Digital marketing channels are convenient and effective ways to connect with your healthcare audiences, though an overabundance of screen time has left many potential prospects feeling exhausted and encumbered.
This digital fatigue can make your HCP audience apathetic and less receptive to marketing efforts. Overcoming this will improve the success of your messaging and deployment strategies.
What Is Digital Fatigue?
Digital fatigue is cognitive exhaustion caused by prolonged use of digital devices such as computers, smartphones, and tablets.
Since the coronavirus pandemic shifted most marketing interactions from in-person meetings to virtual channels, the consequential spike in screen time has led to more digital fatigue than ever before.
According to global consultancy provider Deloitte’s 2021 “Connectivity and Mobile Trends Study,” about one-third of consumers report feeling overwhelmed by their devices and consistent virtual interactions during the pandemic.
Most people regularly use numerous digital devices that emit harmful blue light or require users to sit for long periods. This can lead to eye pain or sensitivity, difficulty focusing, impaired or blurry vision, headaches, and pain in the neck, shoulders or back.
It can also result in audience disengagement and less-effective marketing efforts.
How to Identify Digital Fatigue in Your HCP Audiences
It’s important to recognize signs that certain audience segments may be tired of traditional digital experiences. Knowing what to look for when monitoring your campaign results will help you better pivot and modify your strategies for optimal impact.
The behavioral indicators of digital fatigue include a lack of interest in campaign content, reduced attention span, and low engagement. This can manifest is several key performance indicators (KPIs), including:
- High Click-Through Rates
- High Cost-Per-Click
- Reduced or Negative Audience Feedback
- Stagnant Campaign Results
- Slower Email Responses
- Decrease in Meaningful Engagement or Conversions
How Can HCP Marketers Address Digital Fatigue?
Digital marketing is growing ever-more prevalent, and keeping your audience as engaged and connected as possible is key to converting prospects into customers—especially with the healthcare industry’s notoriously long lead times.
Ultimately, how you address digital fatigue will help determine the success of your strategies in the long term.
Here are several impactful ways to do so:
Open Multiple Channels of Communication & Engagement
While it may seem obvious, one of the most effective ways to help your audience overcome burnout associated with traditional digital marketing approaches is to utilize other channels and platforms. This includes everything from sales calls, conferences, podcasts, webinars, and any other medium, virtual or not, that could help connect with and provide value to your audience.
Providing HCP prospects choices of preferred methods of communication can help boost interactions and engagement.
Targeted direct mail campaigns, for example, can help you reach prospects with relevant content even if they are exhausted with digital advertising. Direct mail also provides a specific, tactile experience more memorable and impactful than digital content.
Personalize Your Content
It should come as no surprise that personalization is an important aspect of campaigns that results in higher open rates, response rates, and engagement—but can also be a big factor in conquering digital fatigue.
Many online audiences are overwhelmed by irrelevant or undesirable offers and advertisements.
Ensure all your content is valuable to the various audience segments you’re targeting, and customize messaging with personal details that resonate with specific recipients, and stand out more.
Take a Unique Approach
No matter what platforms you plan to focus on, taking a creative, out-of-the-box approach can help snap your audience out of their daze and encourage interaction in new and impactful ways.
The next time you send out your email marketing campaigns, include some downloadable content offers or resources they can come back to later. If deploying a direct mail campaign, deliver a unique, one-of-a-kind experience through dimensional mailers or distinctive interactive elements your audience can associate with your brand.
You always want your messaging to stand out from the competition, and being creative with your campaign efforts goes a long way.
Work With PDQ Communications to Reliably Connect With the Right HCP Audience
Enlisting the right healthcare marketing partner can make all the difference in the effectiveness of your strategies. The best way to achieve long-term success is to work with an experienced and dedicated HCP marketing partner such as PDQ.
Our highly qualified team will work with you to produce relevant, informative content, and our extensive and well-segmented lists of healthcare providers spanning the entire industry can help ensure your campaigns resonate with the right audience, at the right time, every time!
