With the rise of social media influencers, brands across various industries incorporate them into their PR strategies. Not long ago, influencer marketing became popular in healthcare PR in promoting medical devices by elevating brand awareness, potentially increasing sales. If you have yet to embrace influencer marketing, it’s crucial to understand how to use influencers in medical device PR and whether they can be beneficial for your business.
Golden Arrow ensures building and fostering relationships with healthcare influencers to promote our clients’ medical gadgets and products.
How to Use Influencers in Medical Device PR?
What is Influencer Marketing in Healthcare?
Influencer marketing is the utilization of people who can shape public perception to promote medical devices as part of a PR campaign.
Influencer marketing utilizes social media personalities for branding and promotional purposes. Influencers impart their followers with essential health-related knowledge, professional insights, and their own stories.
Moreover, influencers can have an effect on people’s choices and mold the public’s opinion of certain medical devices. Influencer marketing is a strategy that helps producers of medical devices to:
- Engage with their target market
- Gain their trust
- Develop credibility
But to use influencer marketing, working with a PR agency that knows how to do it effectively is vital. As a leading medical technology PR agency, we understand the upsurge of social media and the benefits of influencers in how they can affect people’s buying decisions. We also know how to use them to promote your medical devices.
Evolution of influencer marketing in the medical field
Influencers in healthcare are distinct from other industries. Regarding healthcare PR, companies use two distinct types of individuals for promotion. These are key opinion leaders (KOLs) and social media influencers.
KOLs have long existed in the healthcare industry. They originate from 1940s studies of influence by communications theorist Paul Lazarsfield. KOLs are usually healthcare professionals or individuals with parallel professions.
- Journalists (health or tech)
- Celebrities
- Writers
- Researchers
KOLs are in thought leadership positions in their field and can have a social media presence. In contrast, social media influencers are native to social media and tend to have higher profile engagement than KOLs.
Social media influencers are more beneficial for promoting specific medical devices and products. Influencers build solid relationships with their followers. They foster trust among their followers by recommending only high-quality products.
Types of influencers in the medical technology industry
Medical professionals
Medical professionals, as influencers, provide information and education to their follower base. Influencers can be:
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Other healthcare workers
These types of influencers post evidence-based material and provide professional advice. Medical professionals as influencers can be highly valuable in promoting medical devices. This is because their followers trust their expert opinion and are more likely to purchase them.
Experts in health and wellness
Health and wellness experts can offer advice on leading a healthy lifestyle. They may also encourage good practices that enhance general well-being. They motivate those who follow them to make life-improving decisions. So, if your medtech firm offers medical devices that improve wellness and health, influencers can promote the product to their follower base.
Patient advocates
People with firsthand experience of a particular medical condition can share their stories. These individuals also support others going through a similar ordeal. They have the power to develop trust and a sense of community among their followers.
This trust means that their followers are more likely to purchase the medical device these influencers promote.
Exploring the potential impact of influencers on brand visibility and credibility
Establishing credibility and trust
Healthcare influencers help people feel more comfortable and willing to interact with medical devices. Their personal experiences may move their followers, forging a strong emotional bond.
Increasing awareness and reach
By collaborating with influencers, medtech firms can spread the word about their:
- Programs
- Services
- Medical gadgets
Influencers have the power to boost marketing campaigns. They create conversations about your medical device and its health benefits.
Improving patient engagement
Healthcare influencers can potentially motivate patients to engage actively in their health journey. Influencers achieve this by offering insightful content and facilitating meaningful dialogues.
They can assist in establishing a kind and encouraging atmosphere that motivates patients to:
- Ask questions
- Seek assistance
- Make decisions
Identifying the Right Influencers
Identifying influencers with similar beliefs, objectives, and target audiences is crucial to developing an effective influencer marketing strategy. We reach out only to influencers who match your brand’s values and message.
We conduct in-depth research and examine their web presence. Also, we assess their engagement rates to ensure they complement your brand’s goals. The right influencer is the one whose base is your target audience.
Another consideration is the influencer’s engagement rate. We look at how many likes, comments, and shares their posts get to ensure people actively engage with their content.
Building Relationships with Healthcare Influencers
The research helps you create a personalized message that aligns with the influencer’s interests and priorities. Because influencers get lots of offers, yours must stand out.
To stand out, your offer may include the following:
- Access to exclusive content
- Collaboration opportunities
- Exposure to new audiences
Building relationships with healthcare influencers is crucial to ensure their endorsement.
Crafting Authentic Influencer Campaigns
Create a content strategy that conveys your brand’s message to your target audience. Work together with influencers to produce material that is educational and meaningful. This kind of content provokes thought and action.
To create a successful influencer campaign, you should consider the following:
- Involve the influencers in the process – influencers may feel more invested in the campaign’s success when involved in the process.
- Consider their expertise – ensure you use the influencer’s knowledge when making informative or educational posts.
- Foster transparency – the influencers should know what you expect from them and what they can expect in return. Also, they should be aware of your product promotion boundaries.
Conclusion
Understanding how to use influencers in medical device PR allows us to promote our client’s products to a broad audience. Influencer marketing is important for gaining the public’s trust in medical products.
