Going Global in the Digital Health Industry, Using LinkedIn

The marketing challenges of innovative companies in the medical field and the LinkedIn network as a preferred solution to these challenges

The digital health market is huge – according to Global Market Insights, its value in 2027 will be over 427 billion dollars. Companies from various fields "fuel" the market: #telemedicine, #ehealth, #teleeducation, #remotemedicine, #telemedical, #mobilehealth, #mhealth. During 2021 there was a 40 percent increase in the number of unicorn companies in this field (over 80), while at the same time even retail giants such as 亚马逊 and 沃尔玛 opened their own telehealth units.

This fact creates a new perspective and dramatically affects the way companies in these fields think about their marketing steps. It requires a thorough understanding of the ecosystem, of the main players in the market, of the various customers, and of the opportunities for growth and increased profitability.

In the well-known marketing model "Seven P Formula" (price, place, product, positioning, packaging, people, and promotion), two elements stand out especially in this period: positioning and promotion. These elements can provide solutions for digital health companies both in finding global customers and partners and in locating investors.

Positioning refers to the way in which the company positions itself in front of its target audience, whether its market segment is B2B, B2C, B2B2C, etc. Who is the customer? How does the customer perceive the company and its value proposition? What do they expect? What emotion do they associate with the company's offer? What makes them stay loyal to the company? What is the extent of their influence on the company's moves? How do they perceive the company compared to the competitors?

In this context, we need to talk about the challenges of engaging existing and potential customers, as well as creating trust among the various target audiences.

Promotion refers to the symbiotic relationship created between the company's value proposition and the clear definition of differentiation vis-à-vis its competitors and the customers’ needs.

In this context, we need to talk about the challenges of brand prominence and the creation of significant quality content for the target audience.

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These two elements receive a particularly precise answer in the LinkedIn network.

LinkedIn is ranked every year as the first trustworthy network in the list of social networks. This data can be seen, for example, in Business Insider's Digital Trust Report Review 2020.

It is also known that brands in the field of digital health and pharma will receive more active views from users compared to other social networks.

This respectable ranking is mainly achieved through the network's focus on content that is engaging, professional, authentic, prominent, and goal-oriented. The companies' ability to simultaneously leverage both global or local image activity – through company pages – and personal activity – through personal profiles (building a personal blog, creating a newsletter) – creates an interesting and diverse mix over time. The idea of “followers” is enhanced online to a very high degree of effectiveness. The most accepted approach in the field of content today, in order to strengthen trust in the brand, is the “Industry Educator” approach. This approach is based on raising awareness of important and central issues in the field of health and the innovative solutions to a wide range of clinical problems. This type of content will include a lot of research, testimonies of leading doctors, case studies, use of video, and more.

On the other hand, LinkedIn provides many options for viral content distribution, which works on the principle of networking and opening new circles of interest.

As a network that focuses on personalization, LinkedIn allows users to define content preferences and constantly refine them using a number of tools, such as hashtags, keyword cross-referencing, following opinion leaders, participating in groups, and more.

?Another figure that further strengthens the effectiveness is undoubtedly the extraordinary combination that LinkedIn has between networking and lead generation (or ABM - Account Based Marketing). The network makes it possible to build networks of diverse business relationships in more than 200 countries and among more than 800 million users. The ability to locate decision makers, reach them, contact them directly with a tailored personal message, and turn them into loyal followers or prospects is unique in its kind and gives LinkedIn its power.

The interesting and common fact about all these strategies is that they are completely organic, free, and accessible to any LinkedIn user.

To conclude - the way to approach the subject is by building a detailed work plan, which includes:

1.?????Creating a set of values and central marketing messages

2.?????Characterizing the main target audiences and making a decision whether to turn them into followers, prospects, or both

3.?????Setting clear goals based on success indicators

4.?????Preparation of a planned Gantt for a minimum of six months

5.?????Determining a division of work should be performed based on the existing resources in the company

6.?????Examining the materials available in the company

7.?????Building infrastructure on LinkedIn – personal profiles and a company page

8.?????Determining the launch date and the measures required to carry out a successful launch

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About the author of the article - Yulia Reinshmidt:

CEO at Universo (www.universo.global); global business development and LinkedIn expert with 12 years of experience in Go-To-Market strategies for innovative companies. A BHH network member.

On September 22 there will be a learning session with Yulia Reinshmidt, who will teach all the strategies detailed in the article and will offer practical approaches and actions. The meeting will take place at BHH (Barcelona Health Hub) at 10:00 am.

Enter the following link to register for the event:

Please note, you can meet with the lecturer on the day of the meeting or the next day for paid personal work meetings, during which a specific set of goals and an initial work plan on LinkedIn will be built for your company.