The pharmaceutical industry is facing an ever-shifting landscape.
With patients increasingly turning to the internet for information about their health, pharmaceutical companies must adapt their marketing strategies to meet this new demand.
How?
Pharmaceutical content marketing provides an opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to provide patients and physicians with educational information.
To reach patients, pharmaceutical companies need to promote their message in the right places. Posting content is an ideal way to generate awareness about their services as it allows companies to reach a large audience quickly and easily. This is part of a broader strategy known as a “pharmaceutical content marketing strategy.”
Read on to learn more about the importance of a content marketing strategy, types, challenges and how you can get started today!
Why Is a Content Strategy Important for Pharma Marketers?
The pharmaceutical industry is one of the most heavily regulated industries globally. This means that pharmaceutical marketers have to be extra careful about the content they create and distribute. Content must be credible and thoroughly fact-checked, making it time consuming and difficult to speak to industry trends or the latest in the pharmaceutical space.
How Can You Create Engaging, Compliant Marketing Material?
First and foremost, you should build a pharmaceutical content marketing strategy using high-quality, informative content. This content should educate patients about their condition and the treatments available. It should also provide information about the side effects of drugs and how to manage them.
The bottom line?
Content marketing can be a powerful tool to reach and engage consumers with credible, far-reaching and authentic content. Companies can build trust and loyalty with potential patients by creating valuable content that speaks to their pain points.
Below are a few additional vital elements that you should include in any pharmaceutical content strategy:
Building Credibility and Trust
There is often a public perception that pharmaceutical companies care more about generating revenue than the health of their consumers. With so much online information, it’s challenging for consumers to distinguish factual information from exaggerated claims. A study conducted by the Pew Research Center found that 23% of Americans had, knowingly or unknowingly, shared a fabricated news story. Approximately 64% also said that this cycle of misinformation had left them greatly confused about basic facts. While this particular study related to current events, the pharmaceutical industry has also been greatly impacted by the coronavirus pandemic. With the speed in which false reports can be spread, people crave information sources that are reliable and credible.
How can you turn the tide?
Objective content helps your consumers cut through the noise in an age of misinformation. By providing reliable and objective information, you can help your audience make informed decisions about their health.
Generating Awareness
Pharmaceutical content marketing allows pharmaceutical companies to generate awareness and educate their target audiences about their products and services. Beyond simply conveying numbers and data, pharmaceutical content marketing tells a story that speaks to its target audience.
When creating a pharmaceutical content marketing strategy, it is essential to consider the following:
- Who is your target audience?
- What are you trying to raise awareness about?
- What type of content will resonate with your target audience?
- Finally, how will you measure the success of your content marketing efforts?
By taking the time to answer these questions, pharmaceutical marketers can develop a content strategy tailored to their specific awareness campaigns. Doing so will help to ensure that content is created that resonates with the target audience and drives measurable results.
Building Authentic Connections
The pharmaceutical industry is under immense pressure to show the value of its products in an ever-changing healthcare landscape. As a result, companies can foster authentic connections with key stakeholders, such as patients, physicians and payers.
There are several key actions that pharma companies can take to foster these authentic connections:
1. Be transparent about your product’s benefits and risks.
Patients and physicians need to make informed decisions about treatments, and they can only do this if they have all the information at hand. So be transparent about what your product can do, and don’t try to hide any potential risks.
2. Don’t oversell your product.
It’s essential to be realistic about what your product can achieve and not make false promises. Overselling your product will only lead to disappointed patients and physicians, and damage your company’s reputation in the long run.
3. Take the time to listen to patients and physicians.
These are the people using your products, so getting their feedback is essential. Listen to what they say, and use that feedback to improve your products and services.
4. Invest in patient education.
Helping patients understand their condition and how your product can help them is crucial. Patient education can take many forms, such as printed materials, online resources or even one-on-one conversations.
5. Form relationships with key thought leaders.
These people have a lot of influence in the medical community, and their endorsement can go a long way. Get to know these thought leaders, and try to get them on your side.
6. Build trust with patients, physicians and critical stakeholders.
By being transparent, listening to feedback and investing in education, pharma companies can build trust and show the value of their products.
