Promoting Medicine through Influencers in the Russian Market: Key Considerations

The trend of bloggers recommending medication is on the rise, and users are increasingly paying attention to advertising posts and reviews. Among the recommendations from Russian bloggers, vitamins, flu and cold remedies, and weight loss drugs top the list. In our article, “Peculiarities of Medicine Promotion in the Russian Market,” we explored the main promotion channels for medication. Today, we will delve into the specifics of promotion through bloggers.

Why Pharmaceutical Brands Should Collaborate with Bloggers:

1. Enhanced Trustworthiness: Bloggers enjoy greater trust compared to traditional advertisements. Approximately one-third of individuals who come across online advertising put their faith in bloggers’ posts about vitamins and antibiotics.
2. Detailed and Subtle Product Description: Working with bloggers offers an opportunity to provide comprehensive information about the product in a less intrusive manner. It also allows addressing potential barriers effectively.
3. Seamlessly Integrating Ads: Bloggers provide the advantage of presenting advertisements as regular posts, blending them organically into their content.
4. Engaging with the Audience: Collaborating with bloggers enables monitoring the response to a product, observing competitors’ activities, and promptly addressing questions and negative comments. This interaction fosters brand loyalty.
5. Cost-Effective Engagement: In the case of commercially viable integrations, promotion through bloggers offers a low cost per contact, ensuring efficient use of resources.
6. Growing and Retaining a Loyal Audience: Leveraging bloggers’ influence, pharmaceutical brands can convert the blogger’s readers into dedicated followers of their own communities.

By leveraging the power of bloggers, pharmaceutical brands can tap into their credibility, engage with the audience, and optimize their marketing strategies in the Russian market.

Navigating the Complexity of Medication Advertising

Promoting medication through bloggers presents unique challenges, as it is considered one of the trickiest advertising topics. Bloggers often charge significantly higher rates for medicine-themed posts compared to other products. Additionally, there are various risks associated with such promotions, as posts must align not only with the client’s specifications but also comply with Russian legal requirements.

Bloggers highly value their reputation and the trust of their followers. Consequently, they tend to reject advertising requests for sensitive topics, untested or unknown products, and those with questionable formulas.

It is crucial to treat integrations with bloggers as advertisements and adhere to all regulations outlined in the Federal Law “On Advertising.” This includes incorporating necessary disclaimers, such as “Contraindications: Seek expert (medical) advice before use” or “Dietary supplement. Not for medicinal use.” Advertisements must use permissible wording and should not guarantee that the medicine will cure a specific disease. It’s also important to note that advertising prescription drugs through bloggers is prohibited, limiting promotions to dietary supplements and over-the-counter (OTC) drugs.

When evaluating the success of integrations, it’s essential to consider that advertising posts by bloggers tend to reach smaller audiences compared to regular posts. In the pharmaceutical advertising context, this coverage difference can range from 40% to 70%.

How to Select an Appropriate Blogger:

1. Thoroughly assess the overall quality and content of the blogger’s account, considering the high reputational risks associated with the pharmaceutical industry.
2. Evaluate the style of posts within the account and how well they align with your brand’s communication strategy.
3. Pay close attention to the blogger’s advertising posts, including the frequency of such posts, the products they promote, and the level of negative feedback generated by those ads.
4. Examine the comments under recent posts to understand how the blogger engages with their followers.
5. Request account statistics to evaluate the relevance of the audience and the overall quality of the account.
6. Obtain statistics on various periods, including advertising posts, to estimate the potential coverage of future posts.

When planning integrations, aim to work with bloggers from diverse categories and themes. Avoid relying solely on mega-influencers or micro-influencers. This approach allows for testing different hypotheses and identifying the most effective integrations for a specific medication brand.

Integrating Medicine Ads into Bloggers’ Posts: Best Practices

When integrating medicine ads into bloggers’ posts, it’s essential to consider the restrictions surrounding the advertising of dietary supplements and pharmaceutical drugs. Providing a detailed terms of reference (TOR) will facilitate cooperation with the blogger and should include the following additional information:

• Rules, course, and administration details of the medicine.
• Explanation of the intended effect of the medicine as prescribed.
• Forbidden topics, phrases, and actions that could compromise the positive image of pharmaceutical manufacturers.
• Prohibited promises or demonstrations of immediate effects that may be contrary to the law.
• Including a disclaimer.
• Desired appearance, behavior, speech of the author, and their surroundings (optional).
• If the integration aims to promote a specific website, provide a URL with a personalized UTM for the blogger.

It is advisable to consult a lawyer to ensure that the video script and post text comply with legal requirements. Additionally, consider the approval and editing timelines when planning advertising integrations with bloggers, as this process can sometimes take several weeks.

Typically, bloggers advertise medicines through discussions, reviews, user comments on their treatment experiences, interactions with opinion leaders, personal user advice, Q&A sessions, and more.

If the format aligns with the blogger’s content, gamification through placement can be an effective choice. For example, a quiz about a particular disease in stories can introduce the problem to users, followed by a post that highlights the solution in the form of a specific medicine.

Educational content seamlessly integrated with the product advertisement is a safe and reliable option in the pharmaceutical industry.

Another approach is to initiate interaction by addressing a problem that the blogger is experiencing. By collecting responses, the subsequent post can delve into how the problem can be addressed with the help of a specific medicine.

Handling comments and evaluating effectiveness are crucial aspects of the process. It is essential to address negative feedback, resolve differences, and respond to product-related questions. Responses can come from both the brand’s official page and ordinary users. After the integration, it is important to assess the campaign’s efficiency, identifying the most effective and reliable bloggers, relevant categories, and understanding which content resonates most with the audience.

Depending on the initial goals, evaluate either the coverage of posts and engagement or the number of leads generated from each blogger on the website.

In summary, the effectiveness of advertising through bloggers depends on the quality of their audiences and the key points highlighted in the ad posts. Achieving this requires extensive research, deep knowledge of the target audience, tactful execution, and boundless creativity. It is through these means that effective advertising campaigns emerge in the pharmaceutical market.