HCP Marketing, Part 3: HCP Advertising and How to Track, Measure, and Optimize for Success
This is part 3 of a 3-part blog series all about HCP marketing. Part 1 reviews segmentation and messaging, part 2 reviews content development, and this part covers content promotion and optimization.
Now that you have defined your audience, picked a topic, and created some content – it’s time to go to market. First, consider all of these elements to inform your placement strategy. Then create landing pages and banners to promote your content across different HCP advertising platforms.
Test a variety of platforms, content, and CTAs to figure out what works best for your specific product or service. Once you find something that works – replicate it.
Want a quick overview on effective HCP marketing?
Download:
Marketing to Doctors: A Quick Guide
HCP Advertising Platforms
Here are some of the most effective platforms we have found for reaching doctors:
- Search: This includes both paid ads and organic search. For paid ads, search is ideal for products that customers already know exist and are actively looking for…but not so good for emerging product markets. For organic search, implement search engine optimization (SEO) strategies to create content that people and search engines find useful.
- Syndication: Syndication allows you to partner directly with publishers to promote your content on their websites, or you can use intermediaries, like glassCanopy, to get similar leads at a fraction of the price.
- Retargeting: Use an existing/bought email list or cookie information to show prospects your ads on other websites. This won’t increase the number of inbound leads you’re getting, but it will help push leads down the funnel and keep your brand top of mind.
- Paid social media: LinkedIn tends to be the only social platform that brings in qualified leads. That said, only about half of licensed doctors have profiles. However, LinkedIn does include a lot of highly specific targeting options like geography, education, skills, etc., that can be useful for niche audiences.
- Medical publications: Many of these publications already have developed media programs. You can look for general publications, like Physicians Practice, or get more specific, like Anesthesiology News.
- Medical associations: Even though membership has declined, it’s worth exploring sponsorships and content-sharing opportunities with these organizations. Like publications, you can look for general groups like the American Medical Association or get location and specialty-specific with groups like The California Society of Anesthesiologists.
- Apps: Doctors are constantly on their phones, and many use mobile health (mHealth) apps and solutions in their practices. The utility of this platform can be all over the place. Larger apps are often dominated by pharma, and smaller apps may not have ad programs in place yet, but if you find a good match, it can be another great platform.
- Direct mail: Despite what many people think, direct mail is not dead; it’s just evolving. But bring some creative ideas to the table, or your campaign will end up in the garbage can.
Successful HCP advertising requires using a mix-and-match approach to platforms until you find the right combination that works for your specific audience.
Track, Measure, and Optimize HCP Advertising Campaigns
We already established that HCP advertising is hard, but it is also expensive (thanks, Big Pharma). That’s why it is essential that you track, measure, and optimize campaigns based on revenue.
HCP Advertising Metrics
Tracking this way is not easy. Most companies don’t have the ability to track inbound inquiries all the way to final sale. If you can’t do it now, make it a long-term goal. In the meantime, track based on the best metric you have and then take steps to go one deeper.
Building a Matrix
Use the metrics you have and the marketing budget spent to create a matrix to understand what HCP advertising campaigns and platforms work best. We like to think about it in terms of campaigns (asset, CTA, etc.) and platforms (Google AdWords, LinkedIn, etc.).
Organizing your marketing data helps you determine what messages resonate best with your audience and where. Then, you can take this information and advance your marketing campaigns with a more nuanced multi-touch approach or account-based marketing (ABM) strategy.
That’s it!
We know that was a lot (and this was the short version).
Marketing to doctors requires a lot of creativity, and there is no one-size-fits-all formula. There are many moving parts you’ll have to think about to be successful. However, with continuous testing and optimization, you can figure out what works best to drive revenue.
Work with a Partner
The other option is that you don’t have to do it all on your own–we can help.
glassCanopy provides start-to-finish content and lead generation for organizations looking to reach doctors and hospitals. We handle everything:
- Develop strategy
- Create content
- Build campaign landing pages and banners
- Plan and place ad buys
- Install and monitor analytics
- Report, analyze, and optimize
This blog series was a quick review of HCP marketing – if you want to deep dive into even more details, download our 40-page eBook: Marketing to Doctors: A How to Guide
Want help developing and deploying an HCP marketing strategy?
Rich founded glassCanopy in 2001.
