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The Benefits of Outsourcing Content Marketing: Why Your Company Needs an Expert

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Having a solid marketing strategy is key to successfully promoting and selling products. All companies in the medical supply chain industry should be spending time and effort on marketing to increase brand awareness and customer following.

Marketing strategies have continued to rapidly develop, as technological advancements, changing consumer preferences, legal changes, and more has recently greatly impacted the industry, according to Forbes. Options are extensive when companies are deciding how to best promote their products. Companies today are, in fact, allocating more and more of their annual budgets toward marketing campaigns. According to Forbes and a Taradel marketing survey, 94% of small businesses have plans to boost their marketing spending in 2024.

While marketing is a critical component to a business’ success, there is no doubt that content creation can be time consuming and requires expertise to properly master. That’s where outsourcing content marketing comes in— your company doesn’t have to produce its marketing content all by itself. By outsourcing marketing, your team can focus its time on what it does best.

The goal of your company should be to make a profit, maximize sales, and make lasting, trustworthy connections with customers, not to get sidetracked by marketing. Read on to learn more about how your business can outsourcing marketing:

What is marketing outsourcing?

Marketing outsourcing is delegating a company’s marketing tasks to external professionals. Outsourced marketing professionals will assist a company in creating campaigns, content, marketing strategy, determining a target audience, and more. Outsourcing allows companies to focus on its day-to-day operations while hired professionals take charge of marketing responsibilities.

According to a study from Sagefrog, a marketing agency, 59% of companies decide to outsource marketing. The primary reason is that outsourcing is more cost effective, and because marketing professionals can assist companies in implementing new, innovative strategies.

What are the benefits of outsourcing?

  1. Trusted experts

External marketing professionals/agencies are well-versed in the nuances of the industry. They thoroughly understand industry trends and how to best utilize new technologies. They can also come up with more successful tactics and navigate any potential changes or challenges. External marketing professionals, with extensive experience, are much better equipped to give your brand a competitive advantage in the marketplace. Outsourcing, therefore, allows employees to spend time and resources elsewhere while professionals take care of marketing efforts.

  1. New perspective

Outsourcing offers a company a new marketing perspective. Businesses that conduct their own marketing campaigns often fall into routines and run the risk of reusing lackluster campaigns. Marketing agencies are experienced with what it takes to create successful campaign tactics, and can bring new ideas, innovative strategies, and a fresh perspective to the table to better promote your company.

  1. Cost reduction

Outsourcing can produce results similar to hiring in-house, but it may be more cost effective for your company to outsource its marketing. Outsourcing allows a company to reduce training costs and save time by not hiring new employees. Your business can instead allocate resources where they are most needed, saving time and money in the long run.

If your company in the medical supply industry could benefit from outsourcing its marketing efforts, look no further than Share Moving Media. With over 30 years of experience in the medical supply chain industry, our team of experienced staff have extensive knowledge of industry trends, changes and challenges, terminology, strategies that work best, and more. We can assist you with marketing responsibilities, from determining a successful campaign strategy to helping your team with content creation. Contact Scott Adams today to set up a brief meeting to discuss the benefits of outsourcing your company’s marketing.

One CHP understands digital tactics driving consumerism, strengths of diverse patient communities

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UnitedHealth Group created the Optum brand in 2011 by merging its existing pharmacy and care delivery services into a single brand, comprising of OptumHealth, OptumInsight and OptumRx. The commercial healthcare provider (CHP) has business interests in technology and related services, pharmacy care services and various direct healthcare services. In 2019, Optum’s revenues surpassed $100 billion.

Focusing on data and analytics, pharmacy care services, population health, healthcare delivery and healthcare operations, Optum serves employers, government agencies, health plans, life science companies, care providers and individuals and families.

How did it grow its brand awareness among its target audience of health system buyers and bellwethers? Its content marketing through different distribution channels including digital, print and other media helped promote its partnerships with healthcare stakeholders.

Benjamin Meents, senior vice president of corporate marketing, brand and events at Optum, has said that the CHP’s content strategy, messaging and story was grounded around celebrating the accomplishments achieved through working with those working in the healthcare space and tackling the biggest challenges in healthcare with their partners.

The intersection of technology, data and analytics with the humanness of the healthcare sector provides a unique opportunity for those in healthcare marketing to share the impact of their organizations. Making an emotional connection with prospective patients and their families can inspire them to stay healthy for themselves and those around them.

