Scientists are a curious bunch, with a built-in thirst for knowledge, making the life sciences industry a rich breeding ground for information. As individuals continuously seek to further their understanding of, often, highly niche areas, companies working in the sector have a great opportunity to deliver valuable and engaging content that will draw in potential customers. A sharp, customer-focused approach to content is a way to build brand engagement, trust and loyalty with your target market, helping to generate leads that will positively influence your bottom line.

 

What is content marketing?

Content marketing is all about creating interesting and relevant material to engage with your audience; something that can genuinely help them to understand a particular topic or debate – much like what we’ve set out to achieve with this blog. A great knock-on effect of this is that Google and other search engines will recognise your work, and reward you through an improvement in your rankings.

How does content marketing work?

It’s worth mentioning early here that there’s no one-and-done solution; it’s something that you need to work on consistently and update frequently. You may have heard of the ‘seven-point rule’ in marketing, where consumers are unlikely to purchase from a brand until they have experienced seven interactions or, in marketing speak, seven touchpoints. A well thought through content strategy can help you to reach this target, which can be achieved in several different ways, such as:

 

• Distributing a press release
• Posting on LinkedIn
• Displaying a testimonial at an exhibition
• Placing a by-lined article in a third-party publication
• Writing a CTA in a direct email
• Publishing a how-to video on your website
• Running a webinar
• You get the idea….

 

What are the benefits of content marketing in life sciences?

As long your content is technically accurate, fact checked and well-written, a solid content strategy for life sciences marketing is not actually that difficult! Establish one today, and the benefits will follow…

 

1. Increased brand awareness

If you publish good content regularly, your audience will usually come back in search of the latest updates, fresh applications and new methodologies, as well as your marketing intel. You will become a trusted source for information, ultimately boosting your brand awareness.

 

2. Increased organic search traffic

Search engines like relevant content just as much as your target market. With a good content strategy in place, you will edge your way up the search engine results page (SERP) for keywords and phrases that resonate with your audience. Don’t expect an overnight miracle though; you will need patience.

 

3. Increased leads

A multi-channel content approach really does work, especially in the life sciences. Get your content strategy up and running to maximise the chance of gaining more leads into the business, and you’ll eventually find:

 

• Increasing responses to your CTAs
• More potential customers that are willing to leave their contact details to access gated materials
• People are registering for – and actually turning up to – your webinars
• More interactions with your surveys on LinkedIn
• And, most importantly, customers advocating for your products and services; they actively want to be associated with your brand

 

4. Thought leadership and education

Providing educational materials or thought leadership pieces is perhaps the best way to gain trust and increase engagement. Generating this sort of content requires writers with a high degree of scientific knowledge and understanding – often PhD level – to provide value to your highly technical audience.

 

Content