Unfortunate social media marketing trend alert.
This ClickZ story discusses medical software and services firm Medseek’s decision to employ a fictitious “persona” profile on Facebook, designed to interact with other Facebook users on behalf their brand.
“Sarah Baker” is a new mother to twin boys. Her persona “was created to help top-level hospital execs envision how patients can use systems like Medseek’s, which allow them to manage health records and communications with healthcare providers securely online.” The “Sarah” persona, tailored specifically to hospital executives, is also featured on Medseek’s website and in their sales materials and so it seems the brand figured she’d play well in social media too.
From ClickZ:
Sara Baker was created as part of Medseek’s campaign launched in conjunction with a healthcare industry conference. As it says on her Facebook profile, “She represents ePatients nationwide who are ready to experience healthcare the same way they experience other industries: online. She books travel arrangements, pays bills, applies for credit, manages her investments, even buys movie tickets online.”
It’s interesting (and puzzling) that Medseek has decided to stick to their guns and pursue this dubious marketing tactic, despite criticism from visitors to the Facebook profile and healthcare and pharma marketing bloggers. In fact, they even have plans to create additionalonline personas.
According to the ClickZ story, Medseek originally considered recruiting a real person to engage on behalf of their brand. However, that plan was abandoned when complications arose with the potential candidate. On Medseek’s decision to go with a fictional character instead, Rich Grehalva, Medseek’s SVP marketing and strategic consulting “suggested that the real-life experience would not reflect the promise of the firm’s online communications and healthcare management offerings. Rather, they would only be representative of existing, arguably less-efficient, processes.”
Uh, ok.
I am of the opinion that this shift toward the practice of creating fictional personas dreamed up to perfectly suit a corporation’s needs (the phrase “virtual genetic engineering” springs to mind) is a slippery slope. I, for one, will quickly abandon any social network that becomes overrun by “imaginary friends.” I don’t think I’m alone in this.
Tactics like these are the antithesis of what good social media marketing is supposed to be about: authentic engagement. As one commenter on “Sarah’s Facebook page put it:
“Sorry, I’m lost. Is Alex the ‘Sarah Baker’ fake-patient-construct’s baby, or a real one, or yours-the-author-of-this-page, or someone else’s or… This page gives me a headache,” wrote one Facebook commenter.
Not exactly the impression you want to leave on your perspective customers