6 steps to creating medical content that will truly meet your customers' needs
29th August 2019 by Jessica Thilaganathan
Developing engaging, factual and high-quality content can be challenging, particularly in the heavily regulated pharmaceutical industry. As healthcare professionals and patients adapt to the internet of things (IoT) era, their expectations around access to information are continuously evolving. At least 8 out of 10 people turn to search engines as their first source for health information1, so how do we develop medical content that meets your customers’ needs and stands out from the crowd?
Develop a clear content strategy
Whilst marketers spend months each year brand planning, it can be easy for medical teams to skip the content planning phase. However, developing a clear strategy to identify the objectives of the content you are looking to create is key to success. You can start by answering the following questions:
- Who is your intended audience?
- What topics do you want to share as a thought leader in your field?
- Which platforms are you going to use to share this content?
- What story are you trying to tell?
- How will you make sure this content stands-out?
- Which initiatives are you looking to support with this content?
- What are your key performance indicators?
Seek advice and collaborate
In order to ensure your content is of the highest quality you need to make sure it resonates with your intended audience. The best way to do this is to engage with customers to get their feedback on your ideas and throughout the content development lifecycle. This ensures that the content you are producing not only meets your objectives but theirs too. You could do this by setting up a steering committee online using platforms like our very own conversation tool medCrowd.
Plan for approvals
One potential barrier to creating engaging content is the approval process, which can be challenging and lengthy. Streamline the process by engaging reviewers early in your plans and getting their buy in to your approach. Ensure content is code-compliant and referenced properly before it goes into the approval system.
Do your research and make sure it’s authentic
It is often perceived that most medical content is produced by marketers. While it is true that we need to learn from our marketing colleagues and make sure that content is easy to understand and digest, we also need to make sure it doesn’t come across as too promotional. Medical content should be well researched and referenced as well as being factual. The real benefit comes from translating these facts into something meaningful for the audience with insights about how it will change their lives, practice or understanding.
Make sure it’s accessible
Having an engaging piece of content is only half the job. It’s only valuable if customers can access it. It’s key to make sure you have a dissemination plan to communicate your asset both internally and externally.
Measure performance and adapt
After your asset has been available for a while, it’s important to reflect on the performance against your key performance indicators. Use these insights to adapt your content strategy accordingly and keep creating meaningful content!
Contact us to find out more about how we can support you with creating insightful content.
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