Pharma’s Digital Front Door

A Cultural Paradigm Shift Towards Digital Opinion Leaders

Traditional key opinion leaders (KOLs) and digital opinion leaders (DOLs) may both have a stronghold of influence in their respective treatment and therapeutic areas. You may find an esteemed KOL on an advisory board or at a congress. But they exist in an almost completely different ecosphere than a DOL in the way that research information is disseminated and shared.

With the growing adoption of digital platforms, pharma can now identify and engage influential digital opinion leaders on new channels. You may find the DOL on their phone or computer tweeting the latest research or findings through social media channels like Twitter where the reach and audience may be broader and more diverse.

From congresses to social media, these two types of influencers are critical for Medical Affairs and Field MSLs to understand and engage. However, the approach and strategy for sourcing DOLs and their landscape may look completely different.

A traditional KOL may have influence in terms of the articles written or the conferences at which they speak, but only a DOL has the outsized reach made possible through social media. Currently, DOLs and KOLs exist in largely different universes with little overlap.

Download our industry best practices guide: Social Media, Research, & A Digital Front Door: The Emergence of Digital Opinion Leader.