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5 Reasons Why Medical Suppliers Should Blog

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The challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic aggravated the global healthcare supply chain. New viruses and supply shortages made it arduous for providers to procure supplies for quality patient care. But after three years of tackling new challenges and making the healthcare supply chain more efficient, providers are now seeking more resiliency from black swan events like COVID-19.

Medical suppliers must work in a more coordinated way with health systems moving forward to create a more integrated healthcare supply chain. One way medical suppliers can communicate their effectiveness and resourcefulness to health systems is through blogging.

Blogging allows medical suppliers to stay in front of provider audiences and show their expertise about industry trends. Using blogs as part of a multichannel marketing strategy allows them to reach current or potential customers along the healthcare supply chain.

Here are 5 reasons why medical suppliers should blog:

1.     Build trust with the healthcare audience. The best performing blogs can answer common questions about a product or service. This helps establish medical suppliers as more knowledgeable, and industry education is a top customer retention strategy. 

2.     Educate and engage. Medical suppliers can use blogs as a touchpoint with the healthcare industry to show their expertise. Each post shouldn’t focus on their products, but be a reliable source of information on the healthcare supply chain.

3.     Expand the brand. Blogging can help customers understand medical suppliers’ day-to-day business. It can also provide entry into a more personable side of the business that customers enjoy connecting with.

4.     Drive website traffic. Medical suppliers with a blog can drive traffic to their website. It keeps their website updated with fresh content through advice and tying in relevant products.

5.     Increase SEO. New content, keywords and indexed pages can improve medical suppliers’ search engine optimization (SEO). The key is quality content and new posts relevant to the healthcare supply chain. Creating blog posts naturally broadens medical suppliers’ use of industry keywords.

Blogging can help medical suppliers provide better understanding about their products, business and place within the healthcare supply chain. It can offer a touchpoint to providers and other customers along the supply chain with informative content, and allow customers to find new and existing products from medical suppliers.

Blogging in many cases can become like homework and easily get pushed to the bottom of your organization’s to-do list. Share Moving Media has developed the tools, resources and expertise to assist.  We write blogs for several of your peers in the medical device world.  Contact sadams@sharemovingmedia.com today to learn about our SEO blog programs and start drawing customers to you.   

Ready to Connect

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In the annals of digital technology, the iPhone’s release (June 29, 2007) is celebrated as ringing in a new era of innovation in communication. And rightfully so. But it could be argued that almost 13 months after that infamous debut came a just-as-important launch.

On July 10, 2008 Apple introduced the App Store. There were 500 apps in the store’s initial offering. By the beginning of 2023, there were more than 1.96 million.

All facets of not just the economy, but our individual lives, have changed from the development and implementation of apps. Getting around cities has become easier thanks to Uber. Connecting has gotten more streamlined due to mobile apps (Think Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and SnapChat). Entertainment options are endless and at the tip of our fingertips 24/7 with gaming and streaming.

Yet not all apps are created equal. For every Uber and Instagram launch, there’s been dozens of failed attempts. And the same goes for business-oriented apps. That’s why the designers behind the relaunched RepConnect app were focused on the details to make the user-experience a powerful one for distributor reps. Among the key features:

No. 1: Instant accessibility

RepConnect provides reps instant access to their manufacturer partner’s rep lists, contacts, brochures, product information, website, white papers and more. The listings are free to use and easy to scroll. It allows you to more effectively prepare for client appointments, and be ready with materials during your meetings rather than having to waste time scrounging for the right paper products or having to get back to your client at a later time.

No. 2: Up-to-date news

As we all can attest to during the last few years, things change quickly in the U.S. healthcare supply chain. The RepConnect app includes an updated tracker with the latest industry specific news. Supply chain disruptions, mergers and acquisitions, products launches and industry news – it’s all there.

No. 3: Training videos

In the med/surg industry, movement is life. Rep Connect provides opportunities for reps to enhance their product knowledge and selling skills, so you’re always pushing forward in your wisdom and skillset.

