Some additional information about Sermo

Sermo was initially founded as physician only social network to foster information exchange among physicians. The idea was built on free access for physicians and a high level of trust due to the exclusivity for physicians. Several movements are claimed to have lead to opening up the platform to pharmaceutical companies:

1) Physicians wanted pharmaceutical reps to contribute to drug related discussions

2) Pharmaceutical companies needed a new way to reach out to physicians, as in-person face time was declining

3) Sermo needed a business model to make money

The first company to get involved with Sermo was Pfizer, and by now most of the bigger pharmaceutical companies followed. Initially the pharma companies were only able to observe, but by now the possibilities are far beyond this stage. The companies can:

1) Actively participate in discussions

2) Sponsor surveys and webinars

3) Execute advanced search queries, which can be saved and include sentiment analysis

Even promotional activities are possible through posts or sponsorship. The question is how long will it take till the promotional activities are more than the physicians are willing to handle and pharmaceutical companies have to find a new way to engage with physicians.