What pharma marketers can learn from social media influencers

Influencer marketing has become a prominent strategy in recent years due to its ability to engage consumers in an informal manner. Compared with other forms of digital marketing, influencer channels tend to be more focused on shared experiences.

While influencer campaigns are most often deployed in B2C channels, there's a lot that pharmaceutical marketers can learn and apply to their physician-targeted ads. In today's ultra-competitive market, these lessons can enhance multichannel campaigns.

How do social media influencers persuade their followers?

It's in the name: Influencers are valued by marketers for their ability to entice their social media followers to take an action such as purchasing a product. However, influencers almost never employ a hard sell; their tactics are much more subtle.

It may be helpful for marketers to think of an influencer's social media presence as a series of interconnected storylines. Each storyline embodies some aspect of a brand identity. For example, an influencer who partners with athletic clothing companies may show off their workout routine or share tips on how to stay motivated.

Influencers are also connectors, serving as ambassadors between consumers and brands. Importantly, influencers position themselves not as official brand representatives, but as members of the community who provide value to their followers in the form of entertainment or advice.

According to Relatable's 2019 State of Influencer Marketing Report, 94% of surveyed marketers believe influencers are effective at engaging consumers. Additionally, 79% of marketing teams plan to dedicate some of their budget to an influencer campaign in the next 12 months. There will be no shortage of examples for pharma marketers to learn from.

The influencer as an advisor

As with content marketing, influencer marketing utilizes the concept of thought leadership to attract readers and followers. Just as marketers can position a blog post to provide advice to readers, influencers use social media posts to offer guidance. According to the Digital Marketing Institute, 49% of consumers depend on influencer recommendations to make purchasing decisions.

When marketing to doctors, pharma stakeholders should remember that their audience is busy and may lack the time to learn about new products. By coming to the conversation with data points and helpful information, marketers can position their brand as a vital source of intelligence.

Influencers appeal to consumers because they are perceived as relatable and trustworthy.

The importance of visuals

Relatable reported that Instagram is the preferred platform of the majority of influencer campaigns. The visual nature of this channel appeals to the short attention span of social media followers. Influencer posts need to engage their intended audience before users scroll away.

In this regard, the distracted social media user isn't that different from the busy physician. Pharma marketers need to capture readers' attention before they flip to the next page of their medical journal. Captivating imagery can support this goal.

The value of authenticity

Influencers are often successful at engaging their audiences because they are perceived as more authentic than other forms of marketing. Business marketing expert Jeff Bullas recently explained that influencers are most effective when they spend time building trust with their audience before promoting products. The audience needs to be comfortable enough to feel a connection with the influencer before they'll engage with promotional posts.

Pharma marketers also need to build trust with their physician readers. By demonstrating alignment between physician needs and the pharma product's value proposition, marketers can begin to develop a level of trust with readers.

Takeaways

Pharma marketers can leverage influencer strategies to engage physicians by:

• Using easily digestible data to demonstrate thought leadership.
• Employing eye-catching visuals to quickly engage distracted readers.
• Building trust with physician readers before going for the hard sell.

ELS Media Kits provides a trusted environment of peer-reviewed content and access to medical influencers and advocates through its society affiliations. To learn more, connect with an expert consultant from Elsevier today.