The past year has been transformational for the healthcare industry. Healthcare brands find themselves post-digital revolution, in the wake of a global pandemic, trying to reach audiences at a time where every other brand is attempting to do the same. The competition is staggering, but there’s one vital area that healthcare brands are neglecting – user experience.
With healthcare ad spending having risen 10% in the last 12 months, brands are now, more than ever, attempting to reach new audiences. The goal is to drive brand recognition, attract new customers, and inspire brand loyalty. An increase in spending can boost this, but without fully considering how your audiences interact with your brand, and what they expect over the course of their buying journey, it’s unlikely to be successful.
Branded experience – putting the customer first
Ultimately, optimising the user experience when it comes to healthcare marketing revolves around great content marketing. Millennials (who are rapidly making up the majority of decision makers in 2021) on average read 11.4 pieces of content before committing to purchase. To direct them towards your content, and influence that buying decision, you need to ensure that any content created by your brand stands out, is factual, effective, and tailored to your ideal audience.
Different types of content appeal at different points of user experience. Some of your audience may prefer a written piece, some may prefer visual or downloadable assets, or some may turn to video. One way to tap into the user experience is to consider using user-generated content, or UGC, which relies on content production that is from your audience, and ultimately appeals to them also. With UGC, there’s an element of ‘reality’, craved by users who are likely bombarded with ads on other platforms. Using organic, user-led content like this allows brands to go toe-to-toe with those plunging millions into advertising – UGC is often seen as more useful, more honest, and ultimately more impactful than traditional advertising.
For healthcare brands, UGC might include sharing videos that have been created reviewing products, commenting on all reviews and engaging with audiences, and utilising social media hashtags, custom frames, and challenges to create experiences for users. Enticing users to take part in something, and therefore engage with your brand, allows them to build a community, create content that revolves around your product, and ultimately boost brand awareness – the number one goal of healthcare brands in 2021.
Note: UGC is a great way to get the word out about your brand in a meaningful way. However, when sharing user stories, reviews and information in the healthcare industry, make sure that you’ve fully considered permissions, compliance regulations, and any issues that could arise.
Creating impactful content
To create content that really resonates with your audience and prioritises the user experience when it comes to engaging with your brand, you need to commit to a constant, branded stream of content that sits across multiple channels. In 2021, an omnichannel marketing strategy is more than just a ‘nice-to-have’ – it’s a necessity. You should have a content plan that encompasses a variety of platforms, content types, steps in the user journey, and that answers the specific issues of your target audience.
Plenty of brands can create good content, but in order to engage users in a meaningful way, you need to be producing great content. To be great, content must be:
- Relevant in real life
- Hyper-targeted
- Hyper-personalised
- Memorable
- Shareable
- Truly differentiating
If you can succeed in all these points, then you can create content that sets your brand apart from the crowd, and prioritises the user experience, as opposed to sounding like a sales pitch. If it’s tailored effectively to your audience, and correctly aligns with the user journey, then you have an opportunity to reach your potential customers at every step of their buying journey. For healthcare brands, this means educating them on your product long before they’re close to making a buying decision – making it easier for you in the long-run to keep them updated on new products and features, and minimising time, cost and effort when it comes to actual purchase, as they already know the key details.
But creating content that is aligned to your customers requires in-depth knowledge of your customers. The very first step in creating content that enhances user experience is thorough research and development of who your customer is, and why your brand should be chosen among others in the space.
How effective is your current digital marketing strategy?
Re-evaluating your strategy can seem daunting, there’s a lot to consider and if your organisation doesn’t have the dedicated expertise this can come with its own challenges. Working with a digital partner that is well-versed in integrated strategies for healthcare organisations can bridge that gap and help your business achieve its digital goals.
We’re TrunkBBI, a full-service agency that is dedicated to working within the healthcare sector. We use a unique framework called to develop an in-depth understanding of who our audiences are, what they want to see, and how best to provide this in a way that is data-driven. Your brand should take the time to explore these same considerations, and build your strategy based on this.