Education
Educational content can provide support throughout a customer’s healthcare journey — from diagnosis to treatment — and many will look online for resources and answers to their questions. Pharmaceutical content marketing can help you reach and engage your target audience with educational content that meets their needs.
When developing a pharmaceutical content marketing strategy, consider the following:
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What educational content can you create to help your target audience throughout their healthcare journey?
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How can you make sure your educational content is easily accessible and engaging?
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What are some ways you can measure the success of your pharmaceutical content marketing efforts?
Some ideas for educational content include:
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Blog posts or articles on common health conditions and treatments
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Videos on how to take medication or use medical devices
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Infographics on disease states or treatment options
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Guides on navigating the healthcare system or understanding insurance coverage
Additionally, it’s crucial to create educational materials for physicians who use your products. Many companies feature free tutorials, training and guides. Content marketing and educational materials can help physicians use your products for better patient outcomes.
Challenges Facing the Pharmaceutical Market
As pharmaceutical companies increasingly turn to content marketing to connect with consumers, they face many challenges. A strong marketing strategy is essential to standing out and building trust with consumers, and content marketing can be a great way to create compelling and accurate content. However, there are several critical challenges to bear in mind when crafting a content strategy:
Reputation and Credibility
In the pharmaceutical industry, reputation is everything. Consumers are very invested in the companies they purchase from, which is foundational to reputation. Therefore, pharmaceutical companies must be cautious about their content. Content marketing can be a powerful reputation builder for pharmaceutical companies looking to connect with consumers.
Regulations
The pharmaceutical industry is among the most regulated, meaning there are many laws and regulations that companies have to follow when using content marketing. For example, pharma marketers can only promote specific things via advertising campaigns, and in some countries, they are not even allowed to advertise at all. In addition, any false or misleading claims could result in severe penalties. This can make it challenging to create and distribute accurate and compliant content. Lawyers often need to be involved in the creative process to make sure that everything is up to legal standards.
Companies can overcome regulatory challenges by being diligent in providing accurate information and being transparent. When crafting your strategy, you need to focus on creating accurate and compliant content to help you steer clear of regulatory issues.
Misinformation
In an era of misinformation, it can be challenging for consumers to discern what is true and what is not. Many consumers are encountering misinformation about health issues across various platforms. While providing information that consumers recognize as objective can be challenging, pharmaceutical companies must ensure that their content is accurate and trustworthy if they want it to be effective and build trust with their audience.
Privacy Concerns
Many consumers are worried about how their data will be used and shared. This can be a significant obstacle as you’re looking to personalize content, so you must address privacy concerns head on to win over skeptical consumers.
How is this done?
Pharmaceutical companies must be careful not to violate consumers' trust. They must balance providing personalized content and respecting consumer privacy. This means prioritizing privacy and trust in content marketing as much as in every other aspect of the pharmaceutical sector.
Despite these challenges, content marketing provides a unique opportunity for pharmaceutical companies to connect with consumers on a deeper level. Done right, content marketing can build trust, raise awareness and even drive sales!
Types of Content Marketing for Pharmaceutical Companies
If you're in the pharmaceutical industry, you know that marketing is essential to your success.
But what are the best types of content to use in your pharmaceutical marketing strategy?
Several different types of content tend to perform well with customers and prospects. Below is an overview of the seven most effective:
Articles:
Used for generating awareness and capturing the attention of lower funnel consumers, articles are an excellent way to provide valuable information about your pharmaceutical products and services.
Case Studies:
lllustrate real-life success scenarios within your pharmaceutical company and build credibility. Case studies allow potential customers to explore the value of your pharmaceutical products and services with these real-world examples of how your solutions have helped solve specific challenges other organizations face.
Videos:
Engaging and informative, videos are an excellent tool for pharmaceutical companies to connect with their customers on a more personal level. They are an increasingly popular method for consuming content, sharing your brand’s values and building trust.
Infographics:
Another popular way to build credibility with your audience is using infographics to break down complicated concepts. Quick and easy to digest, infographics are perfect for pharmaceutical companies to communicate complex information in a visually appealing way.
