Short Video: The Next Wave of Digital Marketing in the Pharmaceutical Industry

On March 30, 2023, the Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing Forum, hosted by Lianou Health, concluded successfully in Chongqing. Industry leaders from Dekai Pharmaceutical, Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical, Zhejiang Medicine’s Weiaile, Jianzhen Pharmaceutical, Kangfu Zhijia, Jianzhijia, and Foci Pharmaceutical gathered to share insights on digital marketing strategies.

The Venue Was Packed with Industry Leaders

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The theme of the forum was “Short Videos: The Next Wave in Pharmaceutical Digital Marketing.” Mr. Li Hanhui, Vice President of Lianou Health, served as the moderator. In his opening remarks, he noted that short videos are playing an increasingly important role in pharmaceutical digital marketing. Their visual appeal, vividness, and ease of dissemination enable pharmaceutical brands to leverage short videos for brand image promotion, product marketing, and health education, thereby injecting new growth vitality into pharmaceutical digital marketing and gradually establishing short videos as the next wave in this field.

Moderator: Li Hanhui, Vice President of Lotus Health

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Mr. Yang Shaobo, Assistant to the Chairman of Lianou Health, pointed out that pharmaceutical marketing is currently in the era of content marketing. The emergence of AIGC products such as ChatGPT, Midjourney, and ERNIE Bot has sparked a revolution in content productivity, which will reshape the ecosystem of pharmaceutical content marketing and create new marketing models.

Yang Shaobo believes that the essence of the shift from the era of traditional media marketing to the era of content marketing lies in the continuous evolution and efficient matching of “people, products, and places.” In today’s short-video era, content marketing has become the dominant marketing model in the pharmaceutical industry. Companies need to leverage content to reach consumers, resonate with them, and stimulate their purchase intent. As a new content production tool, AIGC is reshaping the landscape of content marketing. Yang Shaobo introduced that they are gradually utilizing various AIGC product technologies to transform their company’s short-video production workflow, covering the entire process from copywriting, recording, and voiceover to editing and distribution.

Guest Speaker: Yang Shaobo, Assistant to the Chairman of Lianou Health

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Subsequently, Ms. Liu Hanyu, Vice President of Dekai Pharmaceutical, shared her insights on “How to Convert ‘Traffic’ into ‘Retention’.” She pointed out that while traffic is the foundation of digital marketing, the key lies in transforming this traffic into retained customers. Only by converting traffic into retention can brands achieve truly sustainable growth.

Liu Hanyu believes that after understanding the sources of traffic, enterprises need to identify their target audience and, in combination with the characteristics of four types of traffic platforms, create marketing content that appeals to this audience. She mentioned that pharmaceutical marketing on Douyin has two major approaches: depending on the product, key opinion leader (KOL) doctors and ordinary users can contribute in different ways.

Liu Hanyu, Vice President of Dekai Pharmaceutical

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Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical is a star brand in the digestive health sector, having successfully developed numerous flagship products such as Jianwei Xiaoshi Tablets (Digestive Aid Tablets), Compound Caoshanhu Lozenges, and Lactobacillin Tablets. Wang Gang, Deputy General Manager of the OTC E-commerce Platform at China Resources Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical Group, stated that with changes in consumer behavior, significant transformations are taking place in medication purchasing scenarios, segmented consumer demographics, and operational models. Omnichannel marketing across B2B, B2C, and O2O has become a new growth engine for Jiangzhong’s OTC business.

Wang Gang believes that in terms of B2B marketing, Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical has extensively covered marketing channels, integrating online and offline operations for orderly management to create a closed-loop brand value chain. In terms of B2C marketing, while conducting marketing promotions in the co-branded market, Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical is also expanding its reach to consumers outside its core brand audience. Regarding O2O marketing, Wang Gang stated that Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical needs to leverage its O2O advantages, such as partnering with food delivery platforms like Meituan and Ele.me to launch “digestive aid services,” thereby capturing the local market within a 3-kilometer radius.

Wang Gang, Deputy General Manager of the OTC E-commerce Platform, China Resources Jiangzhong Pharmaceutical Group Co., Ltd.

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In the era of content marketing, producing high-quality content is key. Coupled with precise and effective reach, it can fully stimulate users' purchasing interest. Mr. Ni Lei, General Manager of Zhejiang Medicine·Weiale, pointed out that good content should be consumer-centric, with every detail carefully refined; different platforms should match different content tones; identify target consumer groups and achieve precise reach to make short video marketing twice as effective with half the effort.

Ni Lei believes that the first five seconds are particularly crucial in short-video investments. Therefore, companies need to create high-quality content and refine every detail, including precise titles, diversified scenario presentations, and effective cover images. He also proposes that marketing content distributed across different platforms should adopt distinct tones. In terms of precise targeting, Ni Lei argues that pharmaceutical marketing needs to further expand the target audience through user tagging. Once a pharmaceutical product has identified its target audience, companies must closely align keywords and category terms with this audience to achieve optimal communication effectiveness.

Ni Lei, General Manager of Vialle, Zhejiang Medicine

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Faced with the challenge of declining foot traffic, Mr. Zhao Biao, Chairman of Jianzhen Pharmaceutical, shared his insights on the theme: “How Pharmacies Can Acquire Customers Through Content Marketing.” Mr. Zhao emphasized that pharmacies need to build private-domain operational capabilities, shifting their focus from managing stores to managing customers. The core elements of content should align with customer positioning, ensuring both relevance and engagement.

Zhao Biao believes that content marketing should focus on customer profiling. This implies that enterprises possess customer management capabilities, leveraging customer analytics systems to tag and screen customers, thereby gaining a thorough understanding of their customer base. On this foundation, companies can conduct targeted content marketing based on customers’ product preferences and consumption habits. In addition to aligning with customer positioning, marketing content must also be engaging.

Zhao Biao, Chairman of Jianzhen Pharmaceutical

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In addition, industry leaders such as Mr. Wang Yanxiong from Lianou Health, Mr. Bai Yu from Kangfu Zhijia, Ms. Shi Yanchun from Jianzhijia, Mr. Wang Tao from Foci Pharmaceutical, and Mr. Ni Lei from Zhejiang Medicine·Weiale also shared their insights and practical experiences on digital marketing in the pharmaceutical industry.

In the face of the impending AIGC era, enterprises need to enhance their digital capabilities. Companies can establish internal digitalization departments to unlock potential efficiency gains.

Short-video health education by physicians can help users gain awareness of medical and health information, as well as disease-related issues. Short videos should not merely be effective but also practical—providing value to users, enterprises, and content creators alike.

Products need to stimulate consumer demand in the short term, such as rehabilitation products for post-acute sequelae of COVID-19. When the consumption environment and consumers’ lifestyles change, the market generates this type of transient, outcome-driven demand, at which point companies should respond rapidly.

Roundtable Panelists Engage in Heated Discussion

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Currently, short-video platforms have become the primary traffic gateways for major brands and one of the main battlegrounds for digital marketing. In today’s era where traffic reigns supreme, only by mastering the secrets of short-video traffic and operational rules can companies capture market share and excel in digital marketing. Short videos are undoubtedly set to be the next wave in the digital marketing of pharmaceuticals!

Conference Venue

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