ICTS is a clinical trial support company that uses innovative communication models to build stronger connections throughout clinical trials. One marketing strategy they use is social media, but it requires overcoming challenges to use it effectively. ICTS has developed standard operating procedures to control discussion on social media pages while allowing user participation. They act proactively by providing study-specific guidelines and using engagement and moderation formats to adhere to sponsor policies and regulations. With the right planning and management techniques, ICTS ensures social media can enhance recruitment while controlling inappropriate discussions.

1. Social Media
How to Control the Seemingly Uncontrollable
Gregg Sweet, MBA
VP Strategy and Development
Gregg.Sweet@ICTS.us
o. (919) 388-3966
c. (919) 523-3717
www.icts.us

2. Who Is ICTS?
Integrated Clinical Trial ServicesPre-Trial
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ICTS is a Clinical Trials Support Company that specializes in
achieving superior results in research studies by building and
maintaining stronger connections throughout the entire clinical trial
process. Our innovative and customized communication models
provide the foundation for higher quality data and results.

3. Social Media
How to Control the
Seemingly UncontrollablePre-Trial
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Recruitment/
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Marketing Strategies Matter
One of the myriad integrated
marketing strategies ICTS has used
to create awareness of a clinical trial
and recruit patients is social media.
Social media pages, such as on
Facebook, provide centralized
information about your study and can
enrich all other tactics, and increase
traffic to your study website.
With over 1.9 billion monthly active users worldwide, Facebook
is far and away the biggest social media platform and offers
sponsors a unique opportunity to engage and enroll clinical trial
participants. But using social media effectively requires clients
and ICTS to overcome several challenges.

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SOPs Matter
Since our first use of MySpace for patient
recruitment well over a decade ago,
sponsors and IRBs/IECs have become
more concerned with the legal
ramifications that could arise from a
study-specific social media page. Since
social media pages are interactive, one
of the principal questions from sponsors
and IRBs/IECs is how to control the
discussion about aspects of the study (or someone’s participation in
it) that should not be discussed publicly. Over the years, we have
developed SOPs to overcome most sponsor and IRB/IEC
objections about how to control the comments while at the same
time not making users feel as though we are limiting their ability
to contribute to the conversation.
Social Media
How to Control the
Seemingly Uncontrollable

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Engagement and Interactions Matter
Since social media platforms are built
upon the engagement and interaction of
visitors, most platforms do not provide an
option to turn off or lock out comments.
Although we have developed our own
workaround for locking out comments in
Facebook pages, we believe it is to our
clients’ benefit to create social media
pages that encourage comments, questions and responses. This
is where sponsor legal teams and the IRBs/IECs have potential
issues because users may discuss adverse events, topics that
could un-blind participants, promote alternative treatments or
other products, and/or use offensive language.
Social Media
How to Control the
Seemingly Uncontrollable

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Proactivity Matters
ICTS acts proactively in this arena
by providing study-specific SOPs
for our clients’ social media pages
based upon our years of lessons
learned, but, the bottom line is
that we always adhere to the
sponsor’s guidelines (should they
exist). We always include social
media guidelines as part of our
legal and IRB/IEC submissions and
have included guidelines for using
the social media page directly in
the page’s content.
Social Media
How to Control the
Seemingly Uncontrollable

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Formats Matter
Specific to Facebook, we recommend
engaging a moderated comment
format, which allows us to delete
unwanted or offensive comments,
follow AE procedures, eliminate
comments promoting other products
(books, “a cure,” nutraceuticals, etc.) and
further engage visitors. Other social
media platforms, such as Twitter, do
not allow you to moderate comments,
but, as with all interactive platforms,
ICTS knows the workarounds.
Social Media
How to Control the
Seemingly Uncontrollable

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Platforms Matter
Most platforms offer an optional
notification system that alerts the
page’s admin whenever a comment is
left on the page. This allows the
admin (often ICTS) to both adhere to
the SOPs to follow-up with the
commenter as well as the sponsor’s
SOP to, for example, report/document
a potential adverse event.
This is generally determined by the client’s legal team prior to
submission of the page content to the IRB/IEC. Also, Facebook
has keywords that you can identify as automatic content
blockers and through notification settings one can be alerted to
all comments so the admin can manually delete them in a
timely fashion.
Social Media
How to Control the
Seemingly Uncontrollable

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Conclusion
Using these and other social media management techniques, ICTS
ensures that potential patients can learn about the study
opportunity and make an informed decision about participating,
and patients can feel engaged throughout their participation, while
ensuring that topics that should not be discussed publicly are
controlled.
Social media is not the magic bullet for a study recruitment plan,
but is a cost-effective way to enhance recruitment efforts. Proper
planning and contingency strategies are keys to success in any
recruitment effort, but especially social media, given its interactive
nature.
Social Media
How to Control the
Seemingly Uncontrollable

10. For more information contact:
Gregg Sweet, MBA
VP Strategy and Development
Gregg.Sweet@ICTS.us
o. (919) 388-3966
c. (919) 523-3717
f. (919) 324-3501
www.icts.us