This Year, Consider These Medical Device Industry Trends

D2 Creative has compiled the top trends we believe companies should consider throughout the remainder of 2022.

Trend: Wearable Technology Devices

Two fingers pressing the Apple watch home button showing the home screen.

Now more than ever, consumers are wearing medical devices like watches and wristbands – namely, Apple Watch, Samsung, Fitbit, etc. Users get the benefits of tracking their heart rates (sometimes even blood pressure, depending on what apps they download) and blood oxygen levels, as well as measuring activity levels and calorie expenditure through exercise output. Consumers can keep track of health records over time and quickly send out emergency calls/alerts if in a dire health situation.

The normalization of wearable devices has made consumers more comfortable using medical devices at home. However, companies need to create the right educational content to ensure all providers and their patients are able to utilize the technology correctly. Read a case study included in our whitepaper.

Two fingers pressing the Apple watch home button showing the home screen.

Trend: Virtual Reality/Augmented Reality

Virtual Reality (VR) and Augmented Reality (AR) can serve many functions in the medical device and life sciences industry. For example, VR and AR can help physicians and surgeons practice their medical care in real-time. They can plug into an environment to practice certain skills or use virtual calculators to see the cost-benefit analysis of implementing new technologies.

Companies that already leverage VR and AR experiences can market and promote themselves by highlighting the benefits of this trend in social media posts, specifically patient and physician case studies, as well as videos demonstrating the use of this technology in their practice. Download the whitepaper for a case study, as well as other industry trends and stats.

Trend: Remote Meetings

We saw the sharp rise of telemedicine during the pandemic, and patients are more open to this experience in their healthcare. Similarly, HCPs expect at least some of their meetings with sales professionals to continue virtually. There’s still room for medical device and life science companies to optimize how they leverage platforms and applications to conduct calls. This can include the use of video and call meeting software, as well as organizational platforms that keep track of patient and vendor appointments and keeps data secure.

Trend: Increased Digital Engagement

Even as the world reopens, medical device organizations must continue to embrace digital marketing and sales channels. 84% of surveyed healthcare providers found a new sales model that incorporates online self-service and virtual interactions to be as, if not more, effective than the pre-pandemic model (Accenture, 2021). Digital marketing services from an agency that specializes in medical device and life science organizations can get companies in touch with other businesses and consumers that want their products and services.

When Was the Last Time You Updated Your Company’s Social Media Profile?

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Many organizations spend time and money populating their social media accounts with content hoping to attract new users and keep them engaged. However, there may be a bigger issue with your social media presence you’re not considering: How long has it been since you updated your company’s social media page?

If your company profile or content contains outdated information, doesn’t include the best tags and keywords for your industry, and doesn’t give people a clear call to action, then you’re not making the best first impression with new visitors who are seeing your page for the first time. If your SEO (search engine optimization) strategy isn’t strong enough, people may not be able to find your profile in the first place.

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Example: Optimizing the Social Media Presence of an International Biotech Society

D2 Creative has been working with the experts of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBS) for years. Not long ago, they engaged our team to optimize the EMBS YouTube channel with the goal of accelerating the growth of the audience.

We looked at the existing content on their page and added relevant tags so that the videos ranked higher in search results. We also added clickable cards at the end of each video that directed the viewer to specific content, based on the topic. We organized playlists made up of multi-part videos for seminars and conferences so that viewers could easily find and watch entire events. Finally, we added a watermark logo to the bottom of all videos that, when clicked on, allowed the user to easily subscribe.

These steps all encouraged viewers to consume more content, engage, and subscribe.

EMBS had long recordings from their many seminars. Videos with an especially lengthy run time were segmented into chapters in the video descriptions for easier consumption. Viewers can click the timestamp on the tracker or in the description and jump directly to the segment they want. Adding chapters in video descriptions also gave us an opportunity to include more keywords for higher ranking potential.

Another implementation D2 Creative introduced to EMBS is custom video thumbnails. No matter how compelling your content is, if it doesn’t catch the eye of someone scrolling then they’re not going to click. We added a cohesive look to the channel by creating templates for the different types of content posted most regularly. Color coordinating them allows a user to easily identify which video corresponds to which topic, and gave us the chance to inject some of their brand into the channel.

Is Now the Time to Update Your Social Profile?

The EMBS YouTube channel has flourished since the revamp. In a report on activity from June-August 2021 versus August-October 2021, views have increased by 38.74%. Subscribers have increased by 2.93% with a watch time increase of 21.26%. Overall, impression rates increased by 16.49% and EMBS can assume these practices will only help their channel grow even more over time.

Read more about our social media optimization work in the case study.