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Why Healthcare Marketers Are Turning to Streaming Audio to Build Vaccine Confidence

“Be a Covid vaccine guinea pig? No thanks.” “I already had Covid.” “Those Covid vaccine trials didn’t include people who look like me.”

Whether or not you share any of these same sentiments, there are millions of people across the country with high levels of vaccine mistrust and hesitancy. So, what does this mean for healthcare marketers?

Yes, $50 million-plus of government-funded media encouraging Covid-19 vaccination is valuable, but so is hearing from your healthcare provider directly. According to an NPR/Ipsos survey, 85% of Americans trust their doctors—an impressive majority stat during a politically divisive time.

Ultimately, whether or not someone gets the Covid vaccine is a personal choice, and each person’s path towards decisiveness looks different. Healthcare holds the privilege and power to educate and influence that 85% of trusting Americans along their vaccination journeys. Or think of it this way: It’s an opportunity to be the local Dr. Fauci—and who doesn’t want that street cred?

Making it personal

Given that healthcare is inherently personal, healthcare marketing should be no different. The messaging you serve a Black millennial mom about the Covid vaccine should be distinct from the one served to a 55-year-old white male with heart disease. Marketers who take a customized and empathic approach to Covid vaccine advertising create a value prop for their healthcare brand. 

And because Covid vaccine hesitancy is so nuanced, marketers need the help of data-driven, streaming platforms to reach and resonate with the communities they serve.

Audio is a shot in the arm for healthcare messaging

Remote working has placed a newfound focus on one’s immediate surroundings, and streaming audio has risen 16.4% year-over-year. From podcasts in the morning to music in the afternoon, digital audio content is with us all day long, and Americans are investing in more audio devices. According to Nielsen, one in three U.S. households now have smart speakers, and 64% of people are listening to streaming audio on smartphones every week.

Considering audio’s widespread accessibility, countered with pandemic screen fatigue, it’s no surprise that audio has been a go-to medium for healthcare marketers throughout the pandemic. A healthcare brand’s ability to connect with consumers where they are depends on a media partner’s ability to deliver ads on the most relevant consumer devices. Digital audio has the potential to integrate into thousands of devices and provide access to unique, first-party listener data, which for obvious reasons is a big deal for healthcare marketers. 

It’s an opportunity to be the local Dr. Fauci—and who doesn’t want that street cred?

Above and beyond the benefits of ubiquitous device integration, proprietary segments and creative flexibility, the sheer act of speaking directly into someone’s ears can create a sense of trust and intimacy that’s very different from ad content created for a TV screen or display banner. Ad environment always matters, and that’s especially true for healthcare marketers.

Music in particular has been proven to have a positive effect on health in innumerable ways, making it a natural environment for Covid vaccine messaging. For example, the largest Covid vaccination hub in San Francisco recently was praised by the public for creating a vaccine playlist. This music soundtrack—initially intended to energize the vaccination staff—quickly morphed into a playlist shared across the center’s PA system, sparking many visitors to tweet about the song that played when they got vaccinated.  

After a year of skipped doctors’ appointments, screenings and avoidance of medical environments, 2021 is definitely in need of a healing soundtrack. Direct-to-consumer messaging highlighting steps taken to enhance the patient experience and ensure safety remains crucial, especially as patients are evaluating a return-to-care. Personalized, data-driven Covid vaccine campaigns are the ultimate way to promote patient health and safety as people re-enter the continuum of healthcare this year.

You’ve got the mic now, healthcare marketers, so use it.