Latest Trends in Medical Communications

Let’s take a look at 4 of the biggest trends impacting the medical communications industry and how companies can benefit from including them in their communication strategy.

Personalization

Health is personal…it’s different for everybody, so each patient’s experience should be unique. A knock-on effect of the Covid-19 pandemic is that patients are more engaged in their health and more focused on self-management of conditions. They are seeking relevant information that will help them make more informed decisions about their health. With this comes an increased demand for content that is personal to consumers’ health experiences, putting a higher burden on HCPs to provide complex information. We are seeing more companies step in with education and resources for HCPs which allow them to better meet patient needs. To be able to successfully offer patients a truly personalised experience, companies need to understand their customers’ wants and needs more than ever. Putting yourself in your customers’ shoes is now essential to creating tailored content that they will engage with.

Video content

Video has infiltrated content on social media and is now doing the same across all channels. It has quickly become the preferred medium for people to consume content. Video content boosts engagement, conversation rates and organic visibility. Short videos should be used to grab people’s attention and provide them with essential information. Longer videos can be used to tell stories or provide more detailed information, but the longer a video is, the more targeted it should be to a subset of your audience. Most consumers have a short digital attention span and won’t sit through long videos unless it is highly relevant to them, and they know they will benefit from it.

Here are a few ways to utilize videos in medical communications:

• Patient stories
• HCP introductions
• Health awareness and education
• Event promotion

Hybrid events

Although covid restrictions have disappeared in some countries, hybrid events have stuck around. Many congresses and events within the pharmaceutical and medical industries are still incorporating virtual elements into their in-person plans. The efforts range from trying to give virtual attendees an immersive experience equal to that of in-person attendees to simply having a live stream or on-demand content available. Although there is more planning involved in hosting a hybrid event, the benefits are substantial. They allow you to reach people from all over the world that may not have travelled to the event as well as those with a busy schedule who cannot attend the sessions live. Reaching a wider audience and having more content formats available enriches events and enables them to have a bigger impact.

From multichannel to omnichannel

Many industries are currently shifting from multichannel to omnichannel. But omnichannel is not just a trend, it is now a standard that consumers expect. They want to be able to communicate with brands when they want, how they want and on the channels they want. They also expect a cohesive brand experience across multiple channels that is rich with personalisation and relevant content. Omnichannel strategies allow you to develop a unique relationship with consumers and makes them feel important. This increases consumer satisfaction and makes them more likely to make a purchase or use your service. Pharmaceutical companies are adopting omnichannel strategies to communicate with HCPs as the flexibility it offers is well suited to their busy schedules. Omnichannel is also being utilised to communicate with patients as the personalisation and range of channels increases engagement which can in turn increase patient outcomes. Read more about what omnichannel is and what it means for patients.

For support incorporating these trends and more into your strategy, get in touch today.