Tag Archives: content marketing

Inbound marketing, does it have a place in the pharmaceutical industry?

As I travel to Boston for INBOUND 2103 I can’t help but ask myself, is my industry – the pharmaceutical industry – ready for inbound marketing? I believe, without a doubt, that it is ready. Unfortunately concerns around patient privacy have made pharma a cautious business. Personally I can’t think of an industry more in need of inbound marketing and I see the empowered patient as the catalyst.

The patients and health consumers of today are educated, savvy individuals that seek out information to better manage their own health. They want to know about preventative care, they want to understand their different treatment options, they want be an active participant in their own care – and they should be. They are after all, intimately involved in this process we call healthcare.

For more on the topic:  CROWDPulse: Searching for health information online 

I see some raised hands… What exactly is inbound marketing? Good question and one we should answer before this discussion goes any further. According to HubSpot, the undisputed authority on all things inbound, it’s the best way to turn strangers into customers. 

In a nutshell, inbound marketing uses quality content to draw people into your company or business. Share information that’s valuable to your customers and they’ll come to you. Who doesn’t want that? Also seems like a good fit for the pharma industry – patients that want information and companies that have a wealth of knowledge and resources to share.

INBOUND 2013 kicks off tomorrow and while I understand the HIPAA and FDA constraints placed on the pharma industry I’m excited to apply some new thinking to engaging and connecting with the health consumer. Stay tuned, there’s more to come on pharma and inbound marketing efforts.

Are you a pharmaceutical marketer attending INBOUND 2013? Drop me a message via the awesome INBOUND app and let’s connect.

Are we ready for digital marketing in pharma?

Thursday evening kicks off Interactive Day San Diego (IDSD), a digital marketing and technology event held here on the west coast. The speaker list is rather impressive and I’m ready for a Friday full of new ideas.

Who am I most looking forward to hearing speak at the conference? Hard to pick just one person, I’ll give you two… Rand Fishkin from MOZ and Wade Forst from Razorfish. I think they’ve both driven significant change and growth in their space and I’m interested to learn how they made that happen and what’s coming next. I’ll also admit that I love Rand’s title, Director of Emerging Experiences. You can’t get more ‘what’s coming next’ than that!

I work in pharma, much more conservative and highly regulated than the consumer space. Everything I hear on Friday won’t be directly transferable to my space. I’m looking for the pearls; those ideas that resonate in any industry and will help push pharma in a new direction – the direction of digital marketing.

Come Friday you’ll find me tweeting highlights from the conference, follow #IDSD, and gathering those pearls to share in an upcoming post.

To get you thinking digital pharma marketing, here’s a little reading material…

1. What is digital marketing: infographic

2. Digital Pharma Blog

3. Pharma’s Digital Health Strategy: Four Options

4. THE biggest challenge in pharma digital marketing

5. Pharma Content Marketing: Just Do It

Do you work in pharma? Do you have a digital marketing strategy in place? Thinking of implementing one? Let us know what you think of digital marketing use in pharma and healthcare overall.

Capitalizing on Real Time Information

Here at InCrowd we’re in the business of real time data. We provide access to relevant and timely market information to further support your daily business decisions.

When talking with clients about what we do, I’m often asked…
•    Why do I need data in real time?
•    Do I need more information when making everyday business decisions?

I recently came across a blog post that addresses these questions perfectly.

The post, Defining Real-Time Marketing, sums it all up in one word – marketing. To be relevant, your marketing efforts require real time data.

Ever wonder how your competitor can deliver exactly the right piece of content quickly and efficiently to their target audience? Who, by the way, is also your target audience. They use real time data to fuel their marketing efforts and better connect with their clients.

Paul O’Brien, author of the post, is officially invited to join the smartCROWD. We love that he actively incorporates real time data into his daily business decisions – making his marketing and client engagement efforts even stronger.

Is real time marketing on your company’s radar screen? Do you use real time data to support your daily business decisions? We welcome your thoughts on the move to real time.