What is trending in social media for life sciences and healthcare companies?

31st January 2024 - Last modified 4th July 2024

By Naomi Buckland, Digital Marketing & Social Media Executive.

With an estimated 5 billion users worldwide [1], social media is arguably one of the most accessible and effective marketing platforms. It not only provides direct access to your customer base, but it’s an extremely cost-effective form of marketing for your business.

Sometimes overlooked, social media for life sciences and healthcare companies can offer unique opportunities to reach your audience and communicate effectively with your customers and prospects.

In order to make the most of this medium and its benefits, it’s key to stay up-to-date with the ever-changing trends and developments. In this blog, we outline some trends to look out for in 2024, and how to utilise them for your business.

AI could be the way forward

We all saw it coming! AI is set to reach new heights in 2024 and is already being used widely by social managers. According to Hootsuite’s 2024 social trends report, 86% of organisations are predicted to use AI to edit and refine their social media content this year [2]. AI creates an opportunity, especially in companies with limited resource to dedicate to social media. For example, small social media teams with one or two people can use AI to assist them in the content creation process, saving time and increasing ROI.

AI can seem great on the surface and there are countless tools out there to assist with your social media workload. However, it should be noted that 62% of the consumers surveyed by Hootsuite, said that they are less likely to engage with AI generated content [2].

This doesn’t mean that you should eliminate AI completely though. It can be a great resource for generating content ideas and even writing initial drafts of short social media posts, such as Instagram captions.  However, it shouldn’t be used as a total replacement for content generated by us lovely human beings! And if you do use AI , don’t rely on its accuracy (check, check and check again!) or its ability to capture the true essence of what you or your company want to say (add the human element!). This is especially true in the life science and healthcare industries, where the technical accuracy of your content – and how this is communicated with different audiences – is essential.

Social media is the future of search engines

In 2023, TikTok surpassed Google as Gen Z’s primary source of information, with 24% of consumers aged between 24 & 54 going to social media when searching for brands [3]. This is a huge development and showcases how social media platforms such as TikTok and Reddit are no longer seen as a source of purely low-brow, ‘useless’ content. They are also a powerful tool that can be used to share information about your products and influence brand identity.

Admittedly, within the life science and healthcare sector there may be less of an audience on social media sites such as TikTok, compared to in other industries. However, if this trend continues, the next few years are going to see social media take over from the likes of Google and Bing for general product recommendations and brand searches.

Creating and optimising your social media pages for search (not just your website!) now, by producing quality content that includes keywords relevant to your business, would be highly beneficial to stay ahead of these changes in search behaviour.

Authenticity is key in 2024

Creating authentic content has always been important to the success of your business on social media, but in 2024 this is crucial. Authenticity can be introduced to your social media platforms in many ways, for example by creating content that highlights your company values, and by developing a unique and recognisable style/tone of voice in your posts [4]. This type of content will allow your business to build an online persona that your customer base will recognise and trust – leading to increased engagement and the formation of an online community. 

Product marketing has also transformed, with obvious marketing, promotion, and hard sells no longer as effective at generating audience engagement. Instead, we see user generated content (UCG) increasing in popularity, with authentic content that showcases the benefits of your product or service in a real-life setting winning in terms of engagement. This is true of social media for life science too – for example, a ‘day in the life’ style video of a lab scientist using your pipette, is likely to be much more effective at engaging your target audience on social media compared to a generic product video listing features and benefits.

Be active and be consistent

Social media trends are ever-changing. What’s popular today may not be popular next week – and this is why the secret to using social media successfully is to utilise the methods best suited to your business and the type of information you are trying to portray. When considering how you use social media for life sciences or healthcare companies, this is especially key – what works for a B2C product marketeer is not going to work in the same way for your technical, B2B business.

Our top tip? Your two main focuses for social media success should be, activity and consistency. Concentrate on posting regularly, engaging with your customers in the comments, and creating consistent, brand-recognisable content. Make this the foundation layer of your social media plan, which can then be built upon.

Here at Alto, we live and breathe marketing, social media included! If you’re looking for some assistance or expert advice on how your life science, healthcare or scientific business can benefit from using social media, get in touch with us to book a call.

References

1. Global social media statistics research summary, 2024 https://www.smartinsights.com/social-media-marketing/social-media-strategy/new-global-social-media-research/

2. Hootsuite social trends, 2024 https://hootsuite.widen.net/s/mgqjjznhsx/hootsuitesocialtrends2024_report_en

3. Social Media Trends Report, 2023 https://blog.hubspot.com/marketing/hubspot-blog-social-media-marketing-report 

4.11 B2B Digital Marketing Trends To Follow for 2024 https://www.webfx.com/blog/marketing/b2b-digital-marketing-trends/#:~:text=4.-,Doing%20authentic%20marketing,a%20picture%20of%20the%20company.