Pfizer Facebook Page Returns With No Impact on Other Pages

Pfizer’s Facebook page was hacked July 19, and after a temporary takedown, the Facebook.com/Pfizer page is back up. 

“As you might have noticed, our Page was compromised last night. We have been working with Facebook to understand what happened so we can guard against it in the future,” wrote the company on its Facebook wall yesterday. “Thank you for your patience while our page has been down, and we are pleased to be sharing our news with you once more.”

Reportedly, a hacker group called Script Kiddies commandeered the Facebook page, calling Pfizer “corrupt,” and noting that “the damage they create is senseless.” A screenshot of the hacked posts was published on TheHawthorneEffect.com

Pharma marketers are already concerned about a new Facebook rule that will force many of their pages to enable user comments starting August 15. Pharma brands are highly risk averse when it comes to discussions about their drugs and products in social media environments, but the company said the decision was made in an effort to keep Facebook a forum for open dialogue.

Calling the hack a “learning experience,” Pfizer’s VP Corporate Communications Raymond Kerins Jr. said the hack will have no impact on the other drug brand or disease-related Facebook pages it operates. “This environment is one that is dynamic and we’re watching very closely,” he said, referring to Facebook.  ”It’s really an important channel that patients and doctors have decided this is how they want to communicate.”

The hack is a “security issue” rather than “a Pfizer or pharma issue,” suggested Jim Dayton, senior director of emerging media at Intouch Solutions, a pharma marketing agency.

Still, he’s concerned it could have a chilling effect on pharma marketing in social media platforms. “My fear is that this will just be another incident that pharma companies will use to justify their lack of involvement in social media,” he continued.  

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Rihanna’s Camp/Label Juicing Facebook ‘Likes’ For Publicity?

It’s believed that record labels have boosted first week album sales for years, all in an attempt to dictate public perception, and in turn, raise an artist’s profile. But, are the majors now boasting fan/follower counts on social networks such as Facebook and Twitter?

That’s exactly what’s happening, according to Boston-based viral marketing firm ViralMS (ViralMS.com), which offers a service that allows users to purchase Facebook “fans.”

Last Thursday (July 14), popstar Rihanna made headlines when she surpassed Lady Gaga to become the most popular female on Facebook, boasting over 40.6 million fans … and to date, has reached 41.1 million.

However, was the singer’s numbers juiced for publicity, and to dictate popularity in the social media world?

ViralMS confirmed to BallerStatus.com that their “Buy Facebook Fans” service (ViralMS.com) was purchased for Rihanna’s official Facebook page (Facebook.com/Rihanna), just one day before she overtook Lady Gaga and made headlines.

We’ve obtained a snapshot of the transaction details of the order from the company’s Paypal account (see here ), which shows that an order was placed for 100,000 fans — the number Rihanna had passed Gaga by, at the time of our report — for the cost of $7,799.

While ViralMS could not confirm who placed the order (due to privacy policy), they suggested the possibility that it was either a crazed fan, or Rihanna’s camp/label. It’s likely that the latter would be the logical answer.

Apparently, this is a normal practice …and ViralMS has been offering it to high-profile clients since their launch in 2008. They say the “more fans they have the more popular they appear.”

“We have a wide demographic of famous individuals who buy Facebook fans. Ever since we started the industry we have worked with high-profile actors, musicians, politicians, athletes, and even Fortune 500 companies,” a rep for the company told us.

“Humans are historically social creatures and they form friendships with other humans,” the rep added. “The Internet has given celebrities a way to really flex their muscles through social networks. The more fans they have the more popular they appear — it’s like a game to them, really.”

ViralMS claims to receive orders to boost Facebook numbers from regular individuals on a daily basis, and from celebrities “every few weeks”; and on Twitter, the orders are coming in at an even higher volume.

On Twitter, Rihanna has more than 6.2 million followers and currently ranks at #13 among all users. Lady Gaga still reigns supreme on the social media site with 11.7 followers, with Justin Bieber at #2 and President Obama at #3.

The perception of more fans/followers seems to hold a lot of weight in today’s world. If it didn’t, services like those of ViralMS wouldn’t be as successful as they are.

Inquiries to Rihanna’s camp/label for comment were not answered at press time.

What’s your take? Does a celebrity’s fan and follower counts affect your decision to buy and/or support their products, music, movies, etc? Let us know in the comments below.

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