Mobile video: Is it right for your pharmaceutical brand?

Smartphones and other mobile devices have become our daily go-to platform for viewing content on the web. Many medical marketers have already optimized their written content for mobile and now it's time to do the same for video.

The rise of mobile video

As mobile data speeds have improved, the days of forever-buffering videos are rapidly disappearing. For many smartphone users, and especially those in metropolitan areas, videos load quickly and look great. You only need to look at the most popular video website to understand; according to Google, 50 percent of all minutes watched on YouTube are via smartphones. Further, the source reported that viewers tend to be far less distracted when watching videos on their phone, compared to any other screen.

Smartphones are an optimal channel through which to reach a desired audience because the devices are more prevalent than ever before. Between 2011 and 2017, smartphone ownership rose by 35 percent, bringing the total market share up to 77 percent of the total population, reported Pew Research Center. Among physicians, those numbers are even higher. Not only do healthcare professionals browse the web on mobile devices in their spare time, but also at work. According to Kantar Media, 82 percent of doctors use smartphones for professional purposes.

In other words, if it seems like everyone is on their phones, they probably are. The average American spends two and half hours on their smartphone each day, Business Insider reported, citing information from Statista. Marketers simply cannot ignore those kinds of engagement numbers.

Video engagement is higher on smartphones than any other screen.

The benefits of marketing with mobile video

So, people like to use their smartphones and they enjoy watching mobile videos. But that's not all. Google reported that people who watch videos on their phone are 1.4 times as likely to watch ads on their devices and they are 1.4 times as likely to pay attention to branded content. Viewers not only pay more attention, but they also feel a greater connection with the advertisers. According to the source, smartphone viewers are twice as likely to feel personally connected to a brand's video content, compared to traditional TV viewers.

Furthermore, mobile users would rather watch videos about products than read about them. Perhaps due to the smaller size of the screen, it's simply easier and quicker to watch a video and get the necessary information, than it is to scroll through a long series of short paragraphs. In fact, the video marketing experts at Animoto found that four times as many people would rather watch a product video than read a description. Plus, that affection carries over to other marketing channels; the source found that customers are 50 percent more likely to read an email newsletter that includes video links, compared to static text.

How pharma marketers can utilize video and expert-curated content

Promoting a mobile video next to peer-reviewed or expert-curated content can become an incredibly powerful marketing tool for pharmaceutical brands. The channels themselves are frequented by medical professionals - not the general public. This factor alone gives marketers a better shot at reaching their intended audience. Combining that strategic plan with the benefits of mobile video creates a powerful solution that is more likely to get noticed than text alone.

To learn more about how to leverage peer-reviewed journal websites or expert-curated websites to reach a targeted physician audience with video content, visit ELSMediaKits.com today.