Social Media and Healthcare

''Media” has long been part of our moniker here at MM&M – it is, quite literally, the third M of a brand that started its life and remains, at its heart, Medical Marketing and Media – but 2019 marked the first year in quite some time that we attempted to cover it on more than a semi-regular basis.

Frankly, we picked a fortunate time to start, given the flood of transformative news during the year.

But don’t take our word for it. For the final Third M dispatch, before we change calendars, MM&M asked several of the smartest folks in and around health media to answer a few questions about the people and trends that stood out during 2019. Their responses did not disappoint.

Here’s hoping for a similarly scintillating 2020.

What was the most important, most welcome, weirdest, coolest or otherwise most interesting trend or event in health media during 2019, and why?

The physicians who embraced TikTok. There are about 20 doctors (as well as residents and medical students) who are using the popular video platform to share health information. What I find jarring is the juxtaposition of medical topics with the informal nature of the videos. However, I am far from the Gen-Z audience that makes up a significant portion of the TikTok demographic.

“The value of the platform for health education was highlighted by Dr. Rose Marie Leslie in September when she created a video on the dangers of vaping. It amassed millions of views and led to mainstream media attention from ABC News, among others. Clearly these physicians are doing something right because many of them have gained tens of thousands of followers on TikTok. We’ll be watching.” – Eileen O’Brien, managing director, social media, W2O

“Authenticity. From UX design to chatbots, the bar for creating an authentic experience for the consumer has been elevated this year. Authenticity in 2019 evolved beyond the selection of a credible spokesperson for messaging—it’s about infusing it into every brand attribute, using a variety of elements (e.g., voice and visuals) to create an inimitable and trustworthy consumer experience.” – Tabytha Gil, linguistic insights analyst, Ogilvy Health

“The rise of voice search, which essentially means two things. First, with respect to the voice search queries input via your mobile phone or tablet: There are a variety of different statistics out there, but most analysts estimate that approximately 30% to 55% of all U.S. search traffic is being driven by voice search at the moment. This means that both your SEO and SEM strategies need to evolve. This is especially so for health, as voice search is already prompting many more long-tail keywords. The specificity of these keywords is an important point to note, with patients more likely to speak complicated clinical search terms rather than trying to type them.

“Second, there is an entirely different type of voice search playing out across AI-powered smart speakers, like Amazon’s Echo or Show, or the Google Home and Nest Hub. In these scenarios, particularly when there is zero UI or no screen, how can a brand take advantage of voice-driven search queries? One can easily envision this working in an unbranded example, but the billion-dollar question is how can branded search results populate in a compliant manner? The entire voice search economy will be a fascinating one to watch in 2020, but make no mistake: Both Amazon and Google are hard at work figuring out a way to monetize this smart search inventory.” – Justin Chase, EVP, innovation, and media, Intouch Solutions

“The focus on awareness, education, and support around mental health, from organizational, partnership and consumer perspectives. Second, patient influencers and advocates are driving health actions, and brands started to notice. As for the coolest event in 2019, Healthline Media partnered with wellness advocate Nitika Chopra to create Chronicon, bringing together hundreds of influencers to the first daylong event devoted to people struggling with chronic health issues.” – Ingrid Eberly, VP corporate marketing, Healthline Media

Read More: https://www.mmm-online.com/home/channel/media-news/health-media-2019-the-year-in-review/