7 Takeaways on Key Opinion Leaders Using Digital Media

by Dave Emery

Key opinion leaders are physicians who influence their peers' medical practice decisions, so perhaps it’s not shocking that they are much more digitally-savvy, according to the Kantar Media Sources & Interactions Study, March 2013 – Medical/Surgical Edition. Here are 5 key facts pharma marketers and healthcare agencies need to know about KOLs in order to refine digital marketing and advertising plans:

1. KOLs are more likely to use smartphones and tablets for professional purposes than all doctors surveyed. About 84% use their mobiles for work reasons and 57% say they use a tablet for personal and professional purposes.
2. When using their smartphones, KOLs are more likely to use medical apps compared with all physicians. About 61% use diagnostic tool/clinical reference mobile apps and 49% use drug and coding reference apps.
3. More than half of KOLs use the Internet for professional purposes more than four times per day. On average, they use the Internet almost 14 times per week for work.
4. About 55% of KOLs say that their time spent on the Internet per use is between 1-15 minutes, while 20% say a session typically lasts between 16 and 30 minutes.
5. While only 28% of all physicians say they use email to communicate with patients, that percentage shoots to 45% of key opinion leaders.
6. Key opinion leaders tend to use social networks for professional purposes more often than other physicians, as 39% use consumer social networks, 42% use professional social networks and 50% use medical association/society social networks.
7. KOLs are multimedia journal readers: 57% read both print and digital versions of current issues of medical journals, with most (86%) reading print editions, and over half (55%) reading full digital reproductions (PDF or “flip view” versions).

For more information about the study or to find out how you can access the full results, let us know.

Kantar Media’s Sources & Interactions™ Studies offer a detailed examination of healthcare professionals’ online and mobile activities, e-detailing experience, and exposure to (and evaluation of) information sources including traditional and emerging media, pharma reps, CME, conventions and more. The Medical/Surgical edition, conducted every six months, reports on the media preferences and habits of more than 3,000 physicians across 21 specialties; annual studies provide similar perspective on Pharmacy, NP/PA, Eyecare, Dental, Radiology, Managed Care, and Hospital C-Suite audiences. Sources & Interactions was designed to help manufacturers and their agencies cost-effectively allocate resources to their overall promotional mix, and provide publishers with specific insight about where their offerings fit into physicians’ (and other healthcare professionals’) information inventory.