RepConnect is a next-gen app with the right mix of tools, news and resources reps need to success in the field. To download the app, click here.

Why Use a Publisher to Distribute Your Content

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Publications are unique marketing channels because they can reach your audience on and offline. Because these publications are one of the only offline content marketing options, your marketing strategy receives several benefits. Learn how to use a publisher to distribute content and the advantages you’ll receive.

Key Takeaways:

  • Publications work best alongside digital distribution strategies to reach a diverse audience.
  • Publishers provide an engaged audience and help you build authority in your industry.
  • Publications are less competitive and allow more of your audience to see your content.

Where Can You Distribute Your Content?

According to 80% of marketers, content creation is a top marketing priority. In B2B marketing, content creation accounts for 26% of the marketing budget.

However, once you create quality content, you still must ensure that the right people see the content. The right people are potential buyers interested in and able to purchase your products.

For example, medical manufacturers and suppliers want to reach hospitals, healthcare providers, medical facilities, and sometimes even patients.

There are several popular content distribution strategies for healthcare content marketing:

  • Your website’s blog
  • A third-party website
  • Community pages and discussions
  • Social media
  • Publications

Marketers don’t need to choose just one distribution channel. Instead, the most effective marketers use various channels to reach their audience at all stages of the buyer’s journey.

7 Benefits of Using a Publisher to Distribute Content

Here are seven reasons to use a publisher in your content distribution strategy.

1. Reach an Established Audience

According to 41% of marketers, the top content marketing challenge is attracting quality leads. Close behind that challenge is generating traffic and promoting content.

These are significant challenges in digital content marketing because your team distributes content online where billions of users search daily. In addition, millions of other websites compete for that traffic. So there’s no guarantee that any traffic will see your content.

Conversely, publications have an established audience regularly receiving the magazine or journal. This element eliminates the challenge of finding readers for your content. Additionally, when you publish in an industry-specific publication, you guarantee the right audience sees the content.

Top marketing challenges

Image from SEMrush

2. Reach a Niche Readership

According to previous research, the third greatest challenge of content marketing is creating content that resonates with your audience.

Wouldn’t content creation be easier if you precisely knew WHO would read your content before you wrote it?

Publications give you more insights into your readers than digital channels. That’s because medical publications already have a paid subscriber list of healthcare executives, distributors, and medical sales reps.

Because you know who will read the content, you can personalize your message to that audience’s experiences, challenges, and needs. According to 98% of marketers, personalization improves customer relationships. That’s why 51% of marketers prioritize personalization in their content marketing.

3. Increase Your Visibility

Search engine optimization takes months before most marketers see results. The content you publish most likely won’t immediately appear on the first two pages of Google. Even if you invest in paid ads, you’re still not guaranteed a spot in front of your ideal audience. In addition, you’ll be competing against surrounding content.

Publishers skip the battle with complex algorithms and keywords. So while you should keep investing in your online ranking for long-term marketing goals, you can also invest where you know you’ll have an immediate audience.

Content in publications is always visible to the readers—no need to worry about whether the audience will click on the article. Your audience already chose your content when they signed up for the publication.

4. Face Less Competition

When publishing online, you compete with other sites sharing content on the same topics. In publications, you’re the only authority on the topic, which gives you an advantage as you already established trust.

All content in a publication works together to inform and engage the audience. You don’t have to consider whether the other articles will compete for the reader’s attention since the content is aligned towards the same goal.

5. Hold Attention Longer

The average reader spends 20 minutes reading publications. That’s considerably longer than people spend browsing websites and blogs. Many online readers skim blog posts to find a few pieces of relevant information.

However, your offline readers are more likely to read your entire content. This benefit makes publications ideal for sharing your most important information and strategic marketing content.

6. Distribute through an Innovative Channel

As digital options increase, the effectiveness of digital marketing decreases due to oversaturation. Conversely, the impact of your print marketing is increasing because of less competition. For example, data shows that print ad recall has increased by 67% from 46% to 77% between 2010 and 2020.

