Using Social Media

Social media is an invaluable tool when it comes to clinical trial recruitment.

One of the biggest challenges in clinical trial recruitment is keeping potential candidates informed about research opportunities. Your approach should use a cost-effective communications method to reach the desired audience.

Clinical trials are often improperly advertised since interested patients are largely unfamiliar with most available studies. You can bring attention to your practices’ ongoing programs through advertising via social media.  Facebook and Twitter are powerful communication tools.

The proliferation of physician review sites like ZocDoc® and Heathgrades® increasingly illustrates that patients want to take control of their health care options.  Similarly, patients interested in clinical trials are also actively taking control of their treatment processes.  With social media ads, participants can look into suitable studies based on their healthcare needs.

Spreading the News

Tapping into social media means taking advantage of the biggest patient recruitment database there is.  Within these networks, your potential patients are searching for the specialized treatment you provide.  You can present customized therapies, and build awareness for niche research opportunities.

Using your social media page, patients with similar concerns can provide information on studies they consider applicable, thereby creating patient communities.  Networking between similar trial participants is useful since making connections is the backbone of social media.

Connection Is Critical for Clinical Trial Recruitment

One of the most compelling aspects of social media is how it facilitates patient interaction.  Facebook pages dedicated to clinical trials are platforms where interested subjects can sign up for relevant studies.

They also can create an open dialogue where candidates with similar conditions can discuss challenges they face.  For instance, patients can bring up their concerns in the comments section. When candidates have questions, they can directly leave comments under your studies advertisement.  You can then answer their questions directly, or direct them to email your practice with their needs if patient privacy is a concern.

Eligible candidates can choose which clinical research options are a better fit based on the post-trial treatment plans available to them.   Through reading patient discussions on your social media page, you can find out which healthcare options are more attractive and helpful to particular communities.  Creating a supportive environment for questions and information exchange is what makes your practice unique.

Facebook’s and Twitter’s popularity shows that people are receptive to information they come across on the Internet. Platforms like these increase awareness of ongoing studies and connect your practice to even more qualified candidates for trials.

Clinical trial recruitment using social media is an effective way to spread the news of your medical studies to the target patient groups.

Making Sure the Right Patients Notice Your Clinical Trials

Using social media to broadcast medical studies also ensures that these ads reach the right audience.  Facebook and other platforms have powerful targeting abilities that enable you to reach even niche patient demographics.  Your practice gets to be as inclusive or exclusive as it demands, since most sites have specialized algorithms.  Customizing these targeting options allows you to design purposeful and efficient campaigns.

Unlike traditional media advertisements, social media ads make sure that you easily reach your target audience. Factors like age, gender, geographic location, and demonstrated interests are all taken into consideration.

Whether Internet users like it or not, Facebook collects data analytically, in order to generate predictive analytics.  The term “predictive analytics” means that Facebook and other large social media companies track buyer habits and search histories, among other things, to show its users relevant content.

Therefore, your clinical trial recruitment ads will only be shown to the most eligible candidates for your studies.

Big Data Specialists at Your Service

Social media is becoming the most important facet of advertising.  Clinical trial sponsors and other business partners understand that social media’s formidable multi-criteria search abilities are vital to optimizing patient recruitment.

In particular, Facebook provides its patrons with a service called Graph Search.  It allows you to search for things as specific as “21-year-old men living in San Francisco with 4 siblings.” Social media accounts have become a huge vault full of useful personal data.

Constructively using readily available data within the Internet of Things ecosystem can greatly enhance the way your practice reaches out to potential study candidates.

Keeping Current Is Key

Keeping your practice updated with current social media techniques is critical to running a productive studies recruitment process. Using Facebook and Twitter are the most convenient ways to reach out to your potential patients and incite interest about programs available at your practice.

We hope that these tips have been instrumental in creating a better studies recruitment process.  If you need further tips to guide you through utilizing social media in advertising clinical trials, check out our book, “Social Media Marketing for the Modern Medical Practice: Social Methodologies for Patient Outreach and Acquisition.”