During his last year in pharmacy school, Brian K. Fung decided to pivot and venture into pharmacy informatics. He ended up doing his residency in pharmacy informatics and ultimately landed the job. He has spent seven years in pharmacy informatics, which is what most of his content is rooted in. 

Pharmacy informatics looks at the use and application of technology in the medication use process. For example, this field would be used to assess and review medication safety incidents and whether or not they were caused or related to the technology or systems used. 

This area of study has rapidly changed and grown over the years as doctor’s offices, medical practices, and pharmacies have switched to using computers rather than paper systems. 

“I’m very passionate about talking about pharmacy informatics and creating content related to it because we, unfortunately, I don’t think have done it very well. Sometimes, it’s like, “Hey, why do you need to fill out more papers every time I go see a new doctor?” It’s because of those systems. It was done too fast, so I’m very passionate about talking about this because I want more healthcare people to know about technology and to do a better job of creating those things.”

Brian’s Content 

Brian started creating content on YouTube. He created his channel in 2005 and began posting videos unrelated to the pharmacy field. 

“My very first video was lip-syncing in the college dorms to Backstreet Boys. So, I started on YouTube. I created videos over the years, just personal things, talking about different stuff. I talked about pharmacy to teach people about pharmacy. In 2016, I started to create content all about pharmacy informatics.”

YouTube is still Brian’s number one platform, especially when reaching pharmacists and healthcare workers in other countries. He also uses Twitter and Instagram to post related content. 

“I love cameras. I started to explore photography and videography. So, Instagram’s more about that. I do like videos and photos not related to pharmacy, and then I have Twitter, which is more professional. More recently, I was involved in Linkedin’s Creator Accelerator Program.”

Last January, Brian was part of the inaugural group of creators selected in the United States to participate in the Linkedin Creator Accelerator Program. He spoke about biomedical and pharmacy informatics during various events and continues to be highly active on the platform. 

Social Media Goals

When asked about his social media goals, Brian shares that he’s still figuring some of his goals out. 

However, he notes, “I think that what I’m trying to do is target more of the younger audience. A bit part of it is because the new generation is not reading. They’re not reading books. They’re not doing a lot of the traditional ways of consuming media. They’re on TikTok. They’re on YouTube. So, a lot of my content is educational, and I want to reach that younger [audience], so I can teach them as they grow up.”

Brian regularly encounters people who have never heard about informatics, so teaching younger generations this information early on is an important goal of his. 

“My target audience is students. Whether it’s college students or graduate students in pharmacy school, nursing school, or medical school.”

Brian’s Content Strategy

Brian shares that he’s noticed two things that work best for him. 

“One is very educational, informational videos [sharing] what is informatics, and it’s very succinct. It’s like it’s pharmacy plus technology. This is how you get there. Very informational type structured, though, no rambling. The second one is more personal videos, so I do a couple of videos where I just share more about my personal life, and people really resonate with that.”

His creative process focuses on creating content on a combination of recent trends and topics he is personally very passionate about and feels need more coverage. 

“I always like to tie things into a story, so I structure all my things [content] into like a background, a conflict, and a resolution.”

Often, he’ll add a personal story about how different parts of pharmacy informatics have helped others or his experience installing a particular computer system or working on a pharmacy informatics project. 

In addition to being a pharmacist, health data analyst, and content creator, Brian is also passionate about his photography and videography business. He shares that he doesn’t think he has incredible time management, but all of his interests overlap, which helps him sustain so many passions. 

The Biggest Misconceptions in the Creator Marketplace

One of the biggest misconceptions Brian notices in the creator marketplace is people thinking that they shouldn’t start a channel or platform dedicated to a particular topic because there are already YouTubers or creators making content on that topic.

“I think that one’s one of the biggest misconceptions because everyone has a story to tell, everyone has something unique to contribute… The second one is a big one too – the equipment. Sometimes I talk to people about my YouTube video, and they’re like, “Oh, I don’t have a camera, and I filmed for two years on my iPhone.”

Another challenge for creators that Brian has noticed is the struggle to charge appropriately for brand partnerships. There isn’t a lot of transparency about content rates online, making it challenging for creators to charge what they are worth. 

Future Plans

Brian shares that he is working on a pharmacy informatics creator seller program through the Linkedin Creator Accelerator Program. Through Linkedin, he was given a lot of support and resources, including around $20,000, to invest in the program he is creating. 

“I’m currently in the midst of putting it together with a couple of students and pharmacy informatics people, basically to create another Linkedin Creator Accelerator Program with a focus on pharmacy informatics. The goal is to teach students how to become content creators, how to advocate for an interest… but also pay them because everyone should be paid for their time.”
He adds, “The Linkedin creator salary program was all about generosity, so it’s giving back to the students. I’m going to mentor them, teach them how to do things.”