Healthcare Marketers Focus on Emotion and Interactivity to Reach Millennials. They’ve been called the most social-media savvy generation, ardent individualists, and dreamers who seek fulfillment in ways their predecessors can’t fully understand. They are also much more likely to look to social networks to share information about their health. Cordina said that any marketing campaign needs to go beyond just digital. To healthcare marketers, millennials are seeking a sense of authenticity. Baby boomers would research things, but millennials are looking for something completely different,” said Mark Shipley, a healthcare marketing strategist and CEO of Smith & Jones, a marketing and communications agency focused on hospitals and health systems, noting that millennials seek inspiration, connection and convenience. Only 41% of millennials said they view a doctor as the best source of health information, compared with 68% of respondents from other generations, according to a new survey of 2,400 adults by GHG / Greyhealth Group and Kantar Health. And 30% of millennials consult blogs and message boards for health information, compared to just 13% of non-millennials, the survey found. As a result, marketers agree that an effective healthcare marketing strategy for millennials is one that fosters ongoing communication. Social media, particularly Instagram, is being increasingly used in healthcare marketing.
They’ve been called the most social-media savvy generation, ardent individualists, and dreamers who seek fulfillment in ways their predecessors can’t fully understand.
Depending on how they’re defined – and there’s no consensus definition – millennials are the nation’s largest living generation. The U.S. Census Bureau millennials as those born between the years 1982 and 2000, numbering 83.7 million. Healthcare marketers are finding new ways to reach this group, focusing on their priorities and targeting the communications channels that have the most impact.
Millennials are a distinct generational category because of their openness to a range of different types of media. Though they are seen to be a digital-first generation, analysts note that what actually sets them apart is their openness to multiple channels.
“Compared to any other age group, whether it be Generation X or baby boomers, millennials are open to many different sources of input,” said Jenny Cordina, a partner at consulting firm McKinsey who works on healthcare issues.
In addition, Cordina said, a much smaller proportion of millennials have access to a primary-care practitioner compared with other population groups. As a result, they look to their providers much less often for medical advice than previous generations, seeking information from a variety of sources, including their insurers, websites, and trusted contacts. They are also much more likely to look to social networks to share information about their health. Cordina said that any marketing campaign needs to go beyond just digital.
To healthcare marketers, millennials are seeking a sense of authenticity.
“For the greatest generation, they did what the doctor told them to do. Baby boomers would research things, but millennials are looking for something completely…
COMMENTS