The Past, Present and Future of Digital Marketing for Pharmaceuticals
Advertising for prescription drugs has pervaded nearly every traditional and digital marketing medium. From television ads touting the benefits of an array of medications to pharmaceutical search ads that target consumers and healthcare providers, many companies are utilizing a wide array of marketing tools to build awareness of their brands among medical professionals and potential patients alike.
An understanding of the history of strategies for digital marketing pharmaceuticals will prove useful for companies in creating a comprehensive plan for branding and marketing in the future. This can translate into higher awareness of the company's products and an improved market position in the future.
A Brief History of Digital Pharmaceutical Advertising
The first digital banner ad made its debut on October 27, 1994, as part of the Wired Magazine website. It was created by AT&T and began a revolution in the marketing industry. While it is not certain when the first pharmaceutical display ads placed or viewed, the Center for Digital Democracy notes that spending for digital marketing pharmaceuticals began to expand in 1997 after the Food and Drug Administration relaxed its guidelines for direct-to-consumer advertising in the pharma industry. Along with traditional media like television and magazine ads, digital venues for advertising are also available to reach consumers and healthcare providers alike. These digital platforms offer cost-effective and practical ways to increase awareness of products and brands in the public arena.
An Array of Options
The avenues available for digital marketing pharmaceuticals include the following platforms and strategies:
Pharmaceutical search ads
A presence on social media platforms
Display ads for pharmaceutical products
Content creation campaigns designed to build the brand's reputation
As more pharma companies begin to explore the value of digital marketing pharmaceuticals strategies, they will become more critical to the success of products and brands in the competitive marketplace.
The Practical Value of Pharmaceutical Search Ads
In search engines like Google and Bing, typing in symptoms will often result not only in an amateur diagnosis but also in a range of search ads that are designed to target those specific symptoms. From headache to fever, consumers can expect to see an array of prescription and non-prescription options delivered to them through search ads.
NBC News reported in July 2020 that 80 percent of internet users search for health-related content online. This amounts to 93 million people in the United States alone. Creating targeted pharmaceutical search ads that pop up when a specific symptom or set of symptoms is entered into the search engine bar will typically result in greater awareness of the available solutions for those symptoms. This could result in increased sales and more requests by patients for medications mentioned in these pharmaceutical search ads.
Implementing Pharmaceutical Social Media Strategies
According to research conducted by The WorldCom Public Relations Group and released in 2019 in their Digital Health Monitor report, many pharmaceutical companies are failing to take full advantage of social media platforms to build awareness for their products and their brands. Twitter accounts for 90 percent of all pharmaceutical social media activity, following by Facebook at only nine percent. YouTube and LinkedIn barely represent a blip in the pharmaceutical social media world.
Pharma companies that are achieving success in the social media world typically make numerous posts and stay in contact with their potential patients and healthcare providers. Merck, for example, focuses on Twitter and makes about a post a day on this platform. Companies interested in achieving measurable results for their pharmaceutical social media campaigns should focus on quantity as well as quality and on diversifying their social media presence across a range of platforms.
Staying responsive on social media sites is also critical to the success of these campaigns. This includes incorporating recent news into posts as well as responding to questions and concerns promptly. By reacting in a positive manner to all types of social media queries, pharma companies can build a good reputation among current and potential patients and healthcare professionals.
Pharmaceutical Display Ads
While the bulk of spending in digitally marketing pharmaceutical products continues to be in search ads, pharmaceutical display ads can reach a wider audience and offer a good return on investment for companies with new products or a brand to build. According to eHealthcare Solutions, one issue with pharmaceutical banner ads is their uniformity. Banner ads for pharma typically employ the same techniques, the same moving parts and even the same sizes to get their points across to their target audiences.
Reaching a wider audience with display ads can be achieved in a few ways:
Purchasing ad space on popular healthcare websites
Increasing spend on Facebook and Google ads
Diverting some of the budget for television advertising to pharmaceutical display ads on top websites
Along with the more popular search ads, display ads offer a real opportunity to increase awareness of brands and products in the larger marketplace. This can add up to increased sales and improved branding for companies in the pharma industry.
Creating Relevant and Engaging Content
Blogs, guest posts and articles for social media sites are a great way to build a solid and positive reputation for pharma companies. This can also position the company as a trusted provider of accurate information, which can go a long way toward creating a positive brand image.
The Edelman's Trust Barometer 2020 indicates that healthcare continues to be one of the most trusted industries in the United States and globally. When healthcare is divided into its five constituent segments, however, the picture looks much bleaker for pharmaceutical companies. Pharma companies earn the lowest degree of trust among the public, lagging behind hospitals and clinics, biotech, over-the-counter health products and health insurance.
A carefully planned and implemented content creation program could go a significant way toward repairing this battered image. Blogs and articles can deliver information consumers and healthcare providers need in a timely way. This will generally result in increased visibility for pharma companies and will prove to be a valuable component of an overall strategy for digital marketing pharmaceuticals.
Expanding Reach With Digital Marketing
Research firm eMarketer's U.S. Healthcare and Pharma Digital Ad Spending 2019 report indicates that pharmaceutical companies continue to underspend on online advertising compared with other sectors of the economy. This represents a missed opportunity for many companies that could benefit from digital marketing strategies for new medications and for their brands.
For most pharma companies, working with a digital marketing firm that has extensive experience in the pharmaceutical advertising field is the best way to ensure the success of their online marketing strategies. Companies that specialize in building a brand from the ground up can create pharmaceutical social media campaigns, digital ads and content that promotes the pharma firm and public health at the same time. This can lead to increased profitability and stability while ensuring the most positive reputation for pharma companies in the medical marketplace and in public venues.
Creating a comprehensive digital marketing strategy now could help pharma companies take advantage of new developments in the online marketplace. Augmented reality and virtual reality technologies are already being used in the healthcare field to deliver treatments and to market services. By taking the first steps now, pharmaceutical firms can prepare effectively for the next wave of technological advances that will revolutionize marketing in the future.
Black Drone offers digital marketing services tailored to pharmaceuticals. Reach out to receive a free paid media account audit identifying ways to increase your ROI.