All posts in category Mobile

Mobile apps or mobile optimization – do we have to choose?

In a recent article on published on the Pharma Marketing Blog by John Mack the author, also known as @pharmaguy discussed the subject of health-related mobile applications and the mobile optimization of online content. To decide which one is more important to pharma is not the main task at hand. Our first and most important concern should not be whether one or the other could achieve a higher ROI. Simply because even if it turns out that online content optimal for mobile consumption brings higher ROI, pharma cannot deny the increasing popularity of health apps and the potential they provide. The same way mobile optimization cannot be ignored if health applications turn out to be the holy grail of patient engagement.

The article mentioned above refers to the Mobile Health 2012 survey published by the Pew Internet and American Life Project which showed that “half of smartphone owners use their devices to get health information and one-fifth of smartphone owners have health apps.” The study also pointed out that only around 9% of US adults have health applications on their phones. And @pharmaguy is right, this does not mean that these apps are used. How many times do we download an application and later find it impossible or even annoying to use?

Although the data about mobile health apps does not seem too promising, the percentage of smartphone owners who use their devices to access health-related information almost doubled. But does this tell us to focus exclusively on mobile optimization because that is what the current trend tells us? In my opinion this should be more of a wake up call or a warning sign that while online content has to be accessible on mobile devices, there is also a lot more to do to develop truly user-friendly health apps that users don’t just download but actually end up using as well. With only 19% of pharma websites being optimized for mobile platforms it is clear that there is a lot of unfulfilled potential in that area as well, but pharma companies are going to have to divide their efforts and make sure to achieve progress in both developing apps and optimizing online content.

Do you think pharma has the resources to conquer the challenges of the mobile era? Make sure to leave a comment below!

(Source: Pharma Marketing Blog)

1 Comment
by gaborgy on November 15, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Mobile
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Posted by gaborgy on November 15, 2012

https://h2onlinehu.wordpress.com/2012/11/15/874/

Infographic – Pharma marketing to physicians

The vast majority of physicians today are digitally active, accessing multiple devices and networks as part of their day-to-day activities. Physicians are increasingly interested in video and social media for personal and professional use. These trends have numerous implications about what pharma cannot miss in creating its marketing plans.

  • According to recent studies 72% of physicians use social media sites for personal and professional reasons. Based on current trends 81% of doctors will own a smartphone by the end of 2012.
  • 73% of physicians use their smartphones to search content online while 55% of them use mobile apps.
  • 35% of physicians said they think tablets are a useful tool for pharma reps. According to their answers they find presentations a lot more effective when carried out with the help of a tablet device.
  • Online videos are also more and more popular among physicians. 82% of them prefer video content on WebMD while 50-50% of them watch videos on pharma websites and YouTube as well.

 

(Source: publicishealthware.com)

3 Comments
by gaborgy on September 20, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Mobile, Online, Social media
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Posted by gaborgy on September 20, 2012

https://h2onlinehu.wordpress.com/2012/09/20/infographic-pharma-marketing-to-physicians/

Mobile Healthcare – An Infographic

We read a lot about how mobile technology is the future, we see fascinating numbers and statistics about how smartphones and tablets are becoming more popular than desktop computers and laptops. It is hard however to really put a finger on how these trends will change healthcare.

The infographic below – other than piling up evidence about the sheer force with which the mobile market is growing – shows how mobile solutions can influence healthcare in different ways. Here are the key findings in connection with mobile in healthcare:

  • Mobile health has the potential to change healthcare in a revolutionary way with making patients more engaged in their care and transforming the patient-provider relationship.
  • Main features of smartphones that could be used in healthcare: physician finder, applications to view claims, to fill our medical forms, and other apps to follow treatment plan and help adherence.
  • Revenues from remote patient monitoring services that use mobile networks will rise to 1.9 billion globally by 2014.
  • Users with wireless connections are more likely to monitor their health with the help of their cell phones.
  • People owning a smartphone are more likely to be an active content contributor related to healthcare, that means mobile technology boosts participation.
  • According to predictions by Juniper Research the number of downloaded health apps will reach 44 million by the end of the year, and by 2016 there will be 142 million downloaded health applications.

 

(Source: Healthworks Collective)

1 Comment
by gaborgy on May 10, 2012  •  Permalink
Posted in Mobile, Mobile health
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Posted by gaborgy on May 10, 2012

https://h2onlinehu.wordpress.com/2012/05/10/mobile-healthcare-an-infographic/

mHealth in Europe – Where Is The Disconnect?

There have been several reports on mobile playing a significant role in healthcare. New health-focused apps seem to appear out of thin air and winning over physicians who would like to prescribe these applications for patients. Virtually everything is possible to squeeze in an app – self-monitoring, calorie-counting, self-diagnosing, educational material for patients, database of drugs with interactions, and the list could go on and on.

A recent study published by GSMA research suggested that mobile health is so popular it is predicted to be worth 23 Billion dollars by 2017. Other staggering surveys showed the fast-paced growth of mobile use: there are 4 Billion mobile phones in use worldwide and 1.08 Billion of those are smartphones. These numbers show clearly the potential of the mobile and app market. Other predictions point out that by 2014 mobile internet use should take over desktop internet usage, which means more and more people are using their mobile phones as the primary tool for web browsing, social networking and getting information.

