The Covid-19 pandemic forced the world to adopt new ways to communicate, we’re all now well versed in the art of video calls over face-to-face meetings. In the pharma industry, medical conferences and congresses went virtual overnight. And in-person sales meetings, which had become increasingly hard to secure, stopped completely.
But while face-to-face interaction isn’t dead, the pharma industry will never go back to the way it was before. Research by Accenture has cited that 87% of healthcare professionals (HCPs) now want their post-pandemic contacts with pharma sales reps to be either virtual or a blend of physical and virtual.
Simultaneously, the pharma industry is warping under powerful disruptive influences. Ongoing medical and health research has led to advances in gene therapies, epigenetics, bionics, microbiome research, predictive analytics and deep learning, 3D-printing, personalised medicine and nanotechnology – promising not only to transform healthcare, but also to reshape the market structure that underpins it. What’s more, these blurred technological boundaries are attracting new breeds of competitors.
In the fast-paced pharmaceutical industry, it’s never been more important for brands to stand out from the crowd.
Enter Video Content.
Understandably, there have been mixed opinions regarding the utilisation of video within the pharma industry, with some preferring traditional 50 page presentations over 3 minute medical videos. Much of this hesitancy stems from the fact the pharma industry is highly regulated and often has to communicate highly technical information. But video isn’t designed to replace the words, numbers and charts of scientific writing. Instead, video content can complement written and live communication. Videos illustrate, articulate and disseminate key information in an accessible and digestible format. It’s already being used in various ways such as marketing products to HCPs, education and training and direct-to-consumer marketing.
Understanding the benefits of video marketing and how best to utilise it is key for pharmaceutical companies to stay ahead of the curve.
Reach wider audiences through a successful video marketing campaign.
Pre-Covid annual events, such as ASCO (American Society of Clinical Oncology), were held in person – with thousands of researchers and clinicians gathering to discuss and report on new trials, key opinion leaders hosting panels and plenty of networking. But, like most other major conferences and congresses over the past two years, it was conducted virtually; with attendees watching live streams, behind the scenes videos and video content generated before the big day. As we venture into the spring of 2022, we can expect to see a mixture of virtual and in-person events.
This offers several opportunities for major pharmaceutical companies such as increased reach, which is ideal when presenting medical and scientific data at such events. It’s now much easier for people from all over the world to access and attend events via virtual platforms – and it’s easier to secure those top speakers too – with fewer restrictions and no need to block out long periods of time in their diaries to travel.
In the pharma industry, pre-recorded video is preferable to live streaming. This is in part due to the quality of video production and the use of graphics and animation to help keep attention and visualise complex messages in medical videos – particularly if attendees’ first language isn’t English. But it also allows for compliance checks ahead of broadcast.
For corporate communications, video marketing increases reach via both search and social. Pfizer for example was able to capitalise on the reach of YouTube influencers F2Freestylers in 2016 (they had 6 million subscribers at the time; now they have over 13 million). Maximising user generated content, Pfizer’s successful video marketing campaign ‘#QuitWithHelp’ to promote anti-smoking reached audiences in a way that would not have been impossible through written word alone.
Grabbing attention.
With scientific and technological advancements, the pharma industry is an increasingly fast-paced market which HCPs have to stay up to date with, sifting through and digesting the latest and most appropriate scientific literature. Often, this will mean that professionals are spending hours online every week, simply to keep up with the increase in papers being published. Unsurprisingly, patience is wearing thin and attention is becoming harder to seize.
And this is where a successful video marketing strategy steals the show. Medical videos that are readily accessible on mobile and speed up the time it takes to digest content are increasingly attractive to those where time and convenience are precious commodities. Incorporating user generated content such as testimonials from medical professionals and other key opinion leaders will only serve to strengthen the impact of information and advertising messages.
Making an impact with explainer videos.
With 65% of us being visual learners, it’s no surprise that HCPs generally prefer to watch pharma company videos as a simple but effective tool to learn and digest information quickly. We know that we can process visual information 60,000 times faster than text and this is because it conveys both contextual and non-verbal information at the same time.
It’s not just the speed of information processing that video offers, it also improves the length of time that we retain that information for too. Viewers can retain significantly more of the information learned from video than text, which could be attributed to a well made video having a more concise message as well as an engaging visual story.
This powerful engagement means that video is a uniquely effective marketing tool, moving customers along in the customer journey. If time is of the essence, wouldn’t you rather watch a well made and well scripted 30 second video than have a convoluted 5 minute conversation at the water cooler?
7 Top Tips For Impactful Pharmaceutical Video Marketing
With that in mind, here are our seven tips for using video well in 2022 and beyond:
- Make it engaging and compliant – The pharmaceutical industry rightly operates under the constraint of regulation: it is imperative that what you say is accurate, balanced, proportionate and fair. Neither customers, the government nor the general public will reward you for spinning yarns.
- Use emotion and facts – Marketers and advertisers have long known that emotion is a critical driver of purchasing decisions. Don’t be afraid of telling the human stories behind your medication, while strictly adhering to the facts.
- Don’t be too salesy – Corporate pharmaceutical marketing videos are a great way to show the world a 360 degree view of what your business does, what it’s like to work there and how it’s making a difference in the world. But it’s important not to approach this type of content as a hard sell.
- Craft a story – Real life success stories are humanity’s greatest invention for conveying meaning, lessons and common experience; bullet points aren’t. The same essential principles apply for video marketing. Authentic videos need realistic, relatable people on a journey with a clear beginning, middle and end, containing emotional peaks and troughs.
- Keep it targeted – As with any marketing strategy it’s important for brands to keep their target audience and objectives front of mind. For example, animated medical explainer videos can be specific and even suggest treatment methods. But they can also have a broader informative scope and explain, with simplicity, the effectiveness of certain treatments. Explainer videos should also allow HCPs to take their interest further by pointing to more detailed scientific information or by providing contact details for medical liaison professionals.
- Keep it simple – For sales and marketing videos, brevity is a virtue. HCPs are likely to have somewhat longer attention spans than your average viewer, but most pharmaceutical marketing videos are still under three minutes. Trying to cram multiple messages into one video will likely leave the viewer more confused – particularly if it’s a complex subject. Focus on the key points and direct people to further videos or locations for more detail.
- Have an ambitious strategy – Video marketing should not be approached haphazardly, particularly in the pharmaceutical industry, but with deliberate intent and clear objectives. In essence, there needs to be a clear digital pharma marketing strategy.
The time is now to propel your pharmaceutical video marketing strategy forward – in 2022 and beyond. Are you ready? In 2021, Wooshii partnered with over 25 global pharmaceutical & biotech companies on more than 65 video projects – supercharging strategies and creating impactful content to support both internal and external marketing objectives.
To discuss how Wooshii can support your pharmaceutical video production strategy, get in touch with the team today – europe@wooshii.com
Eager for more video expertise? Wooshii’s latest insight report deep dives into video’s adaptability and its impact in elevating market flow and increasing awareness within the pharma industry. Click here to read on.
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Need help devising your video strategy or perhaps want to discuss your productions needs, give Wooshii a call today.
