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Why Trade Publishers and the Industry Need to Join Hands to Revive Sales in Healthcare

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The healthcare industry has seen big shifts in recent years. Legal, compliance, and regulatory changes have impacted how healthcare suppliers operate. Technological advancements are changing the face of healthcare procedures, but possibly the greatest impact on the healthcare industry is the advancement of the internet.

Now, people have access to infinite information. They can do their own medical research and are less dependent on medical salespeople. As a result, healthcare sales are on a downward trend. Industry professionals, like hospital suppliers and those in medical distribution, need to rethink their marketing strategy and find new ways to reconnect with their audience and reach them with meaningful information. 

The answer may lie in trade publications. It’s time for trade publishers and the industry to work together to revive sales in healthcare.

Why Trade Publications are an Invaluable Marketing Tool

Trade publications are a reliable source of information, and people trust their authority and reputation. These magazines provide education, expert knowledge, and thought leadership to keep readers informed and knowledgeable while helping to solve business challenges. From industry announcements and press releases to case study findings and opinion columns, trade publications offer multiple benefits to their readers.

With the vast accessibility of the internet, many people prefer to read their information online. Trade publications have been able to remain current by adapting to meet consumer’s needs and deliver the same useful resources through digital distribution. 

Some readers will dispute that paper publications are a dying breed and continue to prefer hard copy formats. In any case, trade publications are an invaluable marketing tool in many ways.

To connect with your audience, you need to understand them. Identify the challenges they face, find out what answers they’re seeking, and see where their interests lie. An effective way to gain this knowledge is to read the same materials they’re reading. See what they’re learning about and use that information to create effective marketing campaigns that address their concerns and pique their interests.

More than content distribution, trade publications facilitate engagement among the healthcare community. They provide online forums, content libraries, virtual networking opportunities, and downloadable resources. Industry workers who become involved with these things themselves can build a relationship with their audience while gaining a deeper understanding of their needs and wants. All of this can help generate leads and increase sales growth. 

4 Reasons Why Trade Publishers and the Industry Should Join Forces

Trade publications are especially beneficial to the industry because they raise awareness, boost name recognition, increase visibility, and help to gain credibility. Not only should industry leaders read these publications, but they should also consider contributing articles, editorials, and purchasing ad space in them. Here are 4 reasons why trade publishers and the industry should join forces to revive sales in healthcare.

1. Lead Generation 

Trade publishers are distributing their materials to a highly targeted audience. By contributing to these publications, you’re getting your company name in front of new viewers you haven’t yet reached. With the information you’ve gained from following what readers are discussing in forums, you can develop authoritative content that answers their questions meets their needs.

Not only will you broaden your reach, but you may also have readers contact you on other platforms to connect and discuss your thoughts further. This kind of engagement enables you to develop a relationship with your new-found audience and helps with lead generation.

2. Position Yourself as an Industry Expert

By nature, trade publications are reputable sources delivering trustworthy information. When industry professionals develop content that appears in these publications, readers perceive them to be equally trustworthy. The more meaningful and useful content you get published, the more you position yourself as an industry expert. As people begin to associate you with valuable, knowledgeable information, they’ll begin to look to you for answers and insight.

Company decision-makers read these articles. As they see your name more and more as a trusted resource, they’ll be inclined to contact you directly for possible business opportunities.

Additionally, your trade association may take notice of your content and consider you for in-person opportunities. Serving as a discussion panelist, a forum monitor, or even a keynote presenter would get you in front of more people for even further brand awareness. All of this leads to potential sales opportunities.

3. Stand Apart from the Competition 

Trade publishers are always looking for content to fill their pages. Through articles and advertising, they provide several opportunities to set yourself apart from your competition. After all, if you’re not appearing in these magazines as a contributor, chances are that your competition is. Even if you don’t have research findings or editorial content to contribute, consider taking out an ad. 

Publications provide opportunities for heightened visibility. Do what you can to get your name in front of readers and attract prospects before they turn to your industry competitors. By standing apart from your competition, you increase the chance of gaining new customers and boosting sales.

4. Drive Company Efforts

Trade publications provide a means to highlight your team’s achievements and industry successes. Not only does that strengthen readers’ perception of your organization and drive traffic to your team—it gives a morale boost to the people in your company and solidifies the trust of your stakeholders. When people are proud of the work they’re doing and believe in the company they work for, they have more drive to continue to succeed.

Publicizing your company’s leadership is good for business development and provides materials that are helpful for sales efforts. When you can present prospects with featured industry articles touting your company’s strengths, you build credibility with your client base and earn their trust for purchase power.

