Overview
- COVID-19 transformed pharmaceutical marketing by boosting telemedicine and telehealth services.
- Marketers now leverage social media to communicate transparently and keep consumers informed about health.
- The pandemic prompted pharmaceutical companies to adopt digital marketing strategies to reach their audience effectively.
- Social media serves as a vital communication channel, enhancing brand credibility and consumer trust.
- Future pharmaceutical marketing may rely more on digital approaches to complement traditional methods.
You may be sick of hearing terms like “the new normal,” but it’s clear that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a long-lasting impact on our daily lives, such as normalizing remote work and making people more health conscious.
However, did you know that the pandemic also changed how many industries approach digital marketing? Keep reading to learn how COVID-19 has impacted the pharmaceutical industry and the different ways companies — and marketers — are navigating these changes effectively.
1. Telemedicine and Telehealth: Services That Are Here To Stay
Before the COVID-19 outbreak, telemedicine and telehealth existed, but it was during the pandemic that these services truly experienced significant growth.
Part of this was due to the U.S. Congress removing certain regulations and providing reimbursements, which allowed these industries to rapidly expand and make these services more accessible to patients. For example, before March 2020, physicians conducting telehealth had to be physically at their place of practice. During the pandemic, changes were made that allowed physicians to conduct these services from home.
Even during the post-pandemic recovery period, telemedicine remains a part of our healthcare system, connecting patients at home to doctors online.
How have pharmaceutical marketers adapted to this change in the industry?
With more pharmaceutical brands offering ways to connect to a doctor online through their site, marketers are promoting this service on social media. During the height of the pandemic, messaging around a patient not needing to leave their home to speak with a doctor or nurse was key. In this post-pandemic period, the messaging has shifted to focus more on convenience — speak with a doctor whenever you need to without having to book an appointment weeks in advance.
For some B2C pharma brands that traditionally marketed their products on social media, marketers have carved out space to promote their telemedicine/telehealth as well. This helps to position their pharmaceutical brand as an all-encompassing space that promotes consumer health. The presence of this type of service also helps to provide credibility to the overall product and brand image.
2. Communication: Being Transparent With Consumers
How many of you marketers out there noticed that during the pandemic, your consumers were asking for more information through social media? This increased demand isn’t unique to the pharmaceutical industry and can be seen across other industries as well.
Consumers turned to social media to do their research, which meant that pharmaceutical companies without a social media presence weren’t able to effectively communicate with their audience. Even in the post-pandemic period, social media continues to be one of the primary ways audiences search for content and information. Consider how TikTok has become a rival to Google’s search engine among Gen Z users.
Here’s another factor: the COVID-19 pandemic made everyone more acutely aware of their own health. Topics like staying active, mental health and wellness, and healthy eating, all surged to the forefront as the world collectively experienced months of lockdown and travel restrictions. Consumers are doing more research into what they put into their bodies and expect pharma brands to be transparent about their products.
How have pharmaceutical marketers adapted to this change in the industry?
Social media is quickly becoming a key arena for pharmaceutical brands as a way to authentically and effectively communicate with their audience, whether it’s the end-user who’s looking for a vitamin supplement or a doctor looking for information on birth control options for their patients.
Providing accurate information is one way that pharmaceutical brands build credibility on social media, while also being a valuable resource for social media followers. Building trust is important in the healthcare industry and social media is one route that can support this process.
3. Digital Marketing: Out of the Doctor’s Office and Onto Social Media
The pandemic illustrated how solely relying on a traditional approach to marketing and sales can be detrimental to a pharmaceutical company for its long-term growth. As in-person sales routes were cut off and changing consumer habits made more people turn to social media, more pharmaceutical marketers also turned to digital marketing in order to address gaps in their existing marketing strategy.
How have pharmaceutical marketers adapted to this change in the industry?
During COVID-19 lockdowns, social media became one of the most critical lines of communication between a pharma brand and its audience, whether it was to showcase its products and benefits or make use of content formats like video to share a Q&A session that would appeal to doctors and other B2B audiences.
The pandemic accelerated a change in the way stakeholders do research. Traditional methods still exist, but they’ve been greatly supplemented with digital platforms that provide content that we mentioned in our previous article as hitting the three E’s: content that is entertaining, engaging, and educational.
What’s Next For Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing?
For some pharmaceutical companies, “what’s next” may be starting their digital marketing from the ground up — not as a replacement to their existing traditional marketing efforts, but as a strong complementary piece to help them reach their audience.
However, it’s understandable that for many pharma marketers, dipping their toes into digital marketing for the first time can sound daunting.
If you’re interested in learning what an award-winning digital marketing strategy for a B2C pharmaceutical brand looks like, click the button below to read our case study.
Here’s how we achieved over 335 million impressions for one pharma brand…
Frequently Asked Questions
How did the COVID-19 pandemic change pharmaceutical marketing?
The COVID-19 pandemic changed pharmaceutical marketing in three main ways: it accelerated telemedicine and telehealth promotion, increased demand for transparent communication on social media, and pushed companies to adopt digital marketing instead of relying solely on in-person sales. As in-person sales routes were cut off and more consumers turned to social media for health information, pharmaceutical marketers shifted to digital platforms to reach both B2C and B2B audiences. These changes have persisted into the post-pandemic period rather than reverting to pre-2020 norms.
Why did telemedicine grow during the pandemic and how do pharma marketers promote it?
Telemedicine grew rapidly during the pandemic because the U.S. Congress removed certain regulations and provided reimbursements, making the services more accessible to patients. For example, before March 2020 physicians had to be physically at their place of practice to conduct telehealth, but pandemic-era changes allowed them to provide these services from home. Pharmaceutical marketers now promote online doctor-connection services on social media, with messaging that has shifted from not needing to leave home toward convenience, such as speaking with a doctor whenever needed without booking weeks in advance.
Why is social media important for pharmaceutical companies to communicate with consumers?
Social media is important for pharmaceutical companies because consumers increasingly turn to it to research health topics, meaning brands without a social media presence cannot effectively communicate with their audience. The pandemic made people more health conscious, surfacing interest in topics like staying active, mental health and wellness, and healthy eating, and consumers now expect pharma brands to be transparent about their products. Providing accurate information on social media helps pharmaceutical brands build credibility and trust, which is especially important in the healthcare industry.
Why should pharmaceutical companies invest in digital marketing instead of relying only on traditional methods?
Pharmaceutical companies should invest in digital marketing because relying solely on a traditional approach can be detrimental to long-term growth, as the pandemic demonstrated when in-person sales routes were cut off. Digital marketing works best as a complementary piece alongside existing traditional efforts rather than a full replacement, helping brands reach audiences where they now research. Effective digital content for pharma audiences follows the three E’s: content that is entertaining, engaging, and educational, including formats like video Q&A sessions that appeal to doctors and other B2B audiences.
How can a B2C pharmaceutical brand use telehealth to strengthen its brand image?
A B2C pharmaceutical brand can strengthen its brand image by carving out social media space to promote telemedicine and telehealth alongside its products. Offering these services positions the brand as an all-encompassing space that promotes consumer health rather than just selling a single product. The presence of telehealth also adds credibility to the overall product and brand image, reinforcing trust with consumers.