A brand awareness campaign in healthcare must be flexible and adaptable to the diverse communities that the healthcare community serves. Optum strives to portray the real, lived experiences of patients and understand that strength comes in many forms. Highlighting patients’ exceptional stories is one of Optum’s own strengths through its omnichannel marketing approach. 

Optum also understands the need for digital marketing in healthcare and what’s driving it. Consumers want instant gratification with access to information anytime, anywhere, online and on-the-go. They want innovation that integrates the disparate data from all their devices into a single view. They also want personalization and expect their needs to be known and their communication preferences to be targeted. And they want simplification in all their interactions, which must be quick and easy.

According to an Optum whitepaper, digital tactics today that support healthcare consumerism include:

  • Online health insurance shopping.
  • Doctor email patients within secure applications.
  • Pharmacy calls with prescription refill reminders.
  • Consumer receives push message on smartphone, e.g., fitness challenge ranking.
  • Health insurers provide free wearable for completing preventive screening.

And digital tactics in the future include:

  • Request medication from smartwatch.
  • Get a real-time text alert when blood pressure is too high.
  • Receive one simple bill for care.
  • Build their own health plan, based on their personalized needs, on their insurer’s website.
  • Have a single dashboard with all their health information.
  • Receive personalized messages based on their data to drive better decision-making and better health.

Healthcare organizations must meet consumers where they are online. Optum says the most commonly researched topics are specific diseases or conditions, treatment options, doctors or other health professionals, and healthcare coverage in general, and that digital marketing is a critical enabler.

How can your business leverage marketing to generate revenue and attention for your brand? At Share Moving Media we help best in class manufacturers build relationships with industry stakeholders. Please contact us at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to learn how we can help you gain market share.

Growth in Ads

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The pandemic impacted many aspects of daily business, including the marketing and advertising industry. During the pandemic, the advertising industry experienced rapid growth, and now that the world is moving forward, and continues to be higher than average.

According to a forecast by Brian Wieser and published on AdWeek.com, the advertising industry in the United States is projected to grow 5% in 2023. Total ad revenue will grow 2.0% to $363 billion in 2023. In 2024, there is an expected surge of 8.1% projected ad revenue growth.

The growth of the ad industry has steadily increased in the past decade due to access to cheap capital that provided “vast sums” of money for companies to use toward advertising pursuits, according to analyst Brian Wieser, media and advertising analyst/consultant.

So, how has the industry changed? And what do those changes mean for the medical supply chain industry? Read on to learn more:

Why did the ad industry expand during the pandemic?

Advertising during the pandemic was unpredictable. During COVID-19 lockdowns, many advertisers took the time to pause and reevaluate their marketing strategies to develop more engaging and creative ads. Now that the world is beginning to normalize post-pandemic, there have been many changes and differences in the primary ways that companies advertise, such as an increase in digital advertisements such as with content on social media, website, podcast, etc.

How popular is digital advertising?

Digital platforms such as social media, YouTube, commerce/retail media, and companies like Apple account for 64% of all advertising. This influence is expected to grow 11% this year in 2023, according to Wieser. Retail media is also on track to grow by 20% in 2023, led by companies such as Amazon.

What does the increase mean for the supply chain industry?

The supply chain industry can greatly benefit from taking advantage of digital advertising in their marketing efforts. Advertising content published on platforms such as online and social media can promote a brand to a wide audience and gain invaluable exposure. For companies in the medical supply chain industry, digital advertising is also beneficial because it can provide a platform to promote a company to hospitals or industry execs.

The advertising industry is expanding and increasing, and that dominance is only expected to grow in the coming years. If your brand could benefit from assistance with creating content for a strong and successful marketing campaign, contact John Pritchard with Share Moving Media at jpritchard@sharemovingmedia.com. SMM has over 30 years of experience advertising within the medical supply chain industry and can help your brand take advantage of the rise of digital advertising through content creation. Contact us today to set up a preliminary meeting session to learn more.

Crisis Management for Brands

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When leading a brand’s marketing strategy, it is important to recognize that many external and internal factors can arise and cause challenges for day-to-day business operations and marketing efforts. These so called “crises” in the supply chain industry can include financial changes, recession, the COVID-19 pandemic, and more, and all have the potential to impact marketing tactics and strategies.

