Pharma campaigns often have longer timelines than those in other industries. Social media influencers, especially those accustomed to working with consumer brands, may be used to a faster pace. Being clear about your timelines upfront allows you to set expectations and lets influencers decide whether the brief and schedule are a good fit. Make sure to build in some buffer for your internal approvals timelines, especially if this is one of the first times you are working with social media creators.
You’re engaging with an influencer for their unique perspective and content style, so the last thing you want is for them to feel like they’re reading from a scripted, pre-approved message. Overly tight briefs can prevent your messaging from landing effectively and limit the influencer’s creativity. Giving creative freedom doesn’t mean you can’t still set clear expectations or guardrails.
A strong brief clearly outlines the mandatory messaging while leaving room for the influencer to apply their style and approach. They know what resonates best with their followers and you want to leverage that experience.
One effective way to start is with a brainstorming call. Discuss the brief, explore ideas together, and let the influencer share how they can bring the content to life.
Dr. Michael, a doctor and social media influencer in Australia, explains why this is so important.
If you’re contracting influencers to post content from their social media accounts, you are required to monitor any comments on their posts for adverse events (AEs) or mentions of prescription medicines. Surprisingly, this step is often overlooked. So how do you prepare?
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Make sure the influencer knows how to manage comments on their sponsored posts. We recommend providing a discussion guide outlining what they should and shouldn’t reply to. Without this guidance, even well-intentioned influencers may respond inappropriately.
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In addition to the influencer’s responsibilities, you need someone from your team to monitor the post comments as well. Include in your contract that the influencer must remove any comments when instructed by your team. Also, have an account ready to respond to comments involving AEs in line with your company’s procedures.
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Finally, agree on a date when the influencer will take down the post or disable comments so moderation responsibilities can end safely.
Should you turn comments off from the start? Some social media platforms allow influencers to disable comments on their posts. This can be a more conservative approach if you want to reduce risk for your organisation. However, engagement and interaction are key to social media effectiveness, so turning off comments can limit the reach and impact of your content. It’s not our preferred first approach but it may suit organisations that need a more cautious strategy.
Vetting influencers is a critical part of risk management. If you’re working with an agency, be clear about the criteria they’ll use to evaluate the influencers they recommend. Commonly overlooked areas include:
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Over-commercialised feeds: influencers working with many brands can make your message get lost in the noise.
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Low engagement: a large following but little interaction can signal an inactive or disengaged audience.
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Unreviewed past posts: failing to check older content for potential issues. AI tools can help with thorough vetting.
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Audience mismatch: their followers don’t align with your target audience.