Newsletters:
A great way to keep your audience up to date on the latest industry news and advancements, newsletters are also a way to share what's happening within your own pharmaceutical company.
Thought Leadership:
These pieces are a great way to show your pharmaceutical company's expertise in the industry. Thought leadership content can help you attract and retain customers and build credibility with your audience.
News Curation:
A great way to show your pharmaceutical company's commitment to staying up to date on the latest industry news and advancements, news curation allows you to showcase objective materials and insights.
When it comes to pharmaceutical content marketing, various types of pharmaceutical marketing content can be used to reach and engage your target audience. For example, you can effectively connect with your customers and drive profitable customer action by creating and distributing articles, case studies, videos, infographics, newsletters and thought leadership pieces. When creating your content marketing strategy, consider what content will best align with your business goals and objectives.
Getting Started With a Pharmaceutical Content Marketing Strategy
Content marketing can benefit your business in many ways, including establishing it as a thought leader in your industry, providing the public with valuable and relevant information and helping to generate leads and conversions. In addition, by creating content that speaks to your target audience's pain points and needs, you'll be able to guide them through the buyer's journey.
How do you kickstart your pharmaceutical content marketing strategy?
Here are some fundamental steps and tips on getting started with a content marketing strategy:
Define your goals and KPIs.
It's vital to think about what you want to achieve when setting goals and KPIs for your content marketing strategy. For example, do you want to generate brand awareness? Drive leads? Increase conversions? Once you have a good understanding of your goals, you'll be able to develop a strategy that's aligned with them.
Research your target audience.
Once you know what you want to achieve, you need to research your target audience. Who are your customers? What are their demographics? What are their pain points? By understanding your target audience, you'll be able to create content that resonates.
Brainstorm content ideas.
Once you understand your target audience, it's time to brainstorm content ideas. What type of content is your target audience consuming? How can you provide a fresh perspective? What formats will you utilize? Answering these questions will help you develop ideas for blog posts, infographics, videos and more.
Create an editorial calendar.
Once you have a list of content ideas, it's time to design a content marketing editorial calendar. This will ensure that content is being produced regularly. Having an editorial calendar will also help you stay organized and on track.
Develop and distribute content.
Last but not least, you need to develop a plan for content development and distribution. For example: Who will write the content? How will it be distributed? Will you use your team or a third party? Are you interested in licensing options? Answering these questions will help you develop a solid distribution plan.
By following these tips, you'll be well on your way to developing a successful pharmaceutical content marketing strategy.
5 Examples of Content Marketing in Pharma
When done right, content marketing can be an extremely effective way to reach and engage patients, prescribers, payers and other key stakeholders. But the process is not always easy, and it requires a significant investment of time, resources and energy.
Below are some exceptional pharma content marketing examples to help you get started:
1. Johnson & Johnson uses educational marketing to connect with physicians.
J&J has an institute where they promote educational events and courses. This center allows them to connect directly with physicians by providing thought leadership and courses.
2. Pfizer focuses content on the patient.
Pfizer produces content on various topics related to health and wellness. It publishes articles targeting everyday consumers by addressing their health.
3. Hims uses content with casual language.
Hims uses casual, friendly language in its marketing campaign to get men to talk about baldness and erectile dysfunction.
4. GSK created an interactive app.
GSK boasts an interactive app designed to raise COPD awareness. It is inspired by the traditional Chinese art form of blow painting and paints a tree as you breathe.
5. Eli Lilly and Company ses a blog to share pharmaceutical content.
LillyPad, a blog from Eli Lilly and Company, posts about health, research and companywide information.
As you can see, there is no one-size-fits-all approach to content marketing in pharma — each company is tailoring its strategy to fit its own unique needs and goals. These are just some examples of how pharmaceutical companies use content marketing to reach and engage their target audiences.
Final Thoughts
Pharmaceutical content marketing has become an invaluable tool for pharmaceutical companies to engage with consumers and promote their products. However, reliable scientific content for highly regulated disciplines such as biotech and pharma can be hard to draft. As a result, it is essential to remember that not all content is created equally. You’ll need to work with a reputable and experienced content marketing company to ensure that your content is effective.
