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Life science content marketing tips (for a non-scientific marketer)

12 August 2016| by Craig Townsend

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As a marketer in the life science industry, you work at the crossroads between scientific discovery and the exciting world of marketing. And while it’s important to be creative, analytical and everything else that makes a good marketer, those traits alone will may fall short of the unique marketing needs of a life science company.

If you’ve ever felt overwhelmed and under-equipped to market for a company that’s more technical than your own marketing background, don’t worry – you’re not alone, and we have your back. And when it comes down to it, you’re in an ideal position to draw on the combined efforts of both marketing and technical teams to create awesome content.

Here are a few pointers for implementing a great life science content marketing strategy, regardless of your previous scientific know-how:

Strengthen your marketing efforts with cold, hard data.

Every time you propose a new campaign or strategy, back it up with data, stats and a strong logical argument. Your scientific colleagues are bound to be analytical people, and will respect and buy into this approach. In a similar vein, don’t hesitate to ask for their input and guidance – the breadth of expertise in a life science company is often its greatest asset.

If you can prove your ideas will work with benchmarks and previous data, it’ll be easier to get other people on board. And if you have no benchmark data, why not propose it as a marketing experiment? Once you get backing from your colleagues, you can focus your time and energy on doing what you do best – crafting and executing amazing campaigns.

Make the most of your internal team.

As you’re surrounded by such a breadth of knowledge on a daily basis, try to be something of a knowledge sponge and learn from your technical team’s years of expertise. And when you need to produce technical content, why not bring them in to help create it? Then you can apply your marketer’s eye to ensure the story is strong, clear, engaging and effectively speaks to the goals, challenges, needs and frustrations of your buyer personas. This is a fundamental part of any successful life science content marketing strategy: technical people have a wealth of knowledge about the features of their technologies, and with your marketing perspective, you can help to communicate the applications and benefits to users. Consider yourself something of an interpreter for your readers, from tech-speak to practical application.

Put your unique spin on it (there’s a reason they hired you).

Last but not least, try to add some character to your marketing content. Working in such an exciting industry, there’s bound to be plenty of room for the odd light-hearted and satirical piece of content now and then (if your company’s tone and style allow for it). It’ll also do wonders to humanise your brand – something many B2B life science companies tend to neglect.

When it comes right down to it, the most effective life science marketing strategies combine technical credibility with creative flair and marketing know-how. If you need some assistance approaching content creation for life sciences, download our guide below.

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