Content Marketing Options in the Pharmaceutical Industry
A list of common content marketing options available for pharmaceutical marketers.
Content marketing, as a buzzword, is used more often than we like in our day-to-day marketing roles. Sometimes it can mean anything that is uploaded to the web, meaning it’s both overused and confusing.
For clarity, a list of content marketing options in the pharmaceutical industry would be helpful to erase any doubt of the options pharma marketers have to reach their audiences…
This post provides a basic list of the most common types of pharmaceutical content marketing, that can be used together in the overall plan, which also includes some of the content we organise, create or coordinate for our clients as options for your next campaign.
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10 Pharma content marketing options
Your next content marketing strategy might include one, or more commonly, a mix of the content marketing options below.
1. Blogs, articles and press releases
First on the list of content marketing options is possibly the most common. Blog posts, articles and press releases are content entries found on websites, whether they are on your website or partner/vendor websites as guest contributions. The format usually includes a main body of text accompanied by other content such as photos, infographics or videos. Such content pieces include data-driven insights, opinion pieces as well as news and organisation-wide updates. This content option is usually the simplest and quickest to create - although it is certainly the case that despite this, pharmaceutical blog articles that include research, as well as the opinions of subject matter experts in organisations, can take time depending on internal processes of approval. This said, should content be your desired route to market, utilise blogs and articles on yours and others’ websites.
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2. whitepapers, e-books and guides
In the pharmaceutical industry, a whitepaper is commonly published following a study or some research into a particular hypothesis, with the paper itself as a vehicle for publishing the results, as well as the other implications of the research. Whitepapers tend to be more in-depth and detailed than e-books and other guides, which tend to be shorter and more interactive that provides snapshots of such research but is more action-driven. This said, whitepapers do also provide opinions and suggestions and can be used to generate new leads to the organisation, where unlike reports, do not just focus on the data.
3. Reports and research documents
A report presents information in an organised format for a specific audience and purpose. Such a document offers a more comprehensive overview of specific periods, events, occurrences or subjects and are considered highly formal to communicate information which has been compiled as a result of research and analysis of data. Again, the difference between a report and a whitepaper boils down to length and level of detail, usually written for a technical audience. A report of this nature will often draw comparisons between products and technologies and even provide research to help organisations develop their own solutions.
4. Videos
Video content takes information and presents it in a visual form. Video marketing can capture a wide audience and it works on many levels to engage with audiences in an entertainment and time-efficient manner. Videos can be used to promote and market product or services, increase engagement on your digital channels, educate your consumers and customers and reach new and existing audiences. This type of content option has emerged as hugely popular in the last few years, but creating videos - from explainer videos to talking-head interviews to presentations to behind the scenes at events - are time-consuming and often costly. This said videos can be highly efficient to explain complex pharmaceutical products and manufacturing processes and can be used for specific campaigns and events that might be prioritised within the organisation.
5. Interviews and Q&AS
Interviews and Q&As come in a range of forms but the premise is usually the same where a member of the organisation, commonly a subject matter expert or a new hire, is interviewed with the questions/answers published to the wider audience. Interview content is usually either unstructured, semi-structured or structured and is a great content option due to their interactive nature. Such content can also be published quickly, as by its very nature, once the interview is done the content can be transcribed into a written format or edited for realising via video format. Should you be looking to present your pharmaceutical organisation in a different light, and position your employees in the process, consider conducting interviews and Q&As with your employees.
6. Webinars and podcasts
As content options, webinars and podcasts care possibly amongst the strongest B2B pharmaceutical marketers have in 2020. The main difference between the two is webinars are multimedia, meaning they contain both audio and video, while podcasts normally include only audio. Webinars and podcasts are usually live virtual events executed online and is an educational or instructive session that includes audio and visual communication between a speaker and attendees. Demand for such live events can be high, and as the episodes are usually recorded, they can also be released after the event and made available for a period of time.
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7. Case studies
A case study is a research strategy and inquiry that investigates a phenomenon within its real-life context. The key purpose of such content is to describe an individual situation, specifically its issues and then what happened to address those issues and improve the situation from the initial state. This content option is highly popular within a B2B context, especially within the pharmaceutical industry, as they can show how an organisation has worked with another to improve a specific situation. Case studies are commonly used within sales processes as bottom-of-the-funnel content to demonstrate capability and experience.
8. Product specifications and product literature
An essential component for the B2B sales process. Product specifications and literates are documents with a set of requirements that provides audiences (internal and external to the organisation) the information they need on new features or functionality of a product. Whether these documents come in the form of a product sheet or catalogue, they are always detailed and technical to provide all of the information required. This said product-literature do not always need to be long-format, just adequate enough to provide the information needed to make a business decision. Pharmaceutical products, and services for that matter, will all have such content and are usually also required during the sales process.
9. FAQS
For product-oriented organisations, FAQs (frequently asked questions) and answers on topics are always a good idea. They provide all sorts of answers to common questions that a user might be looking to solve. The issue with some organisations that use FAQs is that employees will always try to point customers to use them when sometimes a conversation is required. This said, as a content section for your website we would certainly suggest that you start compiling a list of common questions about your most common products and services and begin the process of answering them. Much of this content is already available within your marketing and sales materials, proposals, customer service teams or in the lab.
10. Datasheets
Finally, at the most technical end of this list, is the most technical option available. Datasheets are documents that summarise the performance and other characteristics of a product, machine, component, material, a subsystem or software. It is summarised in sufficient detail to allow a buyer to understand the product and a design engineer to understand the role of the component in the overall system. Purchases within the pharmaceutical supply chain will be dependent on the production of a datasheet, and from the marketer’s perspective, maybe the most important piece of marketing content within the sales process.
Choosing the right content marketing option
From the content marketing options above, you will only be able to adopt a small number of them, at least to begin with. There are a number of ways to determine what’s right for you. First, I’d consider your organisational and marketing plan objectives to understand which content option can help you achieve those objectives. Secondly, in the context of the B2B pharmaceutical industry, I would select a content option to present to your target audience during each of the three stages of the traditional buyer’s journey.
We have released a life science and pharmaceutical content marketing guide that helps content marketers decide on the right content marketing options, creating more strategic content campaigns in the process.