Welcome. Part of Propeller’s mission and promise is to be at the forefront of digital. We consistently strive to bring innovation and creativity to our healthcare partners and their customers.
It is in this spirit that we curate a quarterly experience, strategically selecting the latest, most important digital marketing trends and tech innovations—and assess the impact each of these have in healthcare, and why it’s important for you to know, now.
Together, let’s be experts and so on the Pulse!
Digital Revolutions in the Delivery of Healthcare
OVERVIEW
We’re excited to release our first-ever Propeller Pulse: The Edit. This quarter, we’re focusing on Digital Revolutions in the Delivery of Healthcare.
From 5G technologies to chatbots, health communicators are being armed with advanced, real-time digital tools to achieve deeper engagements and efficiencies in care. Fueling brand messaging to reach your customers in even more meaningful ways, we also look at social and micro-influencers as important vehicles to amplify content. At the same time, the nature of digital connectivity is driving a discussion around privacy and security that is louder than ever.
With so much constantly changing in our space, here is what healthcare marketers need to know today—and why.
T R E N D # 1
THE 5G EFFECT
Optimizing, real-time communication
What is it
•10x faster than 4G, 5G is the next generation of technology, greatly increasing the speed, coverage, and responsiveness of wireless network and access to the cloud •5G allows for applications—that are dependent on lots of data moving very quickly in a “real-time environment”—to all operate simultaneously, at close to instant data transfer speeds
What it means for healthcare
•As a result of 5G, hospitals and their doctors will have optimized workflows and connective power•The fast speeds will change the way healthcare is delivered, including quick transfer and download of large files, AR, VR, AI, and everyday accessibility to Internet of Medical Things (IoMT)
MORE ON IoMT
A fundamental shift in consumer habits is causing patients to take health and wellness into their own hands, literally. IoMT is comprised of wearable devices, remote patient monitoring, sensor- enabled hospital beds and infusion pumps, medication-tracking systems, medical supply and equipment inventory tracking, and more.
T R E N D # 2
COMMUNICATING VIA TELEMEDICINE
Increasing healthcare accessibility
and efficiency
What is it
•Made possible with 5G, telemedicine is the remote delivery of healthcare services, such as health assessments or consultations, over a video call infrastructure•Digitized, remote care is valued more than ever before by doctors, in particular among younger physicians, who grew up in the age of social media and smartphones•Telemedicine is a response to patients and HCPs wanting to play a more active role throughout the entire healthcare journey
What it means for healthcare
•The use of telemedicine offers new means for patients and practitioners to locate health information and communicate with each other, which is especially important and relevant with COVID-19•It increases accessibility and efficiency by reducing the need to travel, providing real‑time clinical support and overcoming geographic barriers where resources are scarce•This connectivity allows HCPs to improve and expand upon their long-term management of care, as there’s more time and opportunities to follow up with patients. It also improves treatment of chronic disorders and various day-to-day health symptoms, allowing doctors to advise and prescribe medicine in real-time—and earlier on, when patients are not as sick
T R E N D # 3
THE RISE OF LIVE VIDEO
Diversifying social platforms
and content formats
What is it
•Both long-form and short-form video are the most engaged and shared content on social media channels—in particular, live video ‐LinkedIn is rolling out a live video feature that will offer brands a way to deliver authentic video content to a more relevant audience in real-time
‐Stories products on Facebook, Instagram, and Snapchat piece together video vignettes that vanish within 24 hours‐TikTok and Twitch are new platforms gaining momentum, especially among Gen Z audiences
What it means for healthcare
•Whether in long-form or short-form, real-time authentic video formats can be leveraged to amplify and scale exclusive content at major conferences, webinars, Q&A panels, and more•TikTok and other live video products on social present an opportunity to engage audiences in specialized contexts and at different points in the customer journey
THE TIKTOK PHENOMENON
TikTok was the most-installed app in 2019. Its more than 800 million monthly active users spend an average of 46 minutes per day on the app—an astonishing amount of time when you consider that the average TikTok video is 15 seconds.
•Watch this first-ever pharmaceutical partnership on TikTok here
T R E N D # 4
THE POWER OF
MICRO-INFLUENCERS
Practicing influencer authenticity
What is it
•Micro-influencers are individuals that have between 1,000 and 10,000 followers•Each of them have a specific area of expertise and offer a niche perspective to a particular kind of audience•They generate 85% higher engagement than those having 100,000 followers•More cost effective and affordable than macro‑influencers.
What it means for healthcare
•Healthcare’s version of the micro-influencer is a KOL; put brand products, services, and experiences in front of the right people with socially savvy KOLs•Scaling content on social, these thought leaders are well-respected in their circle and active in online communities, with the ability to capture the attention of and influence key stakeholders with their words
T R E N D # 5
MESSAGING APPS
& CHATBOTS
Elevating an omnichannel strategy
and bolstering connectivity
What is it
•AI software, which drives messaging apps and chatbots, provides the opportunity to communicate one-to-one with consumers via text and type•Interactions can offer convenience ‐Available whenever and wherever the user happens to be
‐Help providing on-demand problem/need resolution and product inquiries‐Emotional connections addressing customer concerns
What it means for healthcare
•Healthcare chatbots will never substitute doctors, but they provide plenty of opportunities to facilitate HCP’s jobs or to improve their performance: ‐Provide on-demand information on health‑related problems
‐Offer instant support to patients and people‐Remind people to take their medication and make a schedule‐Collect basic health information and provide it to clinicians‐Make appointments with doctors and save time in queues, thus enhancing operations•Aligned with an omnichannel strategy, custom chatbots allow brands to provide in‑context suggestions for useful products or services, and be instantly available to assist and resolve customer service inquiries
T R E N D # 6
THE NEW STATE
OF COOKIES
Browsers enforcing more
privacy-preserving defaults
What is it
•The online advertising ecosystem is continuing to take steps to increase transparency as users are demanding greater privacy, choice, and control over how their data is used—including cookie-less measurement and targeting•Apple Inc.’s Safari and Mozilla Corp’s Firefox browsers have already blocked third-party activity-tracking cookies, and recently announced, Google Chrome plans to phase out third-party cookies within 2 years
DEFINING A COOKIE
Cookie-tracking technology follows your online journey and collects all your data to create a cyber-profile.
•Digital marketers will need to rethink the way they track and sell to customers ‐To adapt to the change, rather than focusing on reaching as many HCPs and/or patients as possible, media strategies will be focused more on first‑party―building deeper relationships with a smaller set of “known” customers
‐Instead of programmatic network spending, there will be shift in investing in more expensive contextual/key word targeting, placing ads next to smart, endemic content in select online locations, which is especially positive for healthcare brand favorability•Lastly, there will no longer be the opportunity for websites to collect and share protected, highly sensitive health information with large technology companies
PROPELLER’S CURATION PROCESS
Propeller is passionate about identifying trends that are important for your business and customers—and we’re always looking for the next big thing. We scour the internet and social platforms, read marketing handbooks, listen to what our clients are interested in, and look at what’s being talked about in our healthcare industry. We use all this information to find patterns of what’s popular, determine their importance, and carefully edit it down to a short-list of must-knows in digital marketing and technology.