Because trends move in full circles, printed content has switched from being the norm to an innovative marketing technique. As a result, digital marketing now sits as the mainstream channel, while businesses that use published channels are seen as creative.

7. Build Your Credibility

Digital marketing is becoming increasingly more difficult. For example, Google’s search algorithm used to rely heavily on keywords. However, now Google’s algorithm looks more at the quality of content. 

Marketers refer to Google’s new algorithm guidelines as E-A-T:

  • Expertise: What does the writer of the content know about the industry?
  • Authoritativeness: Is the website an authority in the content’s industry?
  • Trustworthiness: Are the author, website, and content trustworthy?

Building online credibility takes time. However, the result is a better ranking for your online content and website. One way to improve your online credibility is by using a publisher to distribute your content offline.

Adults trust print ads more than digital ads. This increased trust is because readers partially feel safer reading print. They’re more concerned about privacy and data collection when they read digital ads. However, they feel more in control of their print experiences.

You benefit from the publication’s authority. Because readers trust the publication, they are more likely to trust the companies that publish content within the publication.

people trust print ads the most

Image from eMarketer

Distribute Your Content through Publications

Publish your most important content through Share Moving Media to make a lasting impression on your audience. Our publications connect you to an audience of healthcare executives and key decision-makers. Our publications complement your digital marketing for the greatest return on investment.

Contact us to learn more about our content publication services.

How Social Media in the Healthcare Industry Is Changing Marketing

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Over half the world’s population is on social media, giving healthcare workers a powerful platform for reaching B2B customers and patients. Social media and the healthcare industry aren’t a new combination. Many medical businesses took to the platform during COVID-19 to educate patients in the middle of medical uncertainty.

Even though the height of the pandemic is over, healthcare companies are keeping up with their social media strategies because they see the value in this creative and personal platform.

Learn the role of social media in healthcare and five ways it’s changing healthcare marketing.

Key Takeaways:

  • Social media reaches 59% of the world’s population and 72% of US adults.
  • Facebook and YouTube are the top social media channels.
  • Use social media to build personal connections through creative interactions.

How Does Social Media Apply to Healthcare?

In July 2022, 59% of the world’s population was on social media. The average time users spent on social platforms was 2 hours and 29 minutes. In America alone, 72% of adults use at least one social media platform.

The sheer number of social media users should be enough to convince healthcare companies to start using the platform to reach their audience. However, there are other reasons to consider it, such as the platform’s purpose.

Here are some of the most common ways consumers use their social accounts:

  • Connecting with others
  • Reading news
  • Sharing information
  • Entertaining themselves

While many social media channels started as places for individuals to connect, today, consumers use them to learn, shop and discover. What makes healthcare social media such a valuable channel for discovery is the access businesses have to information.

When social media users and businesses create accounts, they share demographic and firmographic data. Social media uses this data to personalize each user’s experience by offering relevant insights based on that data.

For example, a consumer that visits healthcare businesses on social media is more likely to see healthcare-related topics on their feed.

Which Social Media Platform Is Best for Healthcare?

You don’t need to market on every social media channel to be effective. Instead, consider these top channels for your healthcare strategy.

Facebook is the most popular social media platform, with 2.94 billion users. In the US, 69% of adults say they use Facebook. It’s a versatile channel for connecting with potential customers and educating your audience.

YouTube is the second most visited site, just under Google and before Facebook. Even though YouTube has 1.7 billion users, it sees 14.3 billion visitors monthly. On YouTube, you can reach your audience with creative long-form video content.

Instagram reaches an audience of 1.3 billion users. Through video stories and images, businesses can share quick snippets of information with an audience of patients and companies.

TikTok deserves an honorable mention because it has a higher engagement rate per post than Instagram or YouTube. In 2022, TikTok reached one billion monthly active users, including several notable healthcare TikTok personalities. Use the platform to educate and connect through short-form video content.

