Two-thirds of healthcare marketers are producing more educational content “to guide consumers” on pandemic-related topics such as prevention and care, a new study by True North Custom has found.
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on pretty much every industry this year, but healthcare has needed to pivot to new strategies and ways of working more than most.
The latest study, based on responses from more than 200 executives at a range of healthcare organisations, including hospitals and medical clinics, suggests that marketers have mostly been able to make the necessary changes to mitigate the impact.
Content has played a key role during the last six months, enabling marketers to inform and educate consumers while driving engagement and volume for healthcare systems and organisations.
When asked how content strategy had shifted since March, 66% said that they have focused more on publishing education content centred on important health-related topics.
A further 45% have used more “growth-oriented” content to support consumers as they gravitate to access points for high-value services.
The study is US-based, so many of the responses are based on private healthcare access.
Still, the way that the healthcare industry has used content to help consumers is something that is likely to have been mirrored in countries around the world.
For this reason, it is no surprise that 68% have either spent the same or increased their content budgets in light of the pandemic.
The majority are achieving success, as 66% claim that they have been “somewhat effective” in their content marketing efforts, while 26% rate their ability as “very effective”.
The use of overarching content strategies is an area that can be improved on though.
Just 28% of respondents say that they have a documented strategy in place.
More encouraging is the fact that more than a quarter are planning to implement a documented strategy by the end of 2021.
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