Marketing strategies for life sciences brands have long prioritized physicians—but they’re not the only ones shaping treatment journeys. Nurse practitioners (NPs) and physician associates (PAs) are more than support staff, and their numbers are only growing.
Between 2024 and 2034, the number of NPs and PAs is projected to grow by 66 percent and 37 percent, respectively. This growth makes NP and PA marketing strategies critical to reaching a broader and more influential healthcare audience. Yet despite their growing numbers in the medical community, they’re often an afterthought in digital marketing campaigns.
Now, it’s time to broaden the lens. Reaching NPs and PAs isn’t just a matter of expanding your audience—it’s about showing up for the people who are central to the patient experience.
NPs and PAs spend significant time with patients, often more than physicians do. They’re answering questions about symptoms, managing ongoing care, and explaining treatment options in ways patients can understand.
In many specialties, they’re the first to spot changes in condition or assess treatment adherence. And while they have historically operated under physician oversight for prescribing decisions, that relationship is shifting. New state laws are increasingly granting NPs and PAs greater autonomy, allowing them to make prescribing decisions independently. This evolution makes their role in treatment even more central.
This means that to create effective NP and PA marketing strategies, your content can’t just inform this audience; it has to equip them. That might include patient-friendly explanations, decision-support tools, or resources that help these providers guide tough conversations about affordability, adherence, or disease progression.
If your strategy only centers on MDs, you’re missing critical voices at the table and the opportunity to build even stronger brand connections.
Engaging NPs and PAs effectively starts with understanding their workflow. Like physicians, they’re busy, mobile, and constantly filtering information to find what’s most useful in the moment. However, on the flip side, they’re often more focused on patient education, care coordination, and navigating practical barriers to treatment.
That means content that supports, not just sells, is key. Educational resources, patient conversation guides, and quick-reference tools tailored to their role are incredibly valuable as they navigate challenges during their shift. And peer perspectives matter here, too: NPs and PAs value insights from colleagues who share their clinical lens.
Equally important is where and how you show up. Skip the disruptive tactics and focus on channels they already trust, like professional peer communities or social media platforms that prioritize quick content consumption (think X, for example). When your message aligns with their workflow and feels genuinely helpful, engagement becomes a strong relationship built on quick support.
As the roles of NPs and PAs continue to expand, so does their influence in treatment decisions and patient relationships. Ignoring them in your marketing strategy will lead to a strategic misalignment with the realities of modern care delivery.
Brands that recognize the full spectrum of HCP voices through targeted NP and PA marketing strategies will be better positioned to build lasting in-clinic connections.
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