Digital Marketing for Pharmaceutical Companies

Digital market is capturing the traditional market in every business; and pharmaceutical industry is the next frontier. This industry has always been stunted with regulatory restrictions as it is dealing directly consumers life and health. Companies in this business hardly get to interact with the end users of the product as the patients who entirely depend on the health care provider’s medical knowledge and advice.

But now this is not the case since digital marketing has entered into each and every business in the world. Patients with the increased usage of smart phones are becoming more and more digital savvy. Soon the line between the Pharma companies and the patients will be quite blurred. Companies which are charting out futuristic growth are undoubtedly targeting the entry of digital marketing in their marketing growth.

Listed below are some points to be considered while switching to digital marketing for Pharmaceutical Companies

1.Content Marketing

What is content marketing? It is one of the tools of digital marketing which involves creating and sharing videos, blogs as posts on social media platforms. It is not intended to promote a particular brand or product but to stimulate interest in similar products and interests. Social media is an essential part of digital marketing wherein content related to your product and business are shared as posts on various social medial options. Likewise Pharma companies can share information regarding their medicines which are capable of curing certain diseases. Engage a well known expert in the field of medicine who can write blogs on your behalf mentioning details about your medicines. The content which they write will be read and trusted by the readers as they are renowned personalities in the field.

2.Blogs

Further to content writing the next thing which you can take in your list is blog writing. Post blogs related to health issues and remedies regularly on your website. The bloggers you choose should be known people in the field or who have some position in the medical field. More and more people are getting health conscious due to increasing health issues across the globe. Hence such blogs will definitely gain attention of your visitors. Along with the posts you can advertise your product which is in conformance with the topic of your blog. This will help people to relate to your product more easily. Short videos of satisfied customers and celebrities who have proved to be satisfied users will help you gain more recognition as a seller of good products

3. Website a must

First and the foremost thing is a well-designed and user friendly website. This will be more visited by consulting doctors, physicians etc. So you need to ensure that the details on the website are correct and updated regularly. Contact details and upcoming and high selling products should be flashed on your website front page in order to grab quick attention. Videos showing the usage and side effects of the medicines should also be included as it becomes easier for anyone to understand whether to consume the drug or not. Most important thing is the list of chemists city wise to be included so that the people looking for them can easily purchase the medicines.

4. Partner up

There are small companies coming in who are having their own personalised mobile apps where you can order medicines of almost all well known pharmacies. They also provide you additional discounts if your order crosses certain amount. It is a very convenient way to order as the medicines are delivered at your door step even without delivery charges at times. This option of digital marketing is getting very popular among the aged people who are not able to visit the stores personally due to health issues. Partnering up also means combined marketing and publicity. Both of you can advertise your company on your respective social media channels and websites which will enable you to get more and more recognition and in turn sales.

5. Search Engine Optimisation

SEO can be considered the most important tool of digital marketing. With our content in place we need to focus to perform better day by day on the SEO front. A digital marketing expert is the best person to guide you  in this and would rather say do the job well. Content marketing and SEO go hand in hand and one cannot survive without the other. Good work done in creating good content will be paid off on the SEO front. SEO is the process of getting more and more traffic to your website with the help of organic search engine results. A digital marketer knows how to use this feature to the optimum to rank your website higher on the Google Page. Doctors, health experts, patients when search for certain words which are a part of your content which makes your website more noticeable on the Google page.

6. Online reputation

Google rules the internet across the world. 8 out of 10 people tend to search for information before buying or booking any kind of service on the internet. Once the search is done next are the reviews of the product they look for. Reviews definitely affect the purchase decision of any consumer and pharmaceutical companies are very much prone to negative publicity as they are dealing with a very delicate and crucial part of human life which is health and well being. So what you are online is who you will be in the minds of most of the people. Hence just concentration on branded keywords is not enough you should be looking for negative keywords as well in order to see that your online reputation is not harmed. Once these negative keywords are identified create a positive content in order to overcome it in order to avoid further damage to the brand image.

7.Chatbots

Chatbots are a very famous option of digital marketing. It is a piece of software that conducts a conversation with a visitor with the help of textual methods. Chatbots are a part of your website in order to guide the visitor for any query or concern. It is a popular technology innovation which is sounding to be more and more human due to increased usage and development in the field. They communicate directly with consumers, doctors or medical representatives to guide them about your product and how to use them. Chatbots can be used as virtual nurses who help the patients to maintain their prescriptions, book appointments with the doctor and even use as sending alerts when they need to take medication. It is a very useful tool as it resolves any concern immediately and the visitors are happy as their concerns are answered right away

8.Social media bee

Social media is ruling the digital marketing world and you cannot escape from it either if you intend to be a successful business company. More and more usage of smart phones is resulting in more and more internet addiction. No business can survive in today’s world without its presence on the internet. Since you have your website in place you need to start a social media account and channel on Facebook and YouTube in order to make your presence feel and gain attention. Regular posts / blogs on health and product related information should be uploaded on these platforms. Earlier such articles didn’t used to gain attention but since the health related issues are increasing people find these posts interesting and do like and share them further. But the most important part is that you need to abide by the rules and regulations imposed on the Pharmaceutical industry as any breach will lead to serious implications harming your branch image. So make sure you don’t invite any unwanted trouble!

9. Be Multilingual

To understand medicinal language and composition is not every ones cup of tea. So the language you use should be easy and simple and able to convey the actual information effectively and easily. Next thing which you need to imply is to post your content in multiple languages as most of information comes in English language only which everybody is not able to relate to or understand easily. So in order to make your work more effective use different languages in your posts. However to use multilingual strategy to its full potential; it is not just enough to just translate the content in various languages. You need to develop a process of messaging specifically to various markets keeping in mind their desires, challenges and life style in mind. This use of posts in multi-language can be region specific in order to make easier to implement and cover masses belonging to the same region.

We hope that the above mentioned industry specific tips will be helpful to make your digital presence felt.  Implementing digital marketing in Pharma industry has the potential to change the face of the industry. A strong digital marketing strategy will help you survive and stand out in the cut throat competition. You just need to be ready to accept the change and plan a mix of traditional and digital marketing action plan for your Company.