Advertising pharmaceutical products to healthcare professionals has accounted for the highest proportion of marketing spend in healthcare in recent years. Unfortunately, having a large advertising budget doesn’t automatically equal high ROI. However, you can make your pharma advertising efforts more strategic and efficient with the right insights.
Discover essential insights to help you create compelling pharma advertising campaigns that can yield impressive results and increase your ROI.
Insights to Build a Pharma Advertising Strategy That Maximizes ROI
The following practical insights can help you build a pharma advertising strategy that aligns with current digital trends, improves your engagement rate, and increases ROI in terms of prescription lift and revenue.
1. Know Your Target Audience
Before anything, thoroughly understand your target HCPs. Identify their specializations, interests, and pain points. The best way to identify and understand your target HCPs is by leveraging data technology and artificial intelligence.
In pharma advertising, multiple real-time data feeds and complex algorithms should come into play to get to the right physician at the right time using the right channels and right messaging.
This knowledge will enable you to create personalized and relevant advertisements that resonate with them, resulting in higher engagement rates and prescriptions.
2. Embrace Digital Marketing Channels
Digital marketing provides many cost-effective advertising options for pharma marketers. What’s more, they’re measurable. Use various platforms like search engine marketing (SEM), display advertising, and social media to reach your prospects.
Leverage ad features on platforms such as Google, Facebook, and Instagram to target specific attributes and interests, increasing the chances of converting potential leads.
AstraZeneca and Daiichi Sankyo’s Enhertu used this insight by running paid ads on Instagram for a Metastatic Breast Cancer Awareness Day campaign. The campaign generated 29,000 impressions and 26 clicks in just one day.
More importantly, leverage physician-only social media platforms to increase your chances of reaching HCPs.
3. Create Compelling Content
Content is king in the digital world, and this is true for pharma advertising too. Develop high-quality content that educates, informs, and engages your target HCPs. Incorporate visually appealing graphics and infographics to enhance the overall impact of your ads.
Focus on highlighting the benefits and properties of your products clearly and concisely to ensure your audience can easily understand your message. Dupixent does this with its “Du More” campaign, which highlights the benefits of using the medication as background signage in matching everyday scenarios their audience can relate to.
The brand’s “Du More” ad has had a high engagement rate, with 3.2 billion impressions within the first two months of 2023.
4. Comply with Regulatory Guidelines
Pharma advertising is subject to strict regulations to protect patients and ensure ethical practices. Get familiar with the guidelines set forth by regulatory bodies like the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to avoid potential legal issues. Non-compliance can lead to hefty fines and damage your brand’s reputation. To be absolutely sure, always seek legal counsel to ensure your ads meet the appropriate requirements.
5. Collaborate With Influencers and Key Opinion Leaders
Collaborate with Key Opinion Leaders, including reputable healthcare professionals, patient advocates, and industry influencers, to endorse your products. Their influence, authority, and credibility can significantly impact how HCPs perceive your brand, leading to improved brand loyalty and increased ROI.
In its first TV ad, Merck’s Keytruda implemented this insight by featuring an actual lung cancer survivor treated with Keytruda. The survivor shares her story of surviving lung cancer and how the medication has improved her life.
6. Optimize for Mobile Devices
Most internet users now access content through mobile devices, and HCPs are no exception. Optimize your pharmaceutical advertising for mobile platforms so that your target HCPs can access your content on the go. Ensure that your website and landing pages are mobile-friendly, as a seamless mobile experience can improve engagement and conversion rates.
7. Implement Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is critical in improving your online visibility and organic traffic. Conduct keyword research relevant to your pharmaceutical products and integrate them strategically into your content, meta descriptions, and headlines. This will enhance your search engine rankings, driving more traffic to your website and increasing your ROI.
8. Utilize Retargeting Strategies
Incorporate retargeting techniques into your pharmaceutical advertising campaigns to re-engage HCPs who have previously visited your website or engaged with your marketing content but didn’t make a prescription. Retargeting ads remind HCPs of your products, keeping your brand fresh in their minds and encouraging them to prescribe your products.
9. Use Automation
Automation allows real-time deployment of your advertising content. It also helps you track performance. This, in turn, feeds you with valuable insights to facilitate personalizing your advertising content. All of this allows you to fulfill your marketing goal of increasing overall brand awareness, engagement rates, and ROI in terms of prescriptions and revenue.
10. Monitor and Analyze Performance
Track the performance of your pharmaceutical advertising campaigns regularly. Analyze key metrics such as click-through rates (CTR), conversion rates, and cost per acquisition (CPA). Identify areas that need improvement and refine your advertising strategies accordingly. Use tools like Google Analytics and other marketing analytics platforms to gain valuable insights into your campaign’s performance.
Increase Your Pharma Advertising ROI With PharmaforceIQ
In the ever-evolving landscape of pharmaceutical advertising, staying ahead of the competition and optimizing your ROI requires a data-driven approach.
At PharmaforceIQ, we can help you optimize your pharma advertising to become efficient and reduce media waste using our unique integrations and highly accurate data sources.
Remember, a well-executed and innovative advertising strategy can be a game-changer for your pharmaceutical brand.
Ready to increase your pharma advertising ROI? Request a demo today.
