SAN FRANCISCO, June 30, 2011 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Following the recent launch of its Social Media-based Online KOL solution, EmPower Research shared new perspectives on online influencers at the ExL 2ndDigital Pharma West conference. Speaking at the conference, Debjani Deb, Managing Partner, stressed the absolute need for healthcare and pharmaceutical companies to augment their traditional influencer networks with the fast emerging, diverse group of online influencers.
Given the viral nature of the medium, marketers in the pharmaceutical industry are struggling to monitor and control millions of divergent online conversations.
"Content choices are now being influenced across brands and therapeutic areas to a great extent by peer to peer influencers. These influencers could be patients, caregivers, advocacy groups or others. Today, the physician is no longer the only influencer. This shift in the influencer landscape makes it even more important for pharmaceutical marketers to listen and learn from Social Media conversations."
Speaking at the sidelines of the event, Deb also added that based on her interactions with executives from leading pharmaceutical companies in the U.S. and Europe, the awareness about online influencers is growing every day. However, they are still evaluating where to begin harnessing them.
'It is here that we see a tremendous role for Social Media listening partners such as EmPower Research to enable pharmaceutical companies augment their traditional influencer networks", she said.
EmPower Research was listed as a Listening Services Partner in Forrester Research's 2011 Listening Landscape Platform Report. More information about EmPower Research's Online KOL solution can be found at http://empowerresearch.com/html/solutions/online_kol.html
About EmPower Research
EmPower Research is an integrated media and business research company headquartered in New York. We help our clients understand stakeholder perceptions and needs, empowering them to service their customers better. We use proprietary methodologies to listen and learn about conversations in the client ecosystem, deriving real insights for active stakeholder engagement. Unlike other listening solution providers, EmPower Research combines its technological prowess with human intelligence. This way, we deliver insights that are actionable and customized to meet clients' needs
This information was brought to you by Cision http://www.cisionwire.com
http://www.cisionwire.com/empower-research/r/empower-research-shares-new-perspectives-on-online-influencers-at-exl-2nd-digital-pharma-west-confer,c9141348