How important is it for healthcare brands to consistently develop high-quality digital content? Put simply: it’s really, really important. Consumer behavior has fundamentally shifted in the healthcare space over the past few years, and online content has evolved from a peripheral marketing tactic to a core engagement channel. To better understand this shift, check out the new infographic, Why Healthcare Brands Must Create Exceptional Content, which was created by MDG Advertising. It condenses insights from independent research reports and highlights why content has become so essential. The areas covered include: Consumer behavior: People now turn to the Web and social media first for health-related information; find out why this matters for every organization. The rise of mobile: The ubiquity of smartphones means digital content is accessible anytime from anywhere; learn how this is impacting healthcare brands. Increased competition: Healthcare organizations are ramping up content production across the board; understand why this competition is only going to get more fierce. Content effectiveness: Consumers aren’t just looking at healthcare content, they’re also making decisions based on it; explore how this is changing brands’ budgets. To learn more about how all this is impacting the industry, check out Why Healthcare Brands Must Create Exceptional Content. http://www.mdgadvertising.com/blog/why-healthcare-brands-must-create-exceptional-content-infographic/#more-42047

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SOURCES: BRIGHT LOCAL, CONTENT MARKETING INSTITUTE,
ECONSULTANCY, MODERN HEALTHCARE, NATIONAL RESEARCH,
NEWSCRED, PEW RESEARCH CENTER, THE SPARK REPORT,
SKYWORD, TRUE NORTH.
CONSUMERS GO TO
DIGITAL PLATFORMS FIRST
The days when people turned to in-person
experts or loved ones first for information about
health topics and products/services is coming to
an end. We now firmly live in a digital age.
THE WEB IS WHERE
HEALTH ENGAGEMENT STARTS...
…AND SOCIAL MEDIA IS WHERE IT CONTINUES.
Share of users who say they engage with health topics on
For healthcare brands, digital content is becoming
the gateway to all engagement. If an organization
doesn’t appear in search or social, it often isn’t
found at all by consumers.
MOBILE IS ACCELERATING
THE MOVE TO DIGITAL
The ubiquity of smartphones—at least 68% of
Americans have one—means that consumers
can now research information and
products/providers at any time.
SMARTPHONES HAVE BECOME
INFORMATION-GATHERING GATEWAYS:
of smartphone owners have used their
phone to look up health information
MOBILE IS TRANSFORMING
HOW PEOPLE FIND HEALTH SERVICES:
THE CONTENT COMPETITION
IS HEATING UP
Most healthcare marketers say they’re either currently
engaging in content marketing (75%) or plan on
engaging in it this year (19%). In other words, it’s
become mainstream and necessary.
HEALTHCARE MARKETERS ARE CREATING A LOT OF CONTENT...
Share of healthcare brands creating:
…AND THAT CONTENT PRODUCTION
IS SET TO INCREASE
HEALTHCARE CONTENT
IS TRULY USEFUL AND EFFECTIVE
People aren’t just researching online, they’re also making
decisions about their healthcare and the products/services
they purchase based on the information they find.
...AND BRANDS ARE REALIZING
THAT CONTENT INFLUENCES BEHAVIOR
WHY
HEALTHCARE
BRANDS
MUST CREATE
EXCEPTIONAL
CONTENT
72%
77%
52%
57%
79%
96%
28%
22%
of Internet users have looked for medical
information online in the past year
of online health information seekers say
they begin with a search engine
Facebook
YouTube
Twitter
1
2
3
4
1.
2.
3.
Restaurants
Doctors
Dentists
Medical professionals
General retail shops
Now that powerful, constantly
connected devices are always
with consumers, the barriers to
going online while on the go are
minimal. Content is truly
accessible anytime, anywhere.
Text content
Social media content
Email content
Video content
86%
81%
78%
75%
of healthcare marketers plan to create
more content in 2016
Since most healthcare brands are ramping up
content production, it’s important to develop
pieces that stand out. More competition means
higher expectations from consumers.
plan to increase their content budgets in 2016
60%
56%
53%
CONSUMERS ARE
ACTIVELY USING
HEALTHCARE CONTENT...
of Americans who’ve searched for health
information online say they’ve made a
decision about how to treat an illness/issue
based on what they’ve found on the Web
say online content has changed
their overall health approach
say digital information has led them to
ask a health provider new questions
Here are some of the key reasons why exceptional
content now matters more than ever:
Healthcare brands
rate content
optimization as the
most exciting
marketing
opportunity of 2016
of healthcare
marketers say
content is a high
priority this year
65%
Content has moved from a peripheral tactic for organizations to a core channel for
engaging consumers. In a digital-first age with increased competition, creating exceptional
content has become the best way for healthcare brands to stand out and increase revenue.
@MDGadvertisingby
Consistently developing engaging,
high-quality digital articles, blog
posts, websites, videos, and graphics
has become absolutely essential for
healthcare organizations.
Don’t just take our word for it. In this
infographic, we’ve highlighted findings from
independent research reports to help show
how the behavior of both consumers and
brands is rapidly shifting, making content
marketing increasingly necessary in the
healthcare space.