How marketers can navigate the evolving content consumption habits of cardiologists

Discover insights into cardiologists’ evolving content consumption habits and learn how marketers can effectively engage them in this new environment.

In 2023, cardiologists continue to trust peer-reviewed and medical-society-affiliated content for the latest insights into emerging treatment options, patient outcomes, and progress in their field. But cardiologists are increasingly pressed for time. Year after year, it becomes harder for them to stay informed and keep up with important content from the resources they value most.

As a result, succinct, easy-to-access materials aligned with their most trusted resources are growing in popularity among cardiologists. Now, there are opportunities for advertisers seeking to reach cardiologists alongside new content types, especially as cardiologists’ habits with those materials become more established year after year.

In this article, we consider results from Lippincott’s Q4 2022 – Q1 2023 (“2023”) survey of qualified cardiologists to uncover insights into their professional content habits and preferences. The article compares several of these results to those from Lippincott’s near-identical survey the previous year (“2022”). Backed by these results, we illustrate the significance of cardiologists’ evolving habits, with recommendations as to how marketers can best engage cardiologists in this new environment.

Trusted online sources are growing in influence

Cardiologists continue to trust peer-reviewed journals—both in print and online—to keep themselves up to date on the latest research and information in their fields. Although cardiologists’ print journal reading habits have remained largely the same (61.54% in 2023 and 63.1% in 2022), a larger portion of them are accessing online journals in 2023 (53.85%) compared to those accessing journal-affiliated websites in 2022 (30.8%).

Similarly, 38.46% of cardiologists use society websites to stay up to date in 2023, compared to only 33.9% in 2022. A larger portion of cardiologists are also using digital course resources in 2023 compared to 2022—20.51% and 13.9%, respectively.

Rather than a shift away from print resources, these developments represent a new evolutionary step in cardiologists’ content consumption habits: one where cardiologists are more likely to access content in a direct, “on-demand” way online. As we will find, this trend aligns with changes in cardiologists’ available time for accessing and absorbing professional content.

Succinct content appeals to cardiologists strapped for time

The increase in online activity coincides with another growing trend: Cardiologists are struggling to find time to absorb professional content. The vast majority of cardiologists (81.58%) claim they do not have time to read everything they want when accessing journal content—an increase from 75% the previous year.

Cardiologists’ preferences when reading print journals are also indicative of this trend and help us understand their increased activity online. In 2023, when asked which types of content they pay attention to the most when reading print journals, 76.92% of cardiologists identified review articles, and 66.67% identified abstracts. These are the most succinct content types within journals, where only 35.9% of cardiologists claimed to pay the most attention to “complete original research articles.”

Cardiologists want the full picture—quickly

Despite their lack of time, cardiologists still want the “full picture” of professional insights within their preferred resources. It’s understandable, then, that a growing number of cardiologists are interested in article summaries authored by thought leaders that not only highlight the main points of a journal article but also discuss the article’s applicability to practice. Significantly, 77.5% of cardiologists are very interested (52.5%) or interested (25%) in summaries of this kind, while 12.5% are accepting of this type of content. Also notably, most cardiologists (70.97%) would prefer a text-based article summary of this kind, either print or online—as opposed to a video, infographic, or podcast.

Building credibility through industry-sponsored content

Fortunately, cardiologists’ perspectives on industry-sponsored messages are working in marketers’ favor. More than one-third of cardiologists (35.14%) expect to see industry-sponsored messages of interest to them in the resources they use. Additionally, roughly one-third of cardiologists (32.43%) believe industry-sponsored messages offer some value, depending on the topic covered, and nearly one-quarter (24.32%) believe industry-sponsored messages are valuable in learning about new devices, drugs, and treatment options.

Additionally, marketers can help build the credibility of their advertisements in the eyes of cardiologists through certain placements and the content those ads contain. In each case, 20.51% of cardiologists believe the placement of industry sponsorship in both print and online journals gives those sponsored messages more credibility. Half of cardiologists believe having clinical data citations—and nearly half (44.4%) believe having supporting or substantiating peer-reviewed research—adds credibility and value to an industry-sponsored message as well.

These expectations represent new opportunities for marketers hoping to engage cardiologists in new and compelling ways. As marketers explore these new avenues for engagement, they should be mindful of cardiologists’ time constraints and provide information that is to the point and helpful. In this way, marketers can build credibility with cardiologists while being mindful of their time restraints.

Next steps for marketers

In particular, marketers can capitalize on cardiologist’s increasing trust in online resources by creating short summaries authored by thought leaders that explain the applicability of research or topics to practice. Marketers can also work with publishers in understanding the best placements for industry-sponsored messages that will be most visible and credible as cardiologists access these types of content. Finally, marketers should couple their content with clinical data and peer-reviewed research as much as possible, substantiating claims or even supporting their products when presenting insights and opportunities to cardiologists.

By understanding the nuances of cardiologists’ professional content consumption habits and taking careful steps in their advertising campaigns, marketers can create engaging experiences that are timely and trustworthy—all while respecting cardiologists’ time limitations. Marketers will only maximize value from their interactions with cardiologists as these new content preferences continue to mature.

Navigate the new content landscape with Lippincott

Physicians’ content consumption habits are difficult to anticipate because of the medical priorities these professionals face every day. But the experts at Lippincott can help. When you’re ready for more personalized advice on building a successful content strategy, contact a solutions expert.