Share Moving Media Can Help You Join Hands

Healthcare professionals that want to revive sales in the industry should partner with trade publishers to develop quality content that’s visible, targeted, and generates leads. Share Moving Media is a full-service content company that helps healthcare professionals increase market-share through articles, blog posts, and publications. We understand the importance of developing meaningful content and providing training and educational opportunities to help businesses grow. 

To learn more about how we can help you revive healthcare sales, contact us today.

7 Strategies for Picking the Right Healthcare Marketing Influencers

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When you think of influencers, medical supplies isn’t typically the first industry that comes to mind. But picking the right influencers to enhance your healthcare marketing strategy might just be the smartest thing you do this year. 

Just put yourself in the mind of your buyers and decision-makers. For starters, they’re busy.

A recent survey found that 76% of B2B medical supply buyers rate ease of finding information as their top priority. 

Meanwhile, 50% of all medical supply buyers are Millennials and 57% of all buying teams have already made a purchase decision before they ever reach out to your sales team.

The point is, you need a strategy to get your content and info in front of your buyers’ faces before they even think to ask for it. That’s why influencers in healthcare marketing are so critical today. 

Picking the right ones, however, is another battle. Here’s how to narrow your search.

How to Nail Down the Best Healthcare Marketing Influencers for Your Niche

Think long term as you pick influencers for healthcare marketing. Remember, they’ll be uniquely representing your company and products. 

You’ll have better ROI and avoid costly faux pas if you spend time researching and strategizing now.

1. Bigger Isn’t Always Better with Influencers in Healthcare Marketing

The follower count means nothing if the influencer isn’t relevant enough to your niche. 

For example, people like the Kardashians are considered mega-influencers but you’d never want them promoting your content to their millions of followers because it wouldn’t deliver results. 

It can backfire too – like when Kim Kardashian promoted a morning sickness medication on Instagram without following pharmaceutical disclosure regulations. 

Even within healthcare, massive influencers tend to have broader audiences and a huge chunk might be consumers. 

Pay little attention to the follower count. Instead, start with a healthcare influencer’s engagement like comments, shares, and clicks. 

2. Analyze the Audience of Potential Influencers in Healthcare Marketing

Engagement must come first. All your target accounts and audience segments might follow someone, but if they aren’t engaging with the influencer’s page then what’s the point?

That’s why your next step is to analyze their audience insights. 

Tools like BuzzSumo can help you work backward. By setting up social listening alerts for keywords and topics, you can see who shares what and whether their audience engages with them. 

Agencies can also help you hedge your bets across internal influencers at offices and hospitals with strategic magazines and journals.

3. Vet Each Healthcare Influencer’s Healthcare Experience

The point of partnering with influencers in healthcare marketing is to build trust in your medical supplies and products.  

Influencers don’t work for your company. They do, however, still represent your company and products. You can’t remove the risk completely, but you can mitigate it with background research.

Ask yourself, would your end-users and buyers trust this person? Experience in their field is key.

Vet their work history and education on LinkedIn just as you would when hiring someone for a job. You might be surprised how easy it is to falsify work history at massive companies. 

4. Consider the Influencer’s Experience Working with Brands Too

Kim K had plenty of experience working with brands but no experience working in pharmaceuticals. 

Don’t laugh. You could run into the opposite problem with healthcare influencers: plenty of medical experience but none in modern marketing.

For example, overly promotional content from influencers doesn’t build trust or deliver results.

Experienced influencers in healthcare marketing understand the subtleties of sparking interest in your product without looking tacky or desperate. 

5. Look at Audience Personas to Build a Comprehensive Influencer Strategy

Ideally, you should already have detailed audience personas mapped out:

  • Doctors
  • Nurses
  • Medical assistants
  • Other professional end-users
  • Medical students
  • Patients 

Remember to include each professional persona’s firmographics, like their hospital size, job role, market share, pain points, and specialties. For patients, include basic demographics along with other qualities as they relate to your product, like health conditions, insurance provider, health concerns, and pain points.

Use these detailed personas to target each one via the right influencers in healthcare marketing.

Building an influencer strategy through these personas ensures your content will reach all the most important touchpoints.

6. Study How Each Influencer Writes and Interacts with Their Followers

Successful influencers need charisma to keep their followers engaged. It gets complicated because different audiences want different personalities from influencers.

Analyze the tone of an influencer’s posts – are their followers receptive? 

What do their followers say in the comments and how does the influencer respond? 

Carefully considering the influencer’s tone and comments first tells you if they’re committed to keeping their audience engaged. Second, it also helps you decide if they fit your brand’s values and culture.