So given all the data mentioned above I was surprised to find the not-so-promising findings about mHealth apps in Europe. Based on the study Citizens and ICT for Health in 14 EU countries ICT consequences published the following data about internet users in Europe and their use of health, wellness apps:

  • 77% stated that they never use it;
  • 7% stated that they were not aware of it;
  • 6% stated that they use it less than once a month
  • 5% stated that they use it at least once a month (but not every week)
  • 4% stated that they use it at least once a week (but not every day)
  • 1% stated that they use it every day or almost every day

So where is the disconnect? What makes Europeans reluctant to use health-related applications? It is clear that this is not an issue of awareness. Other than the numerous articles published about mobile applications every day and the speedy growth of smartphone purchases the data above points out that only 7% of respondents were not familiar with health apps.

So if it is not awareness than what is causing the disconnect? A possible assumption could be the lack of user-friendly or user-centered applications. According to a study carried out by Consumer Health Information Corporation (CHIC), the top reasons why users quit an application are the release of better versions and lack of user-friendly features. But what does that mean “user-friendly”? According to the findings the key elements are: easy to navigate, informative and interactive. This means that the main goals while developing a mobile app should be to keep it as simple as possible while still being informative and use the advantages of interactive features. The fact that users like an app to be interactive can’t come as a surprise since social networking and playing games on mobile phones are in the top 5 favorite activities on a mobile device.

So we can conclude that just because an area of innovations is considered trendy, doesn’t mean it has reached its full potential of providing important features for users. The speed of growth of a market cannot be an excuse for the lack of user-friendly and useful, creative solutions.

(Source: ICTconsequences.net)

2 Comments
by gaborgy on April 26, 2012  •  Permalink
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Posted by gaborgy on April 26, 2012

https://h2onlinehu.wordpress.com/2012/04/26/mhealth-in-europe-where-is-the-disconnect/

Embracing The Era Of Mobile

The last couple of days presented several news pieces that prove: we are indeed rapidly approaching the era of mobile. The longest Blackberry outage so far made people religiously using Blackberry Messenger furious. On the other hand, faithful believers of Apple were more than happy to share their numerous versions of “I told you so.” The timing was horrible for Blackberry and never better for Apple: days before the release of the new iPhone 4s.

It is safe to say, that by now mobile technology overtook our day-to-day life. But how much influence does mobile have  when it comes to our habits? And what does that mean for marketers, especially in the field of healthcare? The infographic below helps to understand just how much are mobile devices part of our lifestyle.

Reading these numbers and data it is obvious, that the old model of TV and print focused marketing is outdated, therefore a lot of money spent with minimum reach and success. It is time to consider regrouping marketing expenses and paying close attention to mobile technologies and trends.

(Source: Visibli.com – shared by Gary Monk)

1 Comment
by gaborgy on October 14, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Mobile, Mobile health
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Posted by gaborgy on October 14, 2011

https://h2onlinehu.wordpress.com/2011/10/14/embracing-the-era-of-mobile/

A Day In The Digital Life

These days we wake up and go to sleep surrounded by technology. And the time spent in between is not different in any way. Here are some disturbing and thought provoking stats. If the numbers don’t convince us that we are hooked on devices and are addicted to internet, just think about what you would do in case of a power outage. Read a book without the TV or laptop on? Strange idea, right?

According to the image below 35% of people update their application even before getting out of bed. We read or watch the news while eating, preferably on a screen and not in print. What is more dangerous, 3 of 4 young people can’t tear themselves apart from their cell phones while driving, 64% of them even texting on the road. We use our computers at work and at school, 51% of people doing research while working, and 70% of students taking notes with their laptops.

Using these devices is not always productive. The numbers show that while 2/3 of content opened by students in school is distractive, employees are not a lot better either. 25% of them watch news clips, 15% viral videos, 9 psort clips. 4% of them even have the time to watch full movies at work. We can’t even seperate from our electronic devices while in the bathroom 40% of people using their phonesin the restrooms. After getting home we don’t allow ourselves to be disconnected: 60% of us have the TV and computer on at the same time while a staggering 95% of people use electronic devices right before going to bed. And activity that doctors strongly object.

 

(Source: Social Media Today)

2 Comments
by gaborgy on September 1, 2011  •  Permalink
Posted in Mobile, Online
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Posted by gaborgy on September 1, 2011

https://h2onlinehu.wordpress.com/2011/09/01/a-day-in-the-digital-life/

Mobile Email Marketing – User Habits To Consider

More and more people access their email account from their smartphones – and this fact should be considered when sending out newsletters.

Of the 6.9 Billion people on the world today 5.2 Billion own a mobile phone. To put that into perspective: of the world’s population 1.6 Billion people own a TV, 1.2 Billion own computers and 1 Billion own cars. So to say that mobile email marketing has a great potential is an understatement. But to create an effective strategy, we need to know how people use their mobile devices.

According to an analysis published by Google, from 89% of smartphone users who took part in the study 82% stated, that they use email applications on their devices regularly. Another research conducted in London’s e-Dialog office supports the previous findings suggesting that reading and sending emails on mobile phones are common activities, especially among younger users. Also, the study states that email marketing is clearly more effective with those having a smartphone compared to those who own mobiles with basic features. One of the key elements to a successful email marketing campaign is investing great efforts into usability. Easy to use applications and easy to view messages result in higher engagement whereas problems with usability is often the reason for lack of success.

The infographic summarizes the findings of the study on mobile habits by e-Dialog:

 

(Source: The Relevant Marketer, Marketing Morzsák)

3 Comments
by gaborgy on July 27, 2011  •  Permalink
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Posted by gaborgy on July 27, 2011

https://h2onlinehu.wordpress.com/2011/07/27/mobil-email-marketing-mobile-habits-to-consider/