Successful Virtual Healthcare Conference Marketing: Four Ways to Connect When It Is Over

We’ve entered 2021 in the same state as last year when it comes to conference marketing. Virtual healthcare conferences are expected to be the norm into the near future, forcing pharma and medical device brands to continue adapting their event marketing strategies.

How has your event marketing approach pivoted? Have you been able to effectively follow up with healthcare professionals (HCPs) who attended an event?

Although socially distanced events have restricted your ability to forge relationships with delegates, there are several effective online resources for you to reach these wider virtual audiences.

Physicians are Online Anyway

According to a physician research conducted by Elsevier, more than 80% of physicians said online medical journals are their preferred resource. Notably, five sources emerged as most useful when prescribing treatments:

• Guidelines
• Medical journals
• Clinical trials
• Medical books
• Medical congresses

This reality provides a way for you to effectively position your brand within resources that HCPs rely on long after a virtual healthcare conference is over.

Digital Advertising and Sponsorships Are Today’s Handouts

As part of your follow-up strategy to the medical community, advertising in credible digital publications can be one of the more effective tactics. Targeted ads can take the place of printed handouts you provide at these events. Here are four options that could help you reach delegates once they leave.

• eReprints Digital reprints of relevant articles offer placement in any article from the latest issue of an Elsevier journal. Physicians read reprints frequently as a useful way to stay informed of the latest developments in their field. Ninety percent of physicians say they are useful for their practice. With eReprints from Elsevier, you can reach healthcare professionals through original, authoritative content.

• Article service Credible medical journals are a vital source of information for physicians. Through our online platform, your brand can sponsor 24/7 online access to search, read and download individually selected articles or full issues from our collection of more than 600 international journals, which you can share directly with delegates.

• Clinical guidelines Clinical guidelines define the way patients are diagnosed and treated in all specialties. Physicians turn to clinical guidelines, which are often endorsed by medical societies, as a reliable source of up-to-date information. Clinical practice guidelines include recommendations that intended to optimize patient care – often based on the results of a systematic review of the evidence.

• eBooks and eBook chapters Put knowledge at physicians’ fingertips with digital reprints of Elsevier’s range of eBooks. You can offer respected resources such as Gray’s Anatomy, Abbeloff’s Clinical Oncology, and Netter’s Atlas of Human Anatomy to your HCP audience from a selection of more than 20,000 titles. Academic books are a trusted and engaging way to increase awareness and educate HCPs, and you can associate your brand with classics through advertising or corporate sponsorship.

Is your 2021 virtual conference strategy super-charged to reach HCP audiences after the event? Download the virtual conference brochure and explore how Elsevier can help you achieve your marketing goal. 

Article Written by: Alex Brown