Branded website content is delivering healthy returns to the pharmaceutical industry’s bottom line, according to the annual Online Marketing Effectiveness Benchmark report from comScore. This serves as evidence that digital content strategies deliver results to niche industries outside of those traditionally associated with the web.
The report compiled answers from 139 pharmaceutical studies and 1 million online individuals to discover that direct-to-consumer (DTC) internet marketing provides better conversion rates.
“Online DTC marketing is very effective at driving new scripts and increasing adherence for existing patients,” said John Mangano, vice president for comScore Health Solutions. “What’s amazing is that we’ve observed a fifty percent increase in key conversion metrics in the past two years.”
Pharma companies engaged in web marketing saw conversions increase this year, as consumers followed calls to action such as starting conversations about treatments (10.6 percent lift year-over-year), discussing brands (4.7 percent), receiving prescriptions (5.3 percent), filling prescriptions (5 percent) and taking prescriptions (5 percent).
Doctors are using content marketing not just to compel consumers to act, but also to study their behaviors, according to Brafton. A recent article highlights doctors’ use of the web and social networks to mine data for real-time insights about disease outbreaks and public health concerns.
It’s important for marketers in any niche field to find appropriate channels for outreach, because chances are their customers are already online looking for answers.
