1. Medtronic (Corporate)
The medical device company, which develops insulin pumps for diabetes patients, has more than 16,000 followers. Wendy Blackburn, EVP of Intouch Solutions, said Instagram makes sense for diabetes marketing, since it has always been a disease category that is active on social media and tends to have a broad age range of patients.
2. Team Novo Nordisk (Corporate)
“Racing to inspire, educate and empower everyone affected by diabetes” is the tagline of Novo Nordisk’s diabetes pro cycling team. This account has more than 73,000 followers and close to 2,000 posts.
3. #BreatheBoldly(Campaign)
In honor of the late Leonard Nimoy, who famously played Mr. Spock from “Star Trek,” Philips Healthcare and the COPD Foundation launched the #BreatheBoldly campaign to raise awareness of COPD in November. Celebrities such as actress Whoopi Goldberg, actor Vince Vaughn, and reality TV star Melissa Gorga posted videos on their Facebook and Instagram pages to show the challenges of suffering from the condition.
4. Flonase (Brand)
Facebook Health industry manager Danielle Salowski points to GlaxoSmithKline’s over-the-counter allergy treatment Flonase as a good example of Instagram used well, showcasing vibrant seasonal imagery with related comments and information about how allergies affect people in the winter, spring, fall, and summer.
5. Pfizer (Corporate)
Blackburn doesn’t recommend deleting comments, even when they are negative. She noted that Pfizer has a lot of trolls on its Instagram page, but doesn’t delete them. “There will always be trolls and haters,” she said. “Deleting sends the wrong message because you’re on there to engage to begin with.”
See also: How can drugmakers tell better stories? Try Instagram
6. Bayer4Animals (Corporate)
According to a study by BarkBox, dog owners in the U.S. on average post one photo or talk about their dog on social media six times a week. Bayer Animal Health targets pet owners and animal lovers with engaging animal photos and information about keeping them healthy.
7. Tylenol (Brand)
Like Flonase, Johnson & Johnson’s Tylenol ties different moments throughout their year with content that tells a story through that lens, noted Salowski. “What I like about that is people know what to expect when they see content from Tylenol,” she said. “That’s how they’re connecting and engaging, and they just do a beautiful job with their photography and taking advantage of the mobile format.”
8. Emily Maynard for Diclegis (Influencer)
In June, The Bachelor and The Bachelorette’s Emily Maynard Johnson made a post about her experience taking Duchesnay USA’s morning sickness pill Diclegis — including safety information. It is the drugmakers second attempt at leveraging a celebrity spokesperson’s Instagram handle — following a less successful example with Kim Kardashian West in July 2015 — to reach its target audience of expectant mothers.
9. Novartis (Corporate)
Novartis’ corporate Instagram page comprises a mix of images and videos showing their corporate history and milestones, social and humanitarian efforts, and the drugmaker’s attention to education and training.
10. Sanofi (Corporate)
There are drugmakers like Sanofi that have created an Instagram handle but not yet activated it with posts.