• SKIP TO CONTENT
  • SKIP NAVIGATION
  • Patient Resources
    • COVID-19 Patient Resource Center
    • Clinical Trials
    • Search Clinical Trials
    • Patient Notification System
    • What is Clinical Research?
    • Volunteering for a Clinical Trial
    • Understanding Informed Consent
    • Useful Resources
    • FDA Approved Drugs
  • Professional Resources
    • Research Center Profiles
    • Clinical Trial Listings
    • Market Research
    • FDA Approved Drugs
    • Training Guides
    • Books
    • Events
    • Newsletters
    • JobWatch
    • White Papers
    • Patient Education
    • SOPs
    • eCFR and Guidances
  • White Papers
  • Trial Listings
  • Advertise
  • COVID-19
  • iConnect
  • Sign In
  • Create Account
  • Sign Out
  • My Account
Home » Millennials, social media and clinical trials

Millennials, social media and clinical trials

October 2, 2017
CenterWatch Staff

When recruiting for a clinical trial, social media can be effectively harnessed to target millennial audiences by considering three key factors. 

The first and most important of these factors is content. Millennials enjoy, respond to and share articles that are highly informative, with any “pitch” regarding the trial itself kept on the down-low rather than front and center. In an article intended for a millennial audience, the reference to the trial should be just one component of a cluster of related information that is being offered in the spirit of free knowledge. Such articles need to address not only the patients potentially qualified to enroll in the trial, but also—to maximize success—should be written in such a way that potential patients’ family and friends feel compelled to share the information with them as well. 

The second factor concerns how messaging about a trial is distributed to the appropriate audiences. An article that runs on a relatively small website with a passionate following can be far more effective than the same article placed on a relatively well-known website with tons of links and a much broader readership with more disparate interests. The key to success in this regard involves careful strategic targeting to the best audience—not necessarily the biggest.

The third and final factor pertains to individual outreach. Specifically, this involves taking the time to search for and identify the individuals with an online presence whom millennials are listening to: the advocates and influencers of this generation.  Once these influencers have been identified, they should be individually tagged on social media, with a link to the announcement of the trial and an offer of an interview. This strategy can go a long way toward maximizing social media’s impact on more effective, better targeted, rapid and accurate patient recruitment.

 

Guest Contributor Dian Griesel, Ph.D., is president of DGI Comm, a strategic visibility public relations firm.

This article was reprinted from Volume 24, Issue 10, of The CenterWatch Monthly, an industry leading publication providing hard-hitting, authoritative business and financial coverage of the clinical research space. The Action Items section features short columns  focusing on actionable or how-to advice from clinical trial professionals. To submit an Action Item, please contact editorial@centerwatch.com. Subscribe >>

Upcoming Events

  • 26Jan

    Reducing Complexity in Starting Clinical Trials – More Patients, Faster Startup

  • 27Jan

    Medical Device Clinical Trials in China: Latest Regulatory Developments

  • 11Feb

    Lab X.0: Addressing Quality and Compliance Challenges in Laboratory Operations in the COVID-19 All-Digital Era

  • 23Mar

    Data Integrity for GCP Professionals: Core Requirements, Expectations and Challenges

  • 26Apr

    MAGI's Clinical Research vConference — Spring 2021

Featured Products

  • Regenerative Medicine – Steps to Accelerate Development : PDF

    Regenerative Medicine: Steps to Accelerate Development

  • Clinical Trial Agreements — A Guide to Key Words and Phrases : PDF

    Clinical Trial Agreements: A Guide to Key Words and Phrases

Featured Stories

  • TechInnovation-360x240.png

    Pace of Technology Innovation in Trials Could Slow After Pandemic Eases

  • AskTheExperts-360x240.png

    Ask the Experts: Certifying and Maintaining Copies of Original Source Documents

  • Resources-360x240.png

    Trial Complexity, Endpoints Continue to Increase, Stretching Site Resources

  • FocusinRed-360x240.png

    Return to Focus on Risk Management Postpandemic Could Prove Challenging to Sites

Standard Operating Procedures for Risk-Based Monitoring of Clinical Trials

The information you need to adapt your monitoring plan to changing times.

Learn More Here
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Do Not Sell My Personal Information

Footer Logo

300 N. Washington St., Suite 200, Falls Church, VA 22046, USA

Phone 617.948.5100 – Toll free 866.219.3440

Copyright © 2021. All Rights Reserved. Design, CMS, Hosting & Web Development :: ePublishing