10 May How healthcare marketers can use contextual targeting to reach the right HCPs and consumers while protecting privacy

Contextual targeting offers healthcare marketers a powerful, privacy-compliant solution to reach and engage healthcare professionals (HCPs) and consumers with unparalleled precision.

With contextual targeting, your ad campaign appears in webpages and apps only with content relevant to your product or service.

Contextual targeting enhances the power of programmatic advertising

Contextual targeting is an advanced approach to audience segmentation that delivers ads based on the content the audience views. Contextual targeting leverages data to identify webpages, apps, and other digital environments containing content related to your product or service. By aligning ads with the content that users actively engage with, contextual targeting maximizes relevance and impact.

Plus, contextual targeting prioritizes consumer privacy. Instead of being dependent on privacy-compromising cookies, pixel tracking, and tagging, contextual targeting enables you to reach out to interested customers without sacrificing personal, sensitive data.

Contextual targeting becomes even more important with the elimination of third-party cookies

Marketers’ ability to use third-party cookies is about to go away and, in the process, change digital marketing in healthcare for good. Eliminating the use of third-party cookies to target customers and track their online behavior is the result of actions by governmental bodies and leading tech companies to protect personal privacy. This is especially critical for healthcare marketers to comply with HIPAA regulations.

Instead of relying on third-party cookies to drive targeting, digital marketing plans must incorporate contextual targeting and other approaches to be both compliant and effective.

Know the 3 main types of contextual targeting

1. Category contextual targeting involves placing ads within general content categories relevant to each advertiser’s objectives. For example, a pharma company promoting a new diabetes med may target content related to diabetes management, healthy eating, or exercise. This is the most basic form of contextual targeting. It is also the broadest, which means it is potentially the least precise.

2. Keyword contextual targeting focuses on specific keywords or phrases within content to determine relevance. Advertisers specify keywords related to their product or service; their ads then accompany content containing those keywords. Keyword contextual targeting is more flexible, as well as potentially more accurate, than category contextual targeting. A med device company promoting a continuous glucose monitor may focus on keywords such as “CGM,” “A1C levels,” and “blood sugar.”

3. Semantic contextual targeting transcends keywords and uses machine learning to analyze the overall meaning of content. It considers factors such as sentiment, tone, and context to enhance the precision of ad placements. This helps ensure relevance, minimizing the risk of misalignment and wasted resources.

Contextual targeting prevents the privacy protection pitfalls of behavioral targeting

Behavioral targeting tracks user activity across the web to deliver ads based on past actions and interests. While this can be effective in predicting user preferences, it raises concerns about privacy and data security, particularly with the use of third-party cookies. This is especially true in healthcare marketing, where privacy concerns are amplified by HIPAA regulations.

In contrast, contextual targeting focuses solely on the context of the content being consumed in the moment, avoiding the privacy pitfalls associated with behavioral tracking over time. By delivering ads based on real-time context rather than historical behavior, contextual targeting provides a safer, more privacy-conscious approach to audience segmentation.

Contextual targeting considers more customer attributes than demographic targeting

Demographic targeting relies on static user attributes such as age, gender, and location to deliver ads. While demographic targeting provides valuable insights into the general characteristics of an audience, it often overlooks the context of user behavior and preferences.

Contextual targeting, on the other hand, focuses on the immediate context of the user’s online activity, offering a potentially more nuanced approach to audience targeting. By combining demographic insights with contextual relevance, marketers can create more effective campaigns that resonate with individual interests and needs.

Capitalize on the precision and cost-effectiveness of contextual targeting in healthcare marketing

Contextual targeting offers multiple benefits for healthcare marketers seeking to engage with clinicians, researchers, payers, and consumers:

Precise targeting: This is the whole point – contextual targeting helps you get closer to the people who really matter to your brand.

Cost-effectiveness: Contextual targeting allows marketers to optimize their advertising spend by focusing precisely on environments where their target audience is most likely to be found. This targeted advertising approach minimizes wasted ad placements and maximizes ROI.

Relevance and engagement: By delivering ads within contextually relevant content, healthcare marketers can ensure that their messages reach audiences who are actively seeking relevant information. This precision enhances engagement and fosters a sense of credibility and trust.

Privacy compliance: Contextual targeting respects user privacy by avoiding the use of third-party cookies and personal identifiers. This compliance with privacy regulations such as GDPR and CCPA mitigates the risk of non-compliance and helps your brand build trust.

Real-time optimization: With the help of programmatic algorithms, contextual targeting enables real-time optimization of ad placements based on contextual relevance and performance metrics. This agility allows marketers to adapt their campaigns dynamically and maximize engagement.

Easier implementation

Setup of contextual targeting is simple – it takes just a few steps. Platforms such as the Google Display Network can even place display ads for you automatically. 

More personalized experience

Contextual targeting can lead to more personalized interactions with your customers.

Measure the many metrics of contextual targeting

To gauge the effectiveness of contextual targeting campaigns, healthcare marketers rely on metrics including:

Click-through rate (CTR): Measures the percentage of users who click on an ad after viewing it.

Conversion rate: Tracks the percentage of users who take a desired action, such as filling out a form or making a purchase, after clicking on the ad.

Engagement: Includes time spent on a site, pages viewed per session, and bounce rate.

Brand lift: Measures the impact of the ad campaign on brand perception and awareness.

By analyzing these and other metrics, you can assess the performance of your contextual targeting campaigns and make data-driven decisions to optimize future efforts.

Capitalize on contextual targeting to connect with consumers and HCPs

The power of targeted digital programmatic advertising is proven – it helps ensure your audience receives personalized ads with relevant messages that drive awareness and sales. Contextual targeting is one of the safest, most effective forms of targeting.

Bryant Brown Healthcare specializes in all forms of marketing strategies for healthcare, including targeted programmatic advertising, to help brands connect with healthcare professionals and consumers.

Questions about how it fits into your omnichannel marketing mix? Let’s talk – we can help put contextual targeting into context.