Devoted to online marketing, viral marketing, and web marketing

A report by eMarketer estimates that online ad spend by pharmaceutical companies should increase by almost 25% this year, to around $780 million. They add that it could reach up to $1.3 billion by 2008.

They also say that over 30 million Americans are now using the Internet as the first choice to use when searching for health care information. 

Another big change is that the "advertising and marketing of pharmaceuticals is changing direction — and channels, too — from "direct-to-consumer" to "direct-to-patient," from mass marketing to relationship marketing."

The conclusion of the report, as far as marketing to this audience, is that it will probably be more effective to drop the hard sell when offering their drugs. A better way to market online is to tap into social networks and online support groups that offer more insight into the specific health problem.

Another suggestion they make is that it is also very helpful to keep searching the numerous consumer blogs out there for what people have to say about their products and any input they may have.

All of these should be an increasing part of all online marketers' strategies.