7. Make Sure Your Goals Align with Your Potential Healthcare Influencers

Look at your healthcare influencer shortlist. 

Have any of them effectively retired from medicine to work as professional influencers? 

Do they seem committed to integrity and sharing their knowledge, or are they only interested in the cash-advertisement exchange?

You could certainly ask your influencers in healthcare marketing these questions during an interview call. However, you can also glean plenty of insight just by analyzing their online presence and background too.

Don’t Force Influencers into Your Healthcare Marketing Strategy

Landing relationships with healthcare influencers who have large followings might sound tempting but massive reach alone won’t build you a sustainable strategy. 

You’ll enjoy the best results for your medical supply manufacturing or distributing company if you take time researching the potential influencers in healthcare marketing and picking the right fit. 

Your prospective buyers and your company’s reputation should always come first. After you’ve built a shortlist with those factors considered, you can finetune potential influencers based on your goals and content. 

Just remember, the influencer’s audience analytics demand just as much vetting as the influencer’s background. 

Share Moving Media has helped countless manufacturers and distributors reach thousands of the right decision-makers through targeted publications like Repertoire, The Journal of Healthcare Manufacturing, and Efficiency in Group Practice. Contact us now to talk!

4 Women Leaders in Healthcare Who are Changing the Face of the Industry

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Historically, healthcare has been a male-dominated industry. 

Decades ago, women had limited educational opportunities, couldn’t work outside the home as it wasn’t socially acceptable, and openly discussing women’s health was considered taboo.

Now, as social norms have changed, more women are seeking a career in the healthcare industry. In fact, women currently make up 65% of the healthcare workforce.  

There are numerous ways women contribute to the healthcare industry. Whether practicing medicine, conducting research for scientific studies, or developing technology to benefit healthcare workers and patients, women are changing the face of the healthcare industry.

Four Women Leaders Impacting the Healthcare Industry

As medical doctors, scientists, and professors, women are making significant contributions to the healthcare industry. 

1. Emmanuelle Charpentier

Professor Charpentier is a renowned researcher in microbiology, biochemistry, and genetics. She has completed lab work studying how pneumonia-causing bacteria use mobile genetic elements to adapt its genome. Dr. Charpentier also worked in a skin cell biologist’s lab to study gene manipulation in mammals.

Her experience as Research Associate at the St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital and Skirball Institute of Biomolecular Medicine in New York helped project her career as a lab head and guest faculty at the Laboratory for Molecular Infection Medicine in Sweden. From there, she transferred to Germany, where she became an Alexander von Humboldt professor.

Dr. Charpentier’s experience in molecular studies led her to identify the molecular mechanisms of CRISPR/Cas9 – a bacterial immune system – and repurposing it for genome editing. This discovery has enabled scientists to successfully change the DNA of animals and plants. Charpentier and her research partner, Jennifer Doudna, won the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for this discovery. This is the first scientific Nobel Prize ever awarded to two women. 

2. Maliha Hashmi 

Dr. Hashmi is an expert in strategic planning and healthcare. 

A graduate of Harvard and MIT, she is a leader on many boards and programs for countless corporations, foundations, non-profit organizations, hospitals, and research centers. 

Her outside-the-box strategies bring creative solutions to the healthcare industry. 

Hashmi partnered with the Berkman Klein Center for Internet & Society at Harvard Law School to develop the United Nations World Food Program’s Freerice initiative. This multiple-choice quiz game is a free website and mobile app that lets players donate rice to people in need.

Additionally, Dr. Hashmi has:

  • Engaged in strategic partnership with scholars and world leaders in four continents
  • Served as CEO of an educational consultancy firm in Bahrain
  • Authored several publications for research, corporate, and academic sectors
  • Held executive roles in high-level organizations worldwide and is known globally for her contributions to the health industry

She is currently the Executive Director and Deputy Sector Head for the Health, Wellbeing and Biotech Sector at NEOM. She is also the Deputy Chair of the NEOM COVID-19 Leadership Taskforce, working to find solutions to the global pandemic.

3. Frances H. Arnold 

Dr. Arnold is a chemical engineer and the current Linus Pauling Professor of Chemical Engineering, Bioengineering, and Biochemistry at California Technical Institute. 

Among many awards and honors, she received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for developing the use of directed evolution to create enzymes. 

Typically, evolution by natural selection leads to proteins that can complete biological duties. These genetic mutations take place over time. Arnold’s directed evolution introduces mutations early in the process. She can use research and data to determine which mutations to apply for a more efficient progression. If it yields positive results, she can optimize it further for even more promising outcomes.

