What is KOL Mapping in Healthcare?

Professionals share industry-specific knowledgeable expertise on social media platforms. They have the power to affect the work ethics of their followers. Corporations want to know about their industries’ key opinion leaders (KOLs). KOLs in the healthcare industry often have medical credentials or clinical expertise, and this post will explain what is involved in mapping key opinion leaders in the healthcare industry.

What is KOL Mapping in Healthcare?

KOL mapping systematically tracks, identifies and analyzes key opinion leaders to publicize highly trusted content. Companies utilize data analytics solutions

• to gather and verify an individual’s academic and professional contributions. Therefore, businesses can quantify key opinion leaders’ authority levels through modern identification activities.

Some KOLs become prominent social media influencers, while others maintain a remarkable presence through public speeches and collaborative projects. Besides, experienced and newly recruited individuals often find published written works authored by these thought leaders.

Clinical researchers and doctors who shape new trends via international conferences are some examples of key opinion leaders that you can identify using healthcare industry analytics. Also, some healthcare professionals might have set new records for successfully treating patients suffering from rare diseases.

Types of KOL Mapping

Manual methods would work when the internet and social media platforms were in their initial stages. However, you will find thousands of new platforms emerging worldwide. Therefore, automated data analytics solutions are mandatory for the identification of key opinion leaders in the healthcare sector.

So, manual KOL mapping has become irrelevant due to modern qualitative analysis tools. You can still categorize the healthcare KOL mapping methods based on offline media and online components in social media listening.

1| Traditional KOL Mapping

Publishing an authoritative healthcare research paper is not a one-time process. After all, the authors must respond to peer review criticism and suggestions. They must recognize and respond to the feedback of other scientists, social workers, policymakers, and other research papers.

Therefore, reputable healthcare research publications have been indispensable to conventional techniques for key opinion leaders’ identification. The popularity of authored books among academic scholars, research scientists, and practicing professionals is another aspect of traditional KOL mapping.

Finally, public events featuring highly respected speakers are essential to finding key opinion leaders in the healthcare industry. However, international conferences successfully gather professionals from all different parts of the world. When you speak at these events, your speech can have very material outcomes. After all, top management and advisory board members also attend these events.

2| Digital KOL Mapping

Digital opinion leaders (DOLs) use the features offered by social media platforms to reach a wider audience. You can find them on Twitter, sharing the latest news in the industry. Otherwise, they may create educational resources on YouTube. Likewise, DOLs use engaging technologies to expand their reach and moderate professional communities.

Key opinion leaders in the age of social media and discussion forums also benefit from digital self-publishing platforms, e.g., Amazon, and Draft2Digital. Medical students and research scholars also enjoy thought-provoking podcasts or audiobooks created by key opinion leaders in the healthcare industry.

Meanwhile, expert clinicians offer online courses through the e-learning software ecosystem to bridge the gap between academia and industry practices. Several e-learning platforms leverage cloud computing to support all devices, making education more accessible. Moreover, educational influencers use data analytics solutions to learn the requirements of students and professionals.

Conclusion

Identification technologies assess traditional and digital authority metrics to assist healthcare businesses in mapping the key opinion leaders. Hospitals, medical magazines, research institutions, and government authorities understand the importance of KOLs in shaping industry trends.

Key opinion leaders create and share authoritative educational resources to bridge the gap between academic theory courses and on-the-ground professional skill requirements. They might contribute to internationally recognized research publications or use self-publishing services to release non-fiction books.

SG Analytics is a leading global insight and data analytics research company facilitating tailor-made data-centric solutions to enterprises across the globe.