The fact that the FDA held Internet-related hearings for the first time in more than a decade is a good first step toward acknowledging the importance of social media (SM) in pharmaceutical marketing.

With nearly two-thirds of Americans regularly searching for heath care information online – Google recently reported more than 4.5 billion health-related searches annually at the hearings – and an estimated 75% of adults having access to the Internet, SM, and how people engage with it, is clearly much more than a trend. It is a continuing shift in consumer behavior and how patients process information and make decisions.

Beyond marketing, the pharmaceutical industry needs to be afforded the opportunity to disseminate critical and valuable information through the channels their customers are using.

And although only four pharmaceutical companies presented at last week’s hearings, by the time the consultation period ends on February 28, 2010, it is a sure bet that most, if not all, of the major players will weigh in.

Most of last week’s presentations centered around three fundamental, if not obvious, themes:

1. A decision must be made quickly
The Internet moves quickly and will not stand still, even for the FDA. Social media is undeniably a powerful and important means of communicating with highly targeted audiences. Reaching the right audience for any product or service is essential to success, and in no other industry is that more apparent and important than pharma.

2. You cannot control Internet content all the time
The fact of the matter is that you cannot police the Internet and all of the content that gets posted 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. As mentioned in the previous post, almost 80 percent of the Internet population researches health topics online. Pharma should have some way to interact with this population, regardless of whether it’s as simple as banner ads on a web page or more complex like ensuring that drug information is listed correctly on social media sites.

3. Present clear guidelines and they will be followed
The overall feeling of the hearings was not one of defiance on behalf of pharma and advertisers. Instead, there was a borderline plea for clear-cut guidelines and regulations as to what can and can’t be done with social media and Internet advertising. After all, the hearings were partially due to the fact that the FDA had issued 14 warning letters to several pharma organizations earlier this year.

But will these hearings yield any action, or at least clear direction? Technology and SM will not wait for the FDA to labor over establishing guidelines in the traditional manner. If they spend time frittering, people will no longer be Twittering and will soon be on to the next SM trend.

Timely and decisive action is needed. But the key component will be to build in the flexibility to adapt to emerging trends.