Businesses should have a crisis management plan in place specifically for marketing and PR, so that leaders are able to quickly and successfully navigate any challenges that may arise for businesses.

Read on for examples of PR crises that other brands experienced and how your brand can learn from them to be adequately prepared for potential PR crises.

  1. Johnson & Johnson

Johnson & Johnson had a swift PR turnaround in relation to a crisis with Tylenol in the 1980’s, when seven people died from Tylenol capsules laced with cyanide. The product was recalled nationwide, and the crisis led to the adoption of tamperproof packaging for all over-the-counter medicine going forward.

The company reacted to the crisis quickly, recalling 31 million bottles of Tylenol, and also working with the media and law enforcement, ensuring the safety of the public foremost. With this example, Johnson & Johnson showed that their brand is authentic and trustworthy, as the decision to recall the product further built trust and the brand’s reputation.

  1. Reese’s

For a more social media oriented example of handling a PR crisis, in 2015, Reese’s released candies for the holiday season that were advertised as Christmas tree shaped, but customers reacted saying the shape did not in fact look like Christmas trees.

Reese’s responded by starting a social media campaign called #AllTreesAreBeautiful, which turned the negative crisis situation into another marketing opportunity.

Brand’s past PR crises, and the way that brands respond, can be lessons to current brands. Quick and transparent crisis management reassures customers that a brand is empathetic, takes responsibility, and acts quickly to maintain brand image.

The medical distribution industry has faced many business and PR challenges in recent times, including the pandemic, supply chain disruptions, and more. If your company could use assistance planning a marketing strategy that can plan for and navigate potential crises, Share Moving Media has extensive experience working with health systems and medical sales reps to create marketing content that can assist brands in times of crisis. Contact Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a time to meet to learn more.

Storytelling and Branding: A Look at the StoryBrand Process

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If you’ve seen or heard an advertisement that stood out, elicited strong emotion, and resonated with you, it is likely that the brand that created the ad was using the storytelling framework.

There is a proven framework to use when creating marketing content that tells a story. According to a Business to Business (B2B) video on “Building a StoryBrand,” by Donald Miller, storytelling allows advertisers to cut through the noise, get customers’ attention, and grow a business. The framework to follow when using the storytelling method includes creating a marketing campaign where a character has a problem, they meet a guide, the guide gives the character a plan, and then the guide calls them to action, the plan helps them avoid failure, and the story ends in success.

Psychologically, humans share a need for survival, safety, relationships, and self-actualization, and the storytelling method closely follows those themes. StoryBrand breaks down how to properly execute each aspect of brand storytelling:

A character

For a business, the “main character” in a marketing context is the customer.  A brand should focus on the customer foremost. To compel customers, clearly articulate what customers should want within the context of your business.

Has a problem

The “problem” within a marketing campaign’s story should be personified. For example, frustration as a problem within an ad’s story is not as effective as presenting an outdated, time-consuming process that makes a customer feel frustrated. The problem presented should be relatable and singular.

Meets a guide

This step in the storytelling process is where the company comes in. The character/customer in this step meets a guide (aka the company). To position a company as a guide in a marketing context, it is important to recognize that consumers are looking for two characteristics in a business: empathy and authority.

Customer receives a plan

There are two forms of a plan within a storytelling marketing format, The Process Plan, or what steps a customer can follow to do business with the company. This includes steps such as scheduling an appointment, creating a customized plan, or executing and reviewing KPIs. The second type of plan is The Agreement Plan, which is a service level agreement that tells customers what they can count on if they make a purchasing decision.

Call to action

Customers need to be called to action; businesses must send an obvious message to customers to persuade them to act. This can be done through direct calls to action, such as “call today” or “buy now,” or transitional calls to action, which are informational, such as the ability to view blogs, webinars, videos, so the customer has more potential to be called to action in the future.

Leveraging storytelling in your brand’s marketing campaigns has the potential to increase customer engagement and brand awareness. Share Moving Media has over 30 years of experience adapting business’ marketing campaigns to succeed in the healthcare supply chain industry. If your business could benefit from the creation of online content such as blogs, podcasts, webinars, marketing material, and more to set your business apart in the medical supply industry, contact Scott Adams at sadams@sharemovingmedia.com to set up a time to meet.