LinkedIn is the top social media channel for B2B marketers. LinkedIn has 55 million business accounts and users who are key decision-makers from leading businesses. Use the platform to share your thought leadership content and educational articles for a targeted B2B audience.

5 Ways Social Media Is Changing Healthcare

Here are five ways those social media channels are transforming healthcare marketing today with new social media marketing opportunities.

1. Building Personal Relationships

Social media is a chance to turn business partnerships into relationships. You’ll also see greater brand loyalty when there are relationships between you and your customers.

Through social media, you can communicate with your customers and patients using comments and social chat. You can also interact with posts from related businesses to build brand awareness.

Cardinal Health shows another way to invest in building relationships. It regularly highlights its employees and customers. These personal stories and pictures put a face to the brand, focusing its business on people and solutions rather than medical supplies and sales.

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2. Motivating Actions

Healthcare companies are at the frontlines of medical battles as communities strive to diagnose early, find treatment, and raise awareness of diseases. Social media can be your battleground to fight for a healthier future and motivate change one patient at a time.

Johnson & Johnson uses its social platforms to raise awareness of common and rare diseases and help people seek treatment early.

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3. Reaching a Larger Audience

Social media advertising grew to $137 billion, overtaking paid search at $135 billion. Through social media’s more advanced algorithm, businesses can target a niche audience and reach more of their market. When more of your intended audience sees your ads, you’ll also see greater returns from your advertising investment.

One of the most popular forms of social media advertising is retargeting. 77% of B2B and B2C marketers use retargeting on Facebook and Instagram. Retargeting ads connect with leads and website visitors interested in your brand but didn’t convert yet.

4. Connecting Directly with Patients

Patients are growing increasingly interested in their healthcare. Healthcare manufacturing businesses are seeing a rise in patients researching them directly instead of only connecting through healthcare facilities.

Social media allows traditional B2B healthcare companies to connect directly with end-user patients. Through this channel, healthcare companies can educate patients and provide resources so patients can make more informed healthcare decisions.

For example, patients know what new treatments or equipment are available on the market and can ask their primary care providers about these care options.

5. Creatively Educating Your Audience

Webinars, blog posts, and email marketing are all highly effective at reaching your audience with educational content. However, marketers can see more results by diversifying their approach with more creative content.

Social media is a creative outlet that allows healthcare marketers to break away from the norm. For example, Doctor Mike on YouTube addresses trending health topics from a trained medical perspective. He takes TV shows, news stories, and social media claims and dives into what’s accurate and misleading in pop culture.

Incorporate Social Media into Your Healthcare Marketing Strategy

Share Moving Media offers the latest insights and trends in healthcare marketing. Use our leading news and resources to build a creative and highly effective social media strategy that perfectly complements your healthcare marketing campaigns.

Contact us to learn more about our healthcare marketing solutions.

5 Reasons to Rethink Your Print Marketing Budget in 2023

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Is print marketing dead? A quick Google search will fill the results page with a resounding NO. Despite the dominance of digital devices, print ads and content still hold the reader’s attention and continue to entice new audiences with authoritative content. So, marketers who want to stay relevant in 2023 must consider ways to invest in a print marketing budget.

Explore five reasons print marketing should remain near the top of your marketing strategies next year.

Key Takeaways:

  • Print marketing works best alongside digital marketing strategies for the greatest efficiency.
  • Marketers use print marketing to stand out in a digitally saturated society.
  • Readers rely on print content for authority content and a chance to unplug from digital devices.

Print vs. Digital Marketing

There’s no questioning the importance of digital content marketing. However, digital strategies don’t replace print marketing. Instead, Digital builds on print marketing campaigns. When marketers combine print and digital marketing, the campaigns are 400% more effective.

So, while print marketing has changed, it hasn’t gone away. Instead, marketers are just shifting what print marketing looks like by creating digital and print advertising efforts that build on the strengths of the other.

For instance, marketers can use print marketing to reach a target audience, hold their attention, and introduce a brand. However, digital campaigns take over to nurture those leads through email and direct marketing that businesses customize to the audience.

5 Reasons to Invest More in Your Print Marketing Budget

Consider these five proofs of print advertising effectiveness and why print should be part of your marketing budget in 2023.

1. Capture Your Audience’s Attention

There was once a time when an email notification excited people while the mailbox was swimming in letters and magazines. Today, the tides have changed. Now people’s inboxes are drowning in messages, and consumers are excited when there’s direct mail.

Print marketing stands out because it differs from other content marketing forms.

In addition, print capture’s people’s attention more because of its format. Printed material requires 21% less mental effort to read and digest, helping with brand recall and increasing motivational responses by 20%.

On average, readers will spend 20 minutes looking at publications, which is five times as long as what readers spend on ad websites.

2. Share Content in a Fresh Format

Businesses are always looking to find new ways to distribute content instead of doing what everyone else is doing. For example, creating blogs and having social media business accounts was once an innovative marketing strategy. However, now that these methods have become the norm, businesses must find other ways to remain fresh.

Trends often move in circles. What once was old always comes back in a fresh new way. For example, print book sales increased by 8.9% in 2021 after sellers said print books were going out of style in favor of e-readers and audiobooks.

In the same way, marketing techniques are making a full circle. As digital strategies are growing in popularity, print strategies have become new again, which helps businesses appear fresh and different from their competition.

3. Inspire Your Readers

According to one well-known statistic, 93% of online experiences start with a search engine. Customers are going to Google and performing 8.5 billion searches per day.

However, those searches don’t start with Google. First, there has to be a need, question, or concern that inspires a consumer to search. For example, a medical professional might have read a new idea or seen a new product in a magazine that prompted them to search for more information online.

So, while search engines are a place for answers, print is where your audience goes to find questions to ask.

Use your print marketing budget to focus on inspirational content that sparks new ideas and introduces new products or solutions that your audience might not have thought of before. This content will attract new visitors to your digital content as medical professionals seek out more information on the questions introduced in your print content.

Print is where we go to ask questions

4. Excite Your Audience

Print has more authority than digital content, and audiences tend to trust it more. Many reasons contribute to the authority of print ads and content, but perhaps one of the strongest is privacy. Digital ads pop up everywhere online and collect data as customers interact with them. However, print content is a private experience that customers can control.

In addition, digital content is faster and easier to make. For example, anyone can post a social media post or write a blog article. However, only the best content appears in publications because magazines have more quality control standards than online content channels, and print content requires more investment. So, publishers don’t accept content lightly.

Print content also holds authority because it reaches a niche audience. Online, audiences usually have to scroll through several search results to find an article with helpful information. However, when subscribers pick up a publication, they know everything inside is relevant to them. Therefore, they start their browsing experience trusting each article and ad to deliver value.

5. Connect with Readers Offline

When professionals aren’t on the clock, they like to unplug. However, 54% of people say they struggle with unplugging. From emails to text messages, today’s professional is always pulled back to the phone or laptop for information and to communicate.

The more people depend on a digital connection–the more people try to find ways to unplug. When COVID-19 hit, people were plunged into an even more immersive digital world as workers switched to remote jobs and events moved from live to online platforms like Zoom. Soon, digital fatigue took over. Despite all the new ways consumers can connect with information and audiences online, 74% of people prefer print over digital.

Print magazines are one of the ways that professionals can gather information without relying on digital channels. In addition, magazines continue to reach consumers even when they unplug. So, while digital marketing might end when professionals clock out, print magazines can reach audiences as they unwind in the evening or when traveling on vacation.

5 Reasons to rethink print

Invest More in Print Advertising This Year

Share Moving Media connects medical manufacturers with key decision-makers in the healthcare industry through our leading publications. Help your marketing content stand out and increase your brand authority through print content that we distribute to an audience of health systems suppliers, distributors, and purchasing organizations.

Contact us to learn more about our print marketing solutions.