Why Pharma Must Embrace Instagram to Engage Doctors

This is my third article in the series where I share how pharma brand managers can use Instagram for doctor engagement. As the digital world continues to impact how information is distributed and consumed, pharmaceutical brand managers must modify their tactics to match doctors' online demands and expectations.

Increasingly people are venturing for visual searches. This is where Instagram as a platform is becoming the first choice for users as it enables users to search visually for short form videos.?

But when it comes to Instagram, brand managers need to play an informative role on health, nutrition and cosmetic dermatology issues.?

For any medical brand their success on Instagram depends on 2 key things:?

• How easily your target audience finds you,?
• And how much they value your content.

Instagram, with its visual focus and vast user base, provides a unique opportunity for pharmaceutical marketers to connect with HCPs in a meaningful way. However, success on Instagram necessitates a systematic approach that extends beyond merely sharing material. The top posts for certain hashtags on Instagram are determined by a combination of factors.?

• How recently you posted the content
• Whether image or a video content
• How many followers liked and commented on your post.?

Although it’s hard to gain a “top spot” for the most popular hashtags. But using hashtags that are specific matters as this helps to get better reach.??

Here is a list of hashtags that pharma brands need to follow to better understand the doctor engagement.

#CureChat17, #MEQAPI, #Surgery, #PlasticSurgery, #Dentistry, #Allergy, #Dermatology, #Orthodontics, #Pathology, #Pediatrics, #Gastroenterology, #Surgery, #InfectiousDisease, #Nephrology, #NuclearMedicine, #Orthopaedic, #PreventativeMedicine, #Otolaryngology, #Rheumatology, #Vascular Surgery, etc

Here's how pharmaceutical brand managers may use Instagram to connect with doctors and generate meaningful interactions:

• Understanding the Instagram Landscape: Before jumping into Instagram marketing, pharma brand managers must first invest into listening towards conversations around targeted hashtags. Further they need to follow and check the doctor conversations to understand the audience characteristics and the preferences. As a pharma marketer, the brand manager needs to focus to learn about insights into the issues and conversations that matter most to doctors.
• Creating Valuable Content: The success of any Instagram strategy is dependent on the quality of the content being shared. Pharma brand managers should share educational and relevant content, such as photographs of medical conditions or interventions, inspirational statements, photos of medical practitioners, testimonials, new research studies in animation formats, or simple reels about an action of the medication, etc. By giving valuable insights and information, pharmaceutical companies may establish themselves as reliable providers of expertise in the medical community.
• Optimizing your content for reach: To increase reach and engagement, pharma brand managers should focus on regular posting along with hashtags. By utilizing niche-specific hashtags and geotags, marketers can improve their chances of appearing in relevant search results and reaching out to more doctor fraternity. It is also important to engage with other doctor and therapy profiles as this helps to broaden reach and get noticed by the community.

• Measuring and tracking KPIs: Consider key performance indicators (KPIs) such as followers, interactions/engagement, likes, comments, shares, views, reach, and impressions. But for this analytics, you need to convert your account to a business account. These analytics provide significant insights into the reach and impact of brands' Instagram ads, allowing them to fine-tune their tactics for optimal efficiency..?
• Humanising the Brand: In addition to offering helpful scientific content, pharma brand managers should strive to humanise their brand and interact with doctors on a personal basis. Behind-the-scenes information, interactive features such as quizzes, and collaborations with relevant influencers can all assist to personalize the brand and develop stronger ties with HCPs.
• Avoiding Common Pitfalls or mistakes: Finally, it is important to understand the negativity in case of any trolls, hence ensure you double check the scientific content that you will be sharing via Instagram. Other than this other pitfalls include infrequent posts, impersonal content, etc.

To summarize, Instagram provides pharma brand managers with an effective platform for communicating with doctors. Understanding the platform's specific features, providing valuable content, optimizing for visibility, assessing success, humanizing the brand, and avoiding typical errors allow pharma marketers to effectively reach and engage with healthcare professionals in the digital age.