Webinars in Pharma Marketing

The healthcare landscape is shifting around the world, and pharmaceutical companies are adapting their business models to keep up. Multichannel Marketing (MCM) has become a hot topic in the pharmaceutical sector, and its growing importance is a natural result of how physicians consume information in the digital age. Despite this, most pharmaceutical companies fail to establish multichannel programs that have a positive impact on their end result. The funny thing about multichannel marketing is that a lot of people talk about how important it is and why it should be implemented, but very few people illustrate how to construct a strategy or a plan to apply it. MCM isn’t just about digital channels, it needs to be the right mix of digital and traditional channels depending on the needs of your targeted audiences. Though we all are aware that audience needs are constantly changing, and it’s essential to stay updated with the channels preferred by your target physicians and adapt communication strategy accordingly.

Webinars are rated as one of the topmost effective marketing tools in physician communication strategy. They undoubtedly are one of the strongest engagement channels in the multichannel landscape. In recent times, pharma marketers too have begun to recognize the importance of Webinars for building strong relationships with physicians. However, the effectiveness of a webinar depends on the delicacy with which it is planned and executed. The key to providing more engaging and interactive webinars is to allow attendees to personalize their experiences. When busy physicians agree to exchange their precious time for informational content, they expect to find the value they could not easily receive otherwise. Targeting the right audience, great pre-and post-marketing of the event, hassle-free execution, and using the best technology are the key factors that distinguish a successful webinar from an unsuccessful one. It is essential for marketers today to understand the role of webinars in overall multichannel strategy. Undeniably, webinars are more cost-effective than organizing face-to-face seminars or CMEs, yet if they are not done properly they can certainly damage the organization’s or brand reputation; therefore, it requires careful planning and precision in execution.

I am often asked about the role of webinars in multichannel strategy and what it takes to make an engaging webinar. Webinars can help your brand in multiple ways, it can help you to reach more physicians, increase the share of voice among prescribers, and/or build the organization's reputation by offering high-quality information and the opportunity to connect with experts.

Here are some key steps to create an effective and engaging webinar. It all starts with Planning your webinar: Before you plan your webinar, it is essential to create a detailed plan and define KPIs that you will measure in the webinar. Just like any other marketing initiative, proper planning will give you the best possible chances of success.

Run Surveys - The first step while planning a webinar is to ask your customers. Your webinar topics should be based around the PAINS and WANTS of your target customer. Also, seek inputs on what’s the right time and day for the webinar.

Choose the right platforms - Ensure you chose the right platform to run your webinar. Your audience will log in from various locations where they might experience fluctuations in internet connectivity and they will log in from varied devices.

Tip: Ensure the platform is supporting low-bandwidth streaming and is view-able on all devices without any additional plug-ins.

Bring the Expert Speaker - Once you freeze on the topic, engage the expert who can deliver value to the audience. Ensure the speaker is aware of the surveys you ran, so they know the PAINS and WANTS of the target audience.

Promotion of the Webinar - Don’t consider a webinar as an isolated event rather consider it as a marketing campaign. Be aware the webinar is a Hero content of your content strategy and you need to ensure it is well supported by Hub and Help content.

Promote across Channels: Start promoting your webinar at least about one month prior to the event. Create a landing page for registrations and spread the word about the event using all possible channels. Make a detailed communication plan for your webinars. Here is one example based on my experience that can be used as a baseline strategy for promoting webinars. Feel free to alter it as you see fit for your deployed channels and your target audience.

Tip - Record a one-minute video of the Expert speaker to describe what to expect in the webinar.

• 3-4 Weeks Before The Initial Invite - This communication should have similar content to the landing page, letting your target audience know about the webinar when it is, and giving them an effortless way to register.

Tip: In every webinar communication include the following text: “Can’t attend the webinar? Register anyway and we’ll send you the recording.

• 2 Weeks Before: Speaker’s Profile - This communication should focus on the speaker's profile along with a call to action to the landing page for easy registration. Asking people to participate in advance (by submitting questions, for example) is a wonderful way to get extra “buy-in” from the audience.

Tip: Add a calendar file in your communications so it can be saved in your audience’s calendars and block their time.

• 1 Week Before: Targeted Reminder - This communication is for the audiences who opened your invite email but did not register. It should remind them about the upcoming webinar but also ask for some feedback on why they haven’t registered yet. Embed a survey in the email asking for their reasoning. For example, maybe the day or time doesn’t work for them, or maybe they’re just not interested in that topic. Whatever the reason is, you can take this feedback and use it to plan your next webinar.

Tip: Use SMS as one of the channel in your webinar marketing campaign. Mobile has become the most convenient channel for communicating both transnational information and marketing messages.

• 1 Day Before or the Day of Event: The Reminder - Once you have desired number of HCPs registered, doesn’t mean they’ll show up. If you promote your webinar 2-4 weeks in advance, the majority of registered HCPs are likely to forget when the live date comes around. Remember to send out reminder emails or SMS the day before and day of the live event ensuring a high attendance rate.

Duration of the Webinar - Plan your webinar no longer than 30-45 minutes. If you are dealing with a complex topic, break it down, run a series of webinars or ensure the related information is available online on your website.

Keep it Interactive - Use Q&A and polls throughout the presentation to get a feel for your audience’s engagement level and to keep them involved. See if you can offer any download or read more material during the event. Think of VAS you can offer during live events. Let your customer feel the value of attending Live vs On-Demand.

Start and End on time - Be respectful of your audience’s time by starting and ending at the designated times.

Ensure it’s viewable On Demand - Please make the On-Demand available as soon as possible for customers who were unable to attend the live version.

Marketing after the Webinar - Most webinars I’ve witnessed end on the event date. Since you have created valuable content, ensure post-webinar communication plan for HCPs who attended or missed the webinar is formulated proactively. Customers will certainly perceive an excellent value if they receive the summary of the webinar, some FAQs based on the Q&A session along with the On-Demand link.

Tip: Share a calendar of all past and future webinars with your engaged customers.

Measure and Report - Webinars are strong engagement vehicles and your customers need to feel that it was an appropriate use of their time. Measure webinar metrics as defined while planning, as it will help you determine if a successful exchange took place and your audience will be willing to provide their time again in the exchange for the information.