New guidelines intended to increase confidence in connecting brands and health information with social media audiences

The Australian Self Medication Industry (ASMI) will launch new industry social media guidelines at its annual conference in Sydney today, to help guide non-­- prescription healthcare marketers to continue to engage with audiences in the new media in a compliant and responsible manner.

The new guidelines represent the evolution of the Australian consumer healthcare industry, which recognises the increasing importance of responsible behaviour and sharing of health information in the social media and digital content era.

Filomena Maiese, ASMI Marketing & Business Development Director, says that with the growing presence of social media in Australia, it was important to prepare healthcare organisations to engage with consumers in a new space.

“The healthcare industry has traditionally been quite hesitant to adopt social media because of the complexity of regulations surrounding health communication.

“With almost 80 per cent of people looking for health information online, it’s important that marketers feel confident and secure in providing the right health information to audiences.”

ASMI’s Industry Social Media Guidelines are available to view or download at www.asmi.com.au.

They are intended as a broad industry guide only and do not replace or alter an organisation’s obligations under any relevant code of conduct, regulation or legislation.

This article was published in the Public Relations Institute of Australia (PRIA) newsroom on November 14, 2013.