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Healthcare Manufacturers Can’t Afford to Skip Digital PR because buyers don’t trust brands!

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When you think of public relations, what tactics come to mind?

Most healthcare manufacturing marketers or execs might mention TV ads, billboards, press releases, and even dinners or charity events.

While these traditional methods are all valuable, digital PR is the only way healthcare manufacturers can set themselves up for long-term success.

You need a multi-prong, diversified PR strategy. 

It’s really simple: Your audience spends time browsing virtual channels and consuming content, so you need to show up there too. 

Why is Digital PR Mandatory for Healthcare Manufacturers?

On LinkedIn alone, you’ll find over:

  • 7.2 million healthcare professionals
  • 850 thousand doctors
  • 188 thousand healthcare companies
  • 2.3 million nursing professionals

The point is, your audience hangs out online. They read blogs and news articles, they talk about their day, they search for solutions to problems, they research new products and brands.

Digital PR gives healthcare manufacturers leverage. 

Digital PR Adds Much-Needed Emotion to Healthcare Manufacturing 

Syringe barrels, speculums, table covers, and other healthcare supplies aren’t exactly the warmest or most wholesome products as-is. Who says they can’t be though?

Healthcare products save lives, keep people safe, promote sanitation, and function as some of humankind’s greatest achievements. That’s pretty emotional if you ask me. 

That’s why digital PR is essential for healthcare manufacturers. 

Instead of simply running ads for your products or dropping off samples, digital PR lets you create an entire aesthetic around your brand. Eventually, people will associate the emotions expressed via your PR material anytime they hear your brand’s name or see a product.

Without Digital PR, You’re Letting Competitors Take the Digital Market Share

You might not have a digital PR presence in the healthcare manufacturing realm, but you should assume your competitors do. That means you’re letting your competition soak up the entire digital audience share. 

Do some research into your competition’s online presence. What values and emotions do they want people to associate with their brand? What type of content do they produce? Where do they publish? And most importantly, how engaged is their audience?

Use the answers to set your digital PR strategy apart.

Buyers and Consumers Don’t Trust Brands

Everyone knows paid advertisements are just that: Brands paying for reach to sell products. No one likes ads and they don’t trust brands – not consumers or business buyers. 

Maintaining an active digital PR strategy lets you engage your audience in a non-promotional way, encouraging trust and loyalty.

Nine out of ten consumers buy from brands they follow on social media. Furthermore, 61% say a brand’s engagement with its audience is the most important aspect – even before transparency. 

Press Releases and Print Media Aren’t Enough to Build Connections

Niche journals, magazines, and publications are certainly an important part of any successful digital PR strategy – but they’re not enough. 

People only spend so much time reading print material. However, most of us spend several hours online each day, especially with 71% of Americans still working from home as of December 2020.

Your task is to figure out which platforms and channels your audience segments use and insert your digital PR content there.

5 Tips to Win at Digital PR for Healthcare Manufacturers

Digital PR includes both macro and micro strategies to pull off a comprehensive “image.”

At the macro level, you have:

  • Short- and long-term objectives
  • Ideal platforms to reach your audience
  • Your brand’s style guidelines to maintain a consistent voice and aesthetic
  • Editorial guidelines to keep a stable opinion/stance in thought leadership

At the micro level, use the tips below to create your healthcare manufacturing digital PR strategy.

1. Sign Up for HARO to Boost Digital PR

Why wait (and hope) for relevant journalists in your niche to find your press releases? Why not just assign a member of your team to go to the journalists when they need quotes for topics in your niche?

That’s exactly how HARO works. Help a Reporter Out sends out automated emails three times each day for the lists you subscribe to – in your case, healthcare and business. 

Someone on your team can browse the in-progress pieces and reach out to the individual journalists to provide quotes. Plus, it helps you build long-term rapport with journalists and writers in your niche – and access to their audience.

2. Partner with the Right Healthcare Influencers

Did you know half of your B2B buyers are millennials (or possibly even younger)? 

No one takes an influencer’s word as ultimate truth, but millennials are more likely to trust an influencer’s opinion (compared to your marketing content) since they aren’t working directly for your company. 

Research and choose influencers who have an engaged audience that mirrors your target market.

3. Rally Around a Relevant Cause

As a healthcare manufacturer, your brand’s image can either appear cold and aloof or warm and human. Any winning digital PR for healthcare manufacturers must highlight a relevant cause. 

Look for a relevant cause (or causes) based on the products you sell so your target audience segments will connect with the goal. Go niche when you can: Awareness, prevention, and prompt treatment of heart attacks in women works much better than the general “women’s health.”

4. Host Q&As or AMAs for Digital PR 

Video content gives you a chance to literally connect with your audience segments human-to-human. Choose someone friendly who embodies your brand’s aesthetic and values to host live Q&A videos, webinars, AMAs, tutorials, and anything else helpful.

