How to turn industry research into audience-driven content.
Someone recently posted this screenshot from a McKinsey consumer survey about improving consumer trust in healthcare in a Slack group for healthtech professionals. Guess what my first thought was?
“This is a great opportunity to create some content that addresses those concerns.”
You don’t always have to do your own research to find out what your target audiences are worried about. Industry surveys and reports like this one are goldmines of insights that can help guide your content strategy and planning.
Analyzing reports like these from a content marketing perspective requires thinking backwards:
What questions is the report answering?
Which issues seem most pressing?
Which questions and issues are we best positioned to provide answers and context for?
Which content formats would be most appropriate and effective for that purpose?
What types of deliverables can we realistically create and deliver in a timely manner?
The chart indicates that consumers say they care about costs, which the healthcare industry is well aware of. But that’s one of the lowest areas of perceived performance, indicating that providers are falling short in providing them with guidance and advice. That’s a gap that is just begging for some content to fill it.
In this scenario, that might look like:
Stories of how financial counselors helped a family navigate treatment
Descriptions of new technologies or processes the organization is using that make care more efficient and less costly, such as coordinated care that reduces the number of appointments or screening equipment that leads to faster diagnoses
Explanations of how care coordinators help patients and their families understand their options
Booklets that provide decision support, such as whether to pursue physical therapy or surgery for a knee injury.
So the next time you come across an industry survey—whether you are in healthcare, education, edtech, climate solutions, or any other sector—take a look at the main takeaways and think about how you could flip them into proof-based deliverables that align with your target market’s concerns and wants.
Somewhere in those data points is your next newsletter, blog post, white paper, landing page, email series, or earned media pitch.