Mediaboss Marketing

DUBLIN--(BUSINESS WIRE)--

Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/research/glw4rf/global_social_medi) has announced the addition of Frost & Sullivan's new report "Global Social Media in the Medical Devices Industry" to their offering.

This study's research objective is to gauge social media usage within the medical devices industry. The data was collected in October 2011, using web-based surveys. The sample consisted of 170 medical devices professionals from the United States and Europe. Personal use of social media for professional purposes is quite high among employees of the medical devices industry; this study assesses the main usage reasons cited by users of social media as well as the main benefits that are afforded by this technology. It also covers the number-one ranked risk of social media and how this might impact usage.

Summary

Personal use of social media for professional purposes is quite high among employees of the medical devices industry. The main reason to use social media is to get in touch with colleagues. LinkedIn is the social media site most often used for professional purposes. Nearly half of companies have written policies restricting use of the company's computers/network to access social media sites. Employees in the medical devices industry (in total-regardless of whether their companies have or do not have written policies) claim that they have access to social media/networking sites. Almost half of organizations have a social media presence where information about them is shared. The most widely used sites are Facebook and LinkedIn.

Implication

Companies should not totally block access to social media sites, as the whole realm of customer knowledge can be found there. Social media is especially important, taking into consideration the growing popularity of an open innovation model within the healthcare/medical devices industry. Furthermore, it is likely that blocking social media sites will not be effective, as many people use mobile devices to access anyway.

There is no possible way to censor social media, so there is a need to train marketing/public relations how to react when discussions in social media become out of control and/or how to overcome social media disasters. To guard against social media disasters and to allay fears of the compromise or misuse of sensitive information, agencies, consultants, technology providers, and the social networks themselves can take an opportunity to address the needs of this specialized group of professionals.

As only a minority of medical devices organizations are very well developed in terms of social media, working to increase development may create a competitive advantage - at least in terms of communicating with the market.

Executive Summary: CEO Perspective

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Research and Markets: Global Social Media in the Medical Devices Industry 2012