What Healthcare Marketers Can Learn From the Latest Future of Health and Work Report

In recent years, we’ve noticed a new subject shaping the conversation on LinkedIn. Professionals of all backgrounds, all generations and all levels of seniority are openly discussing their health – and how that health relates to their work. In fact, the number of health-related posts on LinkedIn is up 14% in the last six months. 

This observation motivated us to explore how the relationship between health and work is changing. We commissioned in-depth research asking LinkedIn members how they think about and manage their health, and those of others. This confirmed that they are more open to talking about their health. Almost half (48%) of all professionals say they find it easier to talk about health with colleagues following the COVID pandemic. 

LinkedIn’s mission is to help professionals to be productive and successful – and our findings suggest that members cannot be productive or successful without good health. Following the pandemic, professionals recognize they must actively invest in boosting their health and treat it as a priority on which all other career aspirations depend. We found that professionals are more than twice as likely to rank staying fit and healthy as their most important goal than becoming wealthy or financially independent, and this holds true for professionals of all ages. 

Leverage B2B Marketing Principles for Success in Healthcare 

Fittingly, members are approaching the choices they make about health in much the same way as they do other important considerations in their working lives. Our analysis found several parallels between healthcare choices and B2B buying.  

Healthcare purchases come with their own buying committees 

As savvy B2B marketers know, business buying decisions very rarely sit with one individual. It’s the same with healthcare choices. People are more than just patients. They’re members of Care Committees that advise on treatment for others.  

 Professionals take their Care Committee duties just as seriously as choices about their own health. For 45% that involves turning to an online community for health-related insights and advice. This collective thinking reflects the reality that 36% of professionals currently care for another adult full-time, with 26% expecting to do so within the next five years. Forty percent of professionals pay health insurance premiums for their loved ones, 53% buy their over-the-counter drugs and 45% help with prescription co-pays. 

The prescription for healthcare brands:  

Marketing to the Care Committee follows the same strategic principles as marketing to a B2B buying committee. Healthcare brands are most effective when they target inclusivelyto reach and engage all of those shaping patient choices. On LinkedIn, members can do this through the Caregivers targeting segment and the Health Interest segment, comprising more than 200 million members who have engaged with health-related content on the platform. 

Professionals recognize the ROI of long-term health investments 

Healthcare was once seen as a purchase that people only made in times of need. Today’s professionals instead see health as a long-term investment – and one that they are confident will deliver returns. That’s why 66% make time for proactive healthcare screenings, such as annual physicals, bloodwork, colonoscopy and mammograms. Millennial and Gen Z LinkedIn members are the most likely to invest in preventative health, elective treatments and health insurance premiums.  

The prescription for healthcare brands: 

Talk directly to informed consumers about their health, and drive awareness and consideration of their treatment and preventative care options. LinkedIn enables healthcare advertisers to run campaigns promoting prescription and over-the-counter drugs, medical devices and treatments, and pharmacy and telehealth services. 

Healthcare consumers lean on an ecosystem of expertise and influence 

B2B buyers pay close attention to the views of industry experts and influencers when considering which suppliers to invest in. When it comes to health, people similarly put their trust in people – especially people whose expertise and experience they recognize. That’s why 70% of LinkedIn members say that they trust experts when it comes to healthcare. 

Healthcare marketers on LinkedIn have a natural foundation for leveraging this ecosystem of influence when reaching out to professionals. Amplifying the views of physicians, researchers and their own executives and employees is a powerful means of building trust. LinkedIn is unique as members engage on both a professional and personal basis on our platform. The healthcare professionals that brands engage in their B2B campaigns are also consumers, patients and caregivers. 

The prescription for healthcare brands: 

Integrate LinkedIn into the customer and patient experience through educational content, open discussions with doctors and healthcare practitioners, and links to the innovative telehealth services that 49% of LinkedIn members prefer. LinkedIn Thought Leader Ads are an effective tool to help healthcare brands and influencers build trust by amplifying key opinion leaders.  

The most valuable healthcare audiences are those who know they will be in-market in the future 

Only around 5% of B2B buyers are actively in-market for a particular category at a given time. The most successful B2B marketers know the value of engaging the 95% who are not yet ready to review suppliers or invest in a new category – but will be in the future. A very similar dynamic plays out between professionals and healthcare brands. Even if people aren’t living with a health condition right now, they are engaging with your brands right now. It is imperative that healthcare brands start building trust today to attract tomorrow’s customer.  

This openness to early engagement with healthcare brands is particularly evident on LinkedIn. Among LinkedIn members, 43% say they value the advice that healthcare brands share on the platform, whether it’s relevant to themselves or to loved ones. LinkedIn visitors younger than 55 are more likely than users of other social platforms to welcome ads for health insurance, healthcare savings accounts and prescription drugs. Moreover, Millennial and Gen Z LinkedIn members are the most likely to watch pharma ads, ask healthcare providers about products they’ve seen online.  

The prescription for healthcare brands:  

Deliver your brand messaging not only to those who are in need of healthcare services now, but also those who may be in the market for healthcare services in the future. Adopt always-on campaign strategies, building credibility and trust over time. 

Engage a Healthcare Audience Confident About Making Decisions 

The new status of health as a professional priority represents a major opportunity for healthcare brands. It’s an opportunity to engage an audience who are ready to make decisions and establish a trusted process for doing so. The healthcare consumers of the future will build relationships with partner brands who can help them with what matters most – it’s a skill they’ve learned at work. 

Explore the full findings of our research in the LinkedIn Future of Health and Work Report 

LinkedIn’s Future of Health and Work Report is based on a survey of 1,615 internet users in the United States, which was conducted by the research agency Interpret during May 2024. The survey sample included 1,094 LinkedIn members who had been active on the platform in the previous 90 days. Besides LinkedIn, respondents were also active on YouTube (1,422), Facebook (1,392), Instagram (1,009), Twitter (769), TikTok (760), Pinterest (706) and Reddit (612). Our report analyzed the responses of internet users across platforms as well as comparing the differences between active LinkedIn members and others.