While health technology has been a growing industry for some time, it is expected to more than double by 2024. As the world responds to the COVID-19 pandemic, professional landscapes in medicine and marketing are also changing rapidly. That being said, digital agencies might benefit from developing specialties in this field.
In this article, we’ll take a closer look at a variety of health-related technology trends. We’ll also outline how your knowledge of them can add to the services your agency offers. Let’s get started!
Understanding Health Technology and Why it Matters to Your Marketing Agency
It’s easy to overlook some of the technology that contributes to our everyday lives. This might be especially true of health technology. This is a sector that we often don’t notice until we’re in need of it. That being said, there are a number of trends in this industry worth understanding as a digital marketer.
First, let’s take a look at what health technology actually is. The World Health Organization (WHO) provides a pretty broad definition; any “organized knowledge or skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of lives.”
In that regard, we’ll to look at three kinds of technology that are making an impact in the health industry. We’ll highlight why they’re valuable and how developing expertise in such areas can help your agency stand out.
3 Health Technology Trends You Can Leverage in Your Digital Marketing Agency
As we mentioned before, competition is growing in the field of digital marketing. Developing niche expertise can be valuable to your agency when it comes to attracting and retaining clients. Let’s take a look at three areas of health technology that can help you get started in this particular specialization.
1. Artificial Intelligence
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has had a somewhat elusive definition over the years. For the most part, machines that display intentionality, intelligence, and adaptability are considered to fall under this category of technology.
Let’s look at the application of AI in the healthcare field. There have been many new technologies developed recently that focus on diagnosis and radiology.
For example, BERG is AI-powered biotechnology:
In particular, BERG focuses on areas of oncology, neurology, and rare diseases. Its AI maps illnesses in order to determine new treatments. In particular, researchers have made significant strides in using it to work on treatments for Parkinson’s Disease.
Having knowledge and experience with marketing AI can go a long way, even outside of health-related specialities. Understanding how technology like BERG can benefit patients can give you an advantage over your competitors.
Keep in mind, AI in the healthcare market is projected to hit $31.3 billion by 2025. This is a growth rate of over 40 percent. That being said, it’s easy to see how developing related expertise within your agency might be beneficial.
2. Mobile Apps
Smartphone ownership rates in the United States are projected to reach 72.7 percent by 2021. The fact that most users install around 20 apps on their phones shows how powerful mobile reach continues to be.
In fact, in surveys looking at how patient attitudes have changed over the last three years, patients indicated they would prefer more digital and mobile options for managing their healthcare. This includes virtual visits and e-refills for prescriptions.
One example of a widely used app in healthcare is MyChart:
It’s powered by the Epic system, the same data system used by many of the top hospitals in the nation. Patients can communicate with their doctors, request prescription refills, view lab results and more right from their smartphones.
Understanding the specific and unique needs of patients is an important element in marketing innovative health technology. With successful apps, it might seem like a given that patients will use it, but that’s not the case.
Being able to address patient concerns about privacy and helping them build trust in new technologies are likely two roadblocks you’ll need to overcome as you build a health technology marketing portfolio.
3. Blockchain
Blockchain is a technology that takes blocks of data or information records and links them together with cryptography. One reason it’s become so valuable is that by design, blockchain makes data resistant to alterations and modifications.
While blockchain is still somewhat new and not as known, the market is set to surpass $1.6 billion by 2025. That’s a 67.5 percent growth rate over five years.
Blockchain’s real value is in the way it can be used to handle large quantities of data. It can also establish data standardization and make exchanges between institutions and systems much more streamlined and secure.
For example, Solve.Care is a company focused on using blockchain technology to improve patient care:
Most notably, Solve.Care partnered with Uber to give patients a way to coordinate rides to appointments and procedures. As patient privacy concerns can often be a barrier to consumers using innovative technology solutions, this is a promising step.
Like with AI, if your agency has experience with blockchain technology, you could offer niche services for this expanding market. It also has applications outside of the health industry, so you can expand your agency’s reach in other ways, too.
How to Leverage Health Technology Trends for Your Agency’s Clients
Now let’s look at how you can build appealing services in this area. As we’ve mentioned, health technologies can require specialized knowledge in order to adequately market them.
Keep these tips in mind as you work to build up your agency’s offerings in this area:
- Offer specialized content creation that includes expert interviews as well as relatable blog posts for reaching patients with limited experience
- Leverage social media platforms to create points of engagement with patients and medical professionals.
- Use email marketing to keep leads informed of new developments in the field.
- Provide white papers to help clients establish expertise in various health technology-related areas.
As always, keeping a trained eye on audience data can help you provide highly professional and expertly targeted services.
Conclusion
Health technology is a constantly developing field, making it challenging from a marketing perspective. While you can apply some of the techniques we’ve discussed in this post to any industry, developing deep knowledge in areas such as AI, Blockchain, and mobile health apps can set you apart from your competitors.
Do you have any questions about marketing and health technology? Share them with us in the comments section below!
Image credits: Bokskapet.