5. Publish Thought Leadership Content

While content marketing helps you establish awareness, thought leadership helps build authority in your expertise. 

Thought leadership puts names and faces to your brand’s knowledge, opinions, values, and visions for the future – all vital for effective digital PR. Pick the right digital outlets where your target audience segments will see it.

Healthcare Manufacturers Can’t Have Digital PR Without Content

Whatever strategy you build, you’ll need content at every touchpoint. 

Social media videos, emotion-driven copy, nuanced thought leadership blogs, influencer content for sharing – content is the backbone of digital PR for healthcare manufacturers. 

At Share Moving Media, we manage a wide range of highly targeted publications online and off where we help brands like yours reach thousands of professional readers in your niche. Find the right publication for your brand now!

How Content Marketing Aids Healthcare Sales Reps at Explaining Product Value

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Content development enables sales teams to drive brand awareness, demand, and convert leads into loyal customers — making it a direct connection to your ROI and buyer engagement.

Situated throughout the lead funnel, effective content development also gives your sales reps everything from website content and presentations to nurtured qualified leads throughout the entire buyer’s journey with advanced case studies and whitepapers. 

When you have a sales enablement strategy in place, utilizing the right types of content can benefit your overall bottom line and create more cohesion between your internal teams. After all, 73% of sales teams agree that cross-functional collaboration is key to the overall sales process.

Let’s take a look at what sales enablement is and how you can develop impactful content to aid healthcare sales reps.

What is Sales Enablement for Healthcare?

Your medical distributors are an integral part of your business, responsible for selling your products to healthcare facilities across the country. Since they’re spread throughout different regions, it’s essential to arm them with content resources that successfully educate key audiences on your product’s use cases and benefits.

Sales enablement is the process, technology, and content that empowers these sales reps to sell your product effectively. When you provide content that educates, offers solutions, and breaks down barriers, you enable reps to improve their sales conversions and ultimately spend more time selling.

77% of companies currently use a content marketing strategy to empower sales teams. You can get started with the following steps:

  • Understand what makes your customers move through your buyer’s journey and create content for every stage 
  • Develop customer-centric content that targets pain points and positions your product as the solution
  • Make content accessible to your sales teams, such as using cloud storage or CRM tool
  • Utilize sales analytics to understand what content your reps using and where you can improve

By aligning distribution sales reps and marketing teams to create quality content, you’re more likely to see higher engagement and conversion rates.

6 Types of Content that Aids Healthcare Sales Reps

By developing a sales enablement strategy, you can create content for every interaction your distributors have with existing and potential customers. Here are a few types of quality content to aid healthcare sales:

1.Competitor Research

If you understand your customer’s pain points and needs, it’s essential you analyze where you stand amongst the competition with real statistics. To create successful competitor analysis, you also need to educate your sales teams on how they can persuade potential customers to make the next final conversion step by filling in your competitor’s gaps and highlighting the success of your products. 

2. Case Studies

Case studies are true testaments to your products and help prospects resonate with your brand. High-quality and customer-centric case studies demonstrate your audience’s struggles and showcase how your services are a valuable solution.

You can develop case studies in several ways:

  • Written testimonials
  • Video interviews
  • Reviews

4. Blog Posts

Blog posts are utilized in an early stage, search engine optimization (SEO) marketing strategy, but they are also valuable sales tools to help nurture prospects. While they typically live on your website, you can turn your blog posts into one-page reference flyers for your sales team to quickly send to customers.

4. Ebooks or Whitepapers

High-quality ebooks and whitepapers often provide in-depth educational material and statistics around your product’s benefits. Typically used in the early stage of the sales process, they are ideal for a quick pitch or last-minute call to provide additional information and proof. 

5. Video

Video marketing results in 66% more qualified leads in your pipeline. By developing education video content, you can explain your product’s benefits, features, and even instructions beyond your sales rep knowledge. Videos are also more digestible and hold attention for longer periods, so they are excellent material to showcase in a presentation, webinar, or email. 

6. Onboarding Content

Often overlooked by marketing teams, developing engaging onboarding materials help train your sales reps on how to effectively sell your products. Not only does onboarding content provide valuable company and product information, but it also establishes your ideal sales pitch for each customer interaction, so your reps feel confident nailing the sale.

Start Developing Content to Aid Healthcare Sales and Boost Your ROI

For marketing to impact the success of your sales reps, it’s essential to develop quality content that meets their needs, helps streamline the process, and improves your ROI. Your content should not only affect each stage of the buyer’s journey but also help your team be more prepared to interact and educate customers. When marketing and sales collaborate, you’ll be more equipped to engage and convert your customers into long-term brand advocates.

If you’re ready to develop content that empowers your healthcare sales reps, contact Share Moving Media today.