Social Media Content Development Checklist

All social media content for the Oncology channels must satisfy the below requirements in order to be posted. B2 reserves the right to not post content if these requirements are not met. For more information, please refer to the Oncology Distribution Standards or the Oncology Digital Asset Guidelines or contact [email protected]; [email protected] and/or [email protected].

IMPORTANT: The process for facilitating paid promotions has been updated. Please contact the correct people to facilitate:

1. Prior to content development

  • Ensure alignment at Novartis internally and that Novartis social team is aware of plans. Ideally 2 months prior. N2 team should be looped from the beginning of the planning.
  • Complete first section of the submission forms and send to C&E and N2 teams no less than 10 days prior.
  • Schedule call with appropriate agency partner to discuss plans for content and paid promotion
  • Complete Campaign Brief
  • Complete campaign fact finding worksheet (as applicable)
  • Ensure content is applicable to full global audiences for the channels. If not, discuss possibilities for dark promoted ads.
  • Make sure proper MBA and PO# are set up with N2.

2. During content development

a) Visuals

  • Please see the Digital Asset Guidelines for additional guidance on visuals
  • Use BrandLab templates for all social media images/visuals – social media templates can be found HERE
  • Confirm spelling of executives’/employees’ names, correct titles, and most recent headshots in all quote cards
  • Ensure that there are no brand, compound or clinical trial mentions in any copy, including quote cards
  • The visual templates on the Brand Lab are sized appropriately for business Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn channels. Keep in mind that if visuals are developed for an executive/personal channel, the sizing will likely need to be adjusted
  • Ensure that images/videos/GIFs are compliant with platform requirements, including image sizing/specs and paid requirements (i.e., percentage of text in the image).
  • All videos must have subtitles

b) Links

  • For any post linking to a Novartis-owned site, the posts should be drafted and images sized accordingly so that the visual is clickable:
    • Twitter: All link posts must be a website card. Don’t include link in post copy, and draft additional copy for a headline (45 characters or less). Image specs can be found HERE
    • Facebook: If post will be organic and as long as the link doesn’t pull through any non-compliant metadata, the image should be sized for a carousel (specs can be found HERE). If promoted-only or if it will be posted organically and then boosted, it should be drafted to include additional requirements for the ad, such as a headline and a call-to-action button. Information on available ad formats, including specs and requirements for each, can be found HERE
    • LinkedIn: If post will be organic, ensure that the link doesn’t pull through any non-compliant metadata. Image can be sized as usual. If promoted-only, please see options for ads and specs HERE
  • Develop UTM parameters for any links that are on a Novartis-owned site. This can be done before the link is finalized and/or live and should be included in submission forms. This website helps with building URLs. (Do not include UTMs for anything linking to a third party website)
  • If linking to a press release from LinkedIn, be sure to choose an image to accompany the post in order to override the metadata, which is almost always non-compliant

c) General

  • Copy should not be the same across channels. Posts should be developed only for the channels that make sense based on objective(s) and target audience, and content should be drafted with language and tone appropriate for the channel(s) and the target audience.
  • Be sure that appropriate hashtags are used for the disease awareness moment, medical meeting, etc., and that the hashtags are the correct ones. For LinkedIn posts that will be boosted or promoted-only, do not include hashtags if the goal is to drive to a website, as LinkedIn charges any click as a link click, including those on hashtags
  • If appropriate, tag organizations or individuals in posts (both within Novartis and outside of Novartis)
  • Be sure to disclose any type of sponsorship
  • Be sure to disclose if content is intended for a US-only audience
  • Develop content for the rest of the Novartis ecosystem (i.e., executives’ channels), as appropriate. Original posts and/or shares/retweets can be developed for the following executives:
    • Susanne Schaffert (LinkedIn)
    • Vas Narasimhan (Twitter & LinkedIn)
    • Jay Bradner (Twitter & LinkedIn)
    • Ameet Mallik (Twitter & LinkedIn)
    • Kees Roks (Twitter & LinkedIn)
    • John Tsai (LinkedIn)
  • For milestones that are specific to Oncology, indicate in submission forms that Oncology will retweet/share relevant Group posts
  • For Twitter polls, be sure to indicate desired duration in the submission forms
  • If executing paid promotion, please fully complete the paid details & targeting sections for each corresponding platform within the submission forms. Please reach out to the appropriate agency partner with any questions regarding paid targeting
  • If posts correspond to a press release, refer to the press release checklist
  • Indicate dates/times for all content. While the appropriate agency partner can execute discretion in posting based on content priorities or the climate on social media, all teams should provide an initial recommendation. Ensure that post language aligns with timing (i.e., “Yesterday, the FDA approved…” should be issued the day after the approval. Recommend keeping timing language general to maintain flexibility.)
  • It is not recommended to evaluate content performance based on the dates/times it was issued, as other metrics, such as engagement rate, paint a better picture. However, in general it is recommended to pulse out Global content earlier in the day, given the time change, while US content can be peppered throughout the day. Please note that the Oncology channels do not issue posts outside of business hours (Eastern Time)

3. Before P/oMAP submission

  • Be sure to secure written consent of any individuals being featured in any media assets being issued on social media (e.g., photos, videos, etc.) regardless of whether they are NVS employees or third party
  • If content is country or region-specific, it must be routed through the corresponding regional review/approval process prior to being submitted to P/oMAP
  • C&E and N2 teams reviews ALL social content prior to submission (requires 5 days)
  • Share any content for executives’ approval (quote cards, posts, shares, etc.) with C&E team via email by EOD Mondays. Note that content does not have to be P/oMAP approved before being shared with executives, but it is preferred.

4. After P/oMAP approval

  • Any social content, actions or engagements planned for Group or NIBR channels will need to be submitted to those teams accordingly for review after approved in P/oMAP
    • Please note that Group requires 5 business days for the review/approval of any content after it has been submitted to Sharepoint
  • If any changes are made to executive content during review, be sure to share those changes with appropriate agency partner.

5. Before sharing with N2 team for posting (5 business days prior)

  • If applicable, create links using the UTM parameters that were drafted prior to submission
  • Confirm that visuals are the correct dimensions for the corresponding platforms and attach files when sharing final content with appropriate agency partner.
    • Please ensure the file names of all media assets include the social channel they are intended for (i.e. TW, FB, LI) and that it is clear which post they correspond to
  • Confirm exact dates and time for posts (if dependent on release/approval/etc., note “day 1, 9:00 AM EST”, etc.)
  • Confirm correct spelling of executives’/employees’ names, correct titles, and most recent headshots

6. During/after posting

  • For any engagements to be carried out by the Oncology channels, please email each engagement request to C&E team at the time it is to be carried out, including the live link to the original post and the engagement to be carried out. Each team is responsible for engagement approvals.
  • Any metrics/results requests for the Oncology and Susanne Schaffert’s channels need to be requested via email and allow 5 business days for these results to be delivered 
  • Contact Group for web metrics and social metrics for posts issued by the corporate channels or corresponding executives
  • Contact NIBR for social metrics for posts issued by their channels or corresponding executives

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