Influencer marketing has emerged as one of the most pervasive and persuasive media approaches in today’s landscape. As of 2024, there are over 50 million social media influencers active worldwide, with an estimated market value of $24bn. Outside pharma, they have already revolutionised the way we consume media by leveraging their audience size, talent or experience to entertain, inform and influence us.

For the pharma industry, the rise of healthcare content creators – both healthcare professionals (HCPs) and patients – provides a unique opportunity to partner with individuals who are driving health culture forward and make meaningful connections with audiences seeking relatable voices in a sea of online medical information.

With the proliferation of brands and content fighting for HCPs’ attention, how can pharma brands ensure they stay part of the health conversations that matter?

HCPs are facing the fastest deterioration in well-being in recorded history; the alarming scale of this crisis was revealed in Havas Lynx’s 2023 white paper: healing-the-healers.co.uk. As well as having to navigate the considerable mental and physical demands of their roles, time-poor medical professionals are also bombarded with communications on a daily basis. This makes landing empathetic and relevant content on clinical advancements an ever-growing challenge. In addition, evolving media consumption habits mean traditional marketing mixes based on audience presumptions are no longer guaranteed to turn heads. This is where data can make the difference – with the right insight, pharma brands can pinpoint the sweet spot between their strategic objectives and what HCPs really want from their content.

The launch of Havas Lynx’s healthcare influencer marketing service follows last year’s game-changing release of Point.1, our proprietary data offering. Point.1 provides the most comprehensive and flexible data available about global physicians. In recent research, we identified that as HCP confidence in earned media continues to grow, trust in pharma branded content is shrinking. On their journey to prescription, 98% of HCPs will be influenced by earned media, with 86% of them placing more trust in earned media than pharma-owned touchpoints. In a world where health content is readily available, it shows us that authenticity is key and relevancy is king.

Over half (54%) of HCPs say their consumption of earned media is increasing, which is why influencer marketing is set to transform the healthcare communications space in the coming years. The trend towards earned media is particularly pertinent for millennial HCPs – now the largest prescribing HCP audience – with only 19% of millennial HCPs trusting branded pharma websites and 74% of them creating content for their own social platforms.

So what type of content is piquing the interest of HCPs? In short: content created by fellow medical professionals. Across all specialisms, our research showed that peer-to-peer content was one of the most valued and trusted information sources. It’s clear that if brands want to spark a conversation or raise an issue, the dialogue needs to be driven from within the community – be it patient or HCP – to imbue it with the credibility their audience demands.

With 37 years’ experience in the pharmaceutical and healthcare sectors, Havas Lynx has cultivated genuine relationships with the medical community. The new healthcare influencer marketing service is built on these robust foundations. The result is an expert network of physicians, nurses, advocates and patients who create content and facilitate meaningful communications that resonate deeply.

“We believe that influencer marketing is a powerful and innovative way to connect with audiences,” said Claire Knapp, Chief Executive Officer at Havas Lynx. “We have a dedicated team of specialists who understand the nuances and complexities of the healthcare sector and can create influencer marketing campaigns that are ethical, compliant and, most importantly, effective.”

Havas Lynx’s community of 50+ healthcare influencers offer expertise across 14 therapy areas and creates content for TikTok, YouTube, Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and podcasts. The approach is rooted in meticulous analysis. It is not simply ‘finding’ influencers for clients but securing the ideal match for each unique campaign. By carefully mapping reach and value, the team ensures that every connection drives maximum impact and relevance for both brand and audience. This is not about casting a wide net, but about placing the right message in the hands of those who can truly amplify its power.

The growing use of influencers in healthcare is reshaping how we all access and engage with health information and services. For pharma brands, these collaborations can offer a transformative new way to bridge the gap between medical information and authentic connection. In a delicate sector where trust is vital, healthcare influencer marketing could be the catalyst to drive change and deliver positive health outcomes.

For more information about healthcare influencer marketing or collaboration opportunities, please contact Havas Lynx at Europe@havaslynx.com.

References are available on request.

Claire Knapp is CEO and Tapas Mukherjee is Medical Director, both at Havas Lynx