Virtual Medical Conferences are large gatherings of the medical community that function around important agendas of the medical world. It could be anything ranging from new medicinal breakthroughs like drug discovery, improvements in medical equipment, surgical advancements, strategic planning to combat fatal diseases and new approaches to treatment, to product launches, staff training and more. Organising such an event calls for a great deal of investment, scheduling, planning, implementation & management. But sometimes the most difficult and tricky part of the entire process could be Marketing.
Designing a marketing campaign that gives a peek of the hardcore techy content of these events to the audiences successfully, yet keeping it crisp & catchy, is not an easy job. But that's where professionalism comes in and the marketing team at ibentos is happy to share its insight with the ambitious event organisers who are looking for marketing ideas specifically targeting medical conferences.
- Work on the event
quality first
Effective marketing strategies can attract large audiences to your conference but their success ultimately depends upon the event quality & content. Choose a good virtual platform, invite good speakers and ask them to keep their sessions short and agenda centric. Record the sessions for reviewing & better engagement of audiences. Incorporate interactive sessions and register audience feedback. You can visit us at www.ibentos.com to know more about planning a successful virtual/hybrid medical conference effectively.
- Identify your
audiences.
Medical conferences are of several types and target different sets of audiences within the medical fraternity. For example, a conference that introduces a new drug dealing with influenza would interest pulmonologists, pharmaceutical manufacturers, medical retailers, biochemical scientists & researchers. It would not have anything to do with people from other branches of medicine. you must identify your target audience and base your marketing campaign according to their taste & interests.
- Use the previous
audience database
It’s always a good idea to refer to the audience database of old related conferences. It saves you time, helps you to start in the right direction and approach the right people. Their network can grant you access to new audience groups and help you propagate your campaign with multiplied speed and efficiency.
- Approach them
through the right media platform
Once you
have identified & mapped your audiences, the next important step is to
reach out to them. Newspapers, television, Medical Journals and social media
platforms could be your best options. Social media can be used as a powerful
tool for fast & effective marketing. While a majority of audiences are approachable
on Facebook & Instagram these days, the medical community can be best
targeted through Linked-in & Twitter. You can also conduct your own survey
and shortlist the media platforms most popular among your specific audience
groups.
Ibentos has expertise in targeted social media marketing. You can contact us at www.ibentos.com for details on the subject.
- Use influencer
marketing to target specific groups
Influencer marketing is gaining immense popularity in every industry these days. It is an economic and powerful means of advertising and proves to be very effective especially in targeting particular audience groups.
- Design your
campaign to suit the audience’s taste
Good marketing content always yields good results. But what factors decide the quality of your marketing content? The language, punch lines, technical details, content size, apt text, attractive audio/visual and graphical content, together decide the overall impact factor of the content. Most importantly the entire campaign should be strictly agenda centric and suit the audience's taste.
- Divide your
campaign into stages
Any campaign needs some minimum time to work and gain momentum. It has been often noticed that the most effective advertisement campaigns have been designed in phases. Namely the initial or introductory phase, the middle or momentum-building phase and the end or peak phase. The campaigns that maintain a storyline also have proved to be very effective. So, the best strategy would be to open your campaign in stages maintaining a basic storyline. The introduction of a slight suspense element would also be a great idea. Such a campaign not only captures the attention of audiences but makes them anticipate for more.
- Post regular blogs
& newsletters
Once your campaign has started, there should be continuity or regularity in it. This could be done by posting blogs and newsletters on related topics on regular basis. Data curated from previous events can also be used. The size and the quality of the posts should be closely monitored. One should not forget the fact that the medical community comprises busy people. And the last thing they would entertain is junk mail & messages. Thus the marketing material must be carefully chosen and crafted and should not appear to be junk in any case.
- Use audience &
speaker feedback from previous events
Nothing works better than feedback and positive comments from satisfied attendees. It is also rightly said that the best advertising is through the word of mouth. You can use the recorded feedback of attendees & speakers from the previous events as advertising material. Also, keeping a rating system in your conference and using it to pull audiences to the next event would be a great idea.
- Highlight the USPs
If you have arranged good stuff for your audiences, they have to be made aware of it. Share each and every detail of your conference with your marketing team, especially emphasising your USPs or star speakers. Ask them to share it as the highlights of the conference in the advertising campaign.
- Distribute
event-related merchandise
Gifts have always been the easiest and most impactful way of casting a long-lasting impression. If you distribute small event-related merchandise among your audiences, they have something physical to relate to your event and it also helps you in strengthening your brand image. Gifts may not be expensive stuff but can be anything as small as online coupons or workshop passes. Explore & exercise your creativity and come up with original economic ideas.
- Send reminder
emailers & messages
As mentioned earlier doctors & physicians have hectic schedules and may tend to miss the conference date due to other commitments. The organisers must therefore send periodic reminders through media posts, emailers and messages to avoid accidental misses.
Virtual/hybrid
platforms have been a popular choice for hosting medical conferences for quite
some time. In fact, the medicine industry was among the first industries to
spontaneously shift to virtual technology for event hosting. Organizers know
very well that virtual participation allows great ease and flexibility to the
physicians in managing conferences with their hectic schedules. And with the
correct marketing approach, attendance can be increased many times.
However, if
you are looking for a technology vendor that can supply you with flawless
virtual/hybrid platforms and also help you market your medical conferenced most
professionally, ibentos could be your best choice. Feel free to contact us at www.ibentos.com or book a demo with us to understand how we
work!
Resource: https://www.storeboard.com/blogs/event/best-ways-for-promoting-your-next-medical-conference/5560228