So often, the line between physicians and marketers is clear. Doctors are a big part of your audience so they can be a great resource when it comes to learning what will resonate. If you’re not listening to them, you should be. Here are seven things you can do to get them involved and make your content shine.
1. Get key stakeholder buy-in
The sooner you get key physician stakeholders, like chiefs or chairs, on board with your marketing strategy, the easier it will be for both of you. Your physicians will keep an eye out for any exciting content you can use, and they’ll be excited to see it come to life. And don’t forget to set expectations. That way, everyone will be happy with the results.
2. Leverage your remote work environment
Now that so many of us are working from home, take advantage. More virtual meetings mean more opportunities to connect with your physicians. When you can’t meet in person or need a quick answer, don’t hesitate to make that same connection virtually.
Do you have some physicians that aren’t necessarily your go-to? Maybe they aren’t as active on social or don’t respond to your emails and calls as often or quickly as others. Don’t count them out. Call on those physicians to be brand ambassadors and take ownership. It will give them something to work toward rather than watching and learning about campaigns from afar.
Don’t always take consumer content and rework it for physicians. While that can work, it’s also important to develop new, exciting content geared toward physicians. Content developed from the ground up for the right audience can resonate more. Creating pieces from scratch means you need to ensure you’ll have the right resources to get it done. Plan ahead of time to avoid last-minute scrambling or leverage internal resources you may not have tapped before.
Most organizations have an existing editorial team that develops consumer-facing content for all channels. Whether you have an internal team or an agency, make sure you add physician content to their calendar.
At this point, you ideally have your team focusing on a revitalized content calendar. But finding consistently new and exciting topics is challenging. Look to recently published studies, new team members, or internal videos. How can you leverage those pieces to speak to physicians? Make sure you’re reaching out to your doctors. They may have the best ideas and will know what will resonate with your audience because they are part of it. Ask them questions like:
- What service do you offer that no one else in the area/country can?
- What technological advances and cutting-edge new methods is your team working on?
- Are you new to the area/hospital?
- Have you been quoted in interviews, articles, or videos related to this topic? (Include direct quotes when possible.)
Listen. To your own doctors, but also trending content on social media like Doximity. Focusing on what’s doing well online could easily spark a new idea or help you realize you have content that you didn’t think of earlier.