Content Marketing Tips for Medical Technology Brands

If there is one thing the coronavirus has revealed, it’s that traditional marketing approaches need to adapt to an ever-changing market. The medical technology industry (along with nearly every other sector) has encountered a disrupted environment.

So it’s time to look at your med tech marketing strategy and see if it needs an update. Here are a few ways to adapt to the changing climate.

 

Tie Campaigns to Sales Cycle

Medical technology sales are complex, with lengthy sales cycles, multiple stakeholders, and significant price tags. And as we’ve seen recently, face-to-face meetings with physicians and other healthcare professionals have become challenging to secure.

Marketing campaigns have become super-important to building connections with HCPs in light of this limited access. Accordingly, inbound and outbound channels must be managed to attract and nurture as the sales cycle develops.

Focus on creating personalized campaigns that target audience segments based on where they are in that cycle. Some should build awareness at the top of the marketing funnel, while others support product exploration or drive actions like scheduling a sales call.  

 

Use Social Media for One-to-One Relationships with Reps

LinkedIn claims that 78% of salespeople who use social media as a sales tool outsell their peers. So it’s no surprise that med tech brands should be using social media to reach HCPs.

For maximum impact in “social selling,” your reps should use SM channels to nurture relationships with their audiences. Whether it is to educate, inform, or even entertain, reps should connect via social as a means to support your brand social campaigns.

As with other content marketing initiatives, social content should “touch” HCPs at different points along the sales cycle. By taking a social approach, reps support brand/product messaging in a personal way and build a communication channel where physicians and other stakeholders spend time doing research.

 

Update SEO Keyword Strategy

The pandemic drove searches for a plethora of terms not historically notable such as “pandemic”, “ventilator”, and “incubation period” (and introduced us to “Covid-19”). So brands focusing on search marketing have had to modify their ad accounts and optimization strategies to accommodate for the increased popularity of certain terms.

If you haven’t already, take a look at your keyword sets for opportunities to target new or evolving terms that HCPs may be using to research medical technology. For instance, devices that address diabetic conditions may also be relevant to avoiding complications from the coronavirus. So “Covid 19 blood glucose” may be a keyword to add to your target lists.

 

Advertise in Respected Publications

Trust building is as important as ever with all the disruption we have seen. Med tech brands must establish a foothold with their audiences by delivering content that is authentic, independently supported, and factual. In addition, you must align their content with respected industry media–where HCPs turn for research and insights.

Reputable journals in health, life sciences, physical sciences & engineering, and social sciences & humanities provide opportunities to imprint brand equity in the minds of healthcare professionals in many disciplines.

 

Increase Inbound Campaigns

Reduced one-to-one sales calls mean your brand must rely on self-directed research as an avenue to reach busy HCPs. As such, you should increase the volume, reach, and velocity of inbound marketing campaigns.

Search engine marketing, web events, downloads, and other tactics must take center stage in your digital marketing program. Your inbound content should attract and build loyalty as you move prospects closer to approval for your technology. With so many HCPs researching on their own timelines, you’ve got to have the best content at the right place during the right time to establish and sustain interest.

 

If you’re interested in learning about how HCPs use online resources and education material to influence their practice, check out our infographic on this 2021 global study. 

 

Article Written by: Alex Brown