Not only does Arnold’s work benefit people but also the environment. Her directed evolution contributions have helped produce renewable fuels and pharmaceutical products that are more ecologically friendly. 

4. Nancy Howell Agee

As president and CEO, Agee oversees the Carilion Clinic – a $2 billion not-for-profit healthcare organization in Virginia. Under her leadership, the Carilion Clinic went from a group of hospitals to a physician-led integrated clinic. As a result, Virginia Tech partnered with the clinic to develop an allopathic medical school and research institute.

The Carilion Clinic employs over 1,000 physicians and consists of seven hospitals, ranging from small rural to the third largest in the state. The organization also provides the following free services to more than one million citizens across Virginia and West Virginia:

  • Home health services
  • Imaging technologies
  • Pharmacies
  • Surgical clinics

Agee is nationally renowned as an innovative healthcare leader. She’s chair of the American Hospital Association and has been named one of Modern Healthcare’s most influential people.

Create Quality Content with Share Moving Media

From medical sales and hospital purchasing to healthcare supplies procurement and hospital distribution, more women are taking an interest in advancing in the healthcare industry. 

This means your publication’s target audience is shifting. Ensure brand recognition by developing content that resonates with female readers. Share Moving Media is a full-service media company that creates and distributes quality content to increase your market share in the healthcare industry. 

Contact Share Moving Media today for more information about developing your content strategy.

The Proof is in the Pudding: Who is Talking About Your Product?

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As a medical supplier, you may cater to everything from integrated delivery networks to private physician practices. Whether you’re selling ultrasound diagnostics or personal protective equipment, you want to ensure your product branding in healthcare is effectively reaching your target audience.

How can you know you’re succeeding? You need to identify exactly who is talking about your product and just what they are saying – or if they’re saying anything at all. As I’ve said before, if you aren’t visible, you’re irrelevant.

Why What People Say Matters

Keeping up with consumers’ expectations and better meeting their needs is more critical in healthcare than ever before. The COVID-19 pandemic has left end-users in the medical sector holding brands to a higher standard. Knowing who is talking about your product and what they are saying allows you to focus your branding efforts better.

It can also help you save money. To raise awareness about your products, you likely engage in various marketing and advertising techniques. For example, your company may participate in healthcare conferences or leverage a corporate blog and social media to support a content strategy for healthcare.

Such initiatives cost money. You want to ensure you are investing wisely and that these efforts are effectively building brand recognition. Towards this end, you can gather quantitative data (e.g., number of product mentions in medical journals) and qualitative data (e.g., physician reviews).

As an added benefit, you may also be able to pinpoint new audience segments worth targeting, allowing you to grow your market share. Consumer feedback can even give you insights into unexpected product benefits. Remember, the blockbuster drug Viagra was initially developed to treat hypertension!

Finally, knowing what people are saying about your company and products can drive smarter brand messaging in healthcare. There’s an old saying that “perception is reality.” You may craft messages that seem to address your target audience’s needs and wants. However, that’s your perception. Real-world feedback confirms whether or not this is the case. As they say, the proof is in the pudding.

How to Find Out Who is Talking About Your Product

Ready to find out what “the word on the streets” is about your products? Use these techniques to gather the data you need to improve your product branding in healthcare.

Set Up Google Alerts

Start simple. Put essential keywords like your product and company name into Google and see what comes up. If there are recent news reports about adverse events related to your product, for example, you want to know about this so you can practice reparative public relations.

To stay abreast of updates in the future, set a Google search engine alert. You input keywords (like your product name), and Google then delivers automatic updates when these keywords appear online.

Scan Google Scholar

Reputation and trust are critical in the healthcare sector, where products directly impact patient lives. New research about products, drugs, and interventions is continuously published in medical journals and healthcare magazines, which can guide industry trends.

Instead of the basic Google search engine, input your product name into Google Scholar. If there is a mention of your supplies in medical or scientific journals, this will help you discover them.

Practice “Social Listening”

Social media is a powerful platform, and you want to know if people are talking about your products on these forums. These days, everyone has an account: physicians, patients, patient advocacy groups, hospitals, insurers, and more.

Practice “social listening” to see what they’re saying. Hootsuite is a great way to monitor social media mentions in real time.

Scan Industry Website RSS Feeds

Use If This Then That to monitor industry websites in your healthcare niche. You can use the IFTTT tool to scan the RSS feeds of multiple industry websites at once and set it up to send you emails alerting you if your brand has been mentioned.

Pay for Media Monitoring Services

Don’t have the time or energy to deal with the above steps? Media monitoring services like Cision can provide daily reports compiling the latest headlines, news, and mentions about your product. You provide specific keywords (such as your company and product name) to guide their reports.

Product Branding in Healthcare: How We Can Help

If you want to improve your product branding, Share Moving Media can help. We are a full-service media company creating everything from webinars to blog posts, e-books, infographics, and more. Our high-quality healthcare marketing tools will help your brand grow and boost your bottom line. Sign up for our newsletter for the latest news on product branding in healthcare. Ready to revamp your branding strategy? Contact us now!

What is the Real Cost of Stopping Your Healthcare Marketing Campaigns?

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The COVID-19 pandemic has caused many businesses to reconsider their 2021 budget and growth strategies. In doing so, it’s easy to look at your marketing campaign expenses and wonder if it’s worth investing in.

Healthcare marketing campaigns, digital platforms, and technology costs often quickly add up and cause serious sticker shock. How can you guarantee a return on investment (ROI) and growth? What are the consequences of cutting marketing out?

Once you take a closer look at those numbers, it’s clear to see why marketing is one of the smartest investments medical suppliers can make. Without consistent and effective marketing, you’re unable to reach your distributors and end-users to increase sales. However, running healthcare marketing campaigns for the sake of doing it isn’t effective. The key is finding a balance between driving results and allocating your budget. 

Many marketers plan to increase their budgets by 7.6% on average in 2021. What would happen if you stopped all healthcare marketing campaigns right now? Let’s dive into what it would cost you long-term and quick tips on how to cut expenses without hurting your business growth. 

The Cost of Stopping Your Healthcare Marketing Campaigns

If your marketing campaigns are running up your budget without impressive results, you may consider throwing in the towel altogether. However, healthcare marketing campaigns encompass many aspects of business growth including brand awareness, lead generation, customer insights, and more. 

Without marketing, your company would have to rely solely on the merit of your products and services, along with word-of-mouth referrals from past customers. Ultimately, this would lead to a decrease in sales, engagement, and overall brand awareness — costing your business thousands and thousands of dollars.

Where Your Healthcare Campaign Went Wrong

Depending on your products and services, healthcare suppliers are spending anywhere from thousands to millions of dollars on marketing expenses. With endless marketing channels and technology to test, it’s easy for many businesses to quickly overload themselves. If your marketing campaigns are underperforming, ask yourself the following questions before cutting your budget:

  • Are you targeting the right audience?
  • Have you built out buyer personas from research?
  • Did you develop realistic success metrics?
  • Is your messaging not resonating with your audience?
  • Do you understand the customer journey?

3 Ways to Reduce Healthcare Marketing Campaign Expenses Without Hurting Your Business

While marketing is paramount to your overall business growth, you can still cut down your budget without sacrificing the quality of your results. Here are a few steps you can take to optimize your healthcare marketing campaigns and expenses:

1.Conduct a Full Marketing Audit

You need to conduct a full marketing audit to determine how much you’re spending on marketing activities, active marketing channels, and measurable results. You’ll need to quantify how much you’re spending on each channel and include any software, fees, materials, etc. 

After you’re finished, you’ll most likely be surprised which areas you’re overspending and where gaps exist. You can either decide to limit the number of active channels you’re investing in or reduce your spend on underperforming campaigns. 

2.Improve Audience Targeting

The key to a successful marketing campaign is targeting the right customer, at the right time, on their preferred platform. However, 60% of marketers agree that their customer acquisition cost (CAC) has increased in the past three years. Focusing your budget on prospects who aren’t in your ideal market jams up your lead pipeline and is an ineffective use of your budget. 

Instead, build comprehensive buyer personas through quantitative and qualitative research so you can better understand your customer’s needs and pain points. Use these profiles to arm your marketing strategy and better use your budget for the right audience.

3.Use Marketing Automation Tools

While the idea of investing in new technology may seem daunting, it can help you cut back on resources and not spread yourself too thin. Marketing automation will help free up your time and ensure your team can focus on different tasks.

Common marketing automation tools include:

  • Chatbots
  • Email autoresponder and journeys
  • Customer relationship managers

Build Comprehensive Healthcare Marketing Campaigns that Drive Results

Budget cuts are never easy. However, completely stopping your healthcare marketing campaigns can have serious consequences for your overall business growth. Without marketing, you’ll be unable to attract and engage with your customers on a larger scale. If you’re concerned about your budget, consider analyzing your expenses, budget, and data to make smarter campaign decisions that propel your medical supply company forward.

Ready to develop marketing campaigns that amplify your growth? Contact Share Moving Media for more information.