In today’s digital age, social media has become a powerful force in shaping consumer behavior in healthcare. The impact of content creators, or “influencers,” is undeniable. A recent survey revealed that 81% of consumers reported increased interest in a product or service after seeing posts from influencers, friends or family members over the past year. Additionally, in an article by Marketing Dive, 69% of consumers say they trust influencer recommendations over information coming directly from a brand, highlighting the critical role content creators play in the decision-making process.
Engaging micro-influencers is a cost-effective way to increase both engagement and social buzz.
Considerations to Ensure Success
A content creator campaign should be part of a campaign, not the entire campaign, and consider the full audience journey. What’s the call to action for our audience? What do we want them to do with the information? Is there a landing page for more information? We believe the key to success is to consider a multi-channel approach leveraging organic, paid and owned channels. Incorporating these elements, such as boosting posts with a paid component, can help support a well-rounded campaign, ensuring all bases are covered for maximum impact.
If we have the right “journey” outlined for the audience with the right support in place, we can be successful in our partnership with content creators. And pssst…these campaigns don’t have to break the budget! In fact, some of our most successful campaigns involve “micro-influencers” vs. content creators with larger audiences. Engaging micro-influencers is a cost-effective way to increase both engagement and social buzz. It might be assumed that the larger an influencer’s audience, the better; after all, the bigger the audience, the more people might see the content. But the truth is that influencers with smaller but more passionate audiences tend to drive more engagement, 60% more than other influencers. A content creator with a large audience might get more content views, but the real value of influencer marketing is engagement. In fact, a recent study found that Gen Zers generally trust influencers more than celebrities.
Our client Miach Orthopaedics’ BEAR Implant is the first treatment to enable a torn ACL to heal and restore the natural function of the knee. Insights revealed that snow-related accidents are the number one source of injury among BEAR Implant patients; therefore, they wanted to execute a campaign to reach skiers and snowboarders during the winter. M+ partnered with the Miach marketing team to launch a multi-channel campaign with influencer collaborations, including a patient sharing her one-year return to skiing and a physical therapist discussing the implant as a new treatment option for ACL tears. This campaign included a campaign landing page, a PR toolkit, a mat release, social media ads using interest-based targeting and Google ads in markets where surgeons have a high volume of snow patients. The results were telling, with many physicians reporting that patients were “pouring in.”
Choosing content creators includes casting a tight but wide net.
Choosing the Right Content Creators
Choosing content creators includes casting a tight but wide net. When evaluating who is a good fit for our campaigns, we typically consider how many people they reach, who makes up their audience, the level of engagement they get, brand alignment, and content quality and authenticity.
For a campaign with Boston Scientific educating men about treatment options for erectile dysfunction (ED), we knew from our research that many male content creators would not want to talk about ED. However, we know that women are typically the healthcare decision-makers in the household and are more willing to discuss sensitive topics. So, we developed a campaign with women influencers targeting women to empower them to speak with their partners about ED and treatment options.
If the creator is already a user/recipient/potential beneficiary of the brand, working with them can amplify their enthusiasm and turn them into an even stronger advocate. We worked with the Family Heart Foundation on a campaign to increase awareness and education about familial hypercholesterolemia (FH) and elevated Lipoprotein(a), genetic cholesterol disorders that cause early heart disease. One part of the multi-pronged campaign included a video collaboration with a TikTok influencer (56Breathe_Strength; 56K followers), who has FH and lost her mom to heart disease. She distributed her video across Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and TikTok, and we shared it on the Foundation’s social platforms and through digital advertising. The influencer’s TikTok post alone drew 367.4K views and the ads generated a robust view rate of 20%. And, importantly, the influencer ended up becoming an ambassador for the Foundation.
We’ve also learned to respect the creative process of our content creators.
Getting Started
Getting a content creator program off the ground takes time and patience, especially during the identification and contracting phase. We set clear expectations and goals so that everyone involved – from clients to the content creators – understands what the partnership aims to achieve. And we have pre-approved detailed contracts and agreements in place that cover content ownership, expected posting timelines, review processes, payment terms, confidentiality and brand messaging dos and don’ts to prevent any misunderstandings.
We’ve also learned to respect the creative process of our content creators. Each creator has a unique style, and it’s important to allow them the freedom to create content that aligns with their brand while meeting regulatory and legal standards. Letting them have a say in the channels and formats used also leads to better results than when we dictate what we think would be best.
Your Partner in Content Creator Campaigns
Collaborating with content creators can be a powerful tactic to reach your marketing goals. By setting clear expectations and objectives, considering a comprehensive multi-channel approach and having the right metrics in place to measure results, together we can build strong and effective partnerships and drive meaningful results for your brand. Contact us if you want to be successful together in a content creator program.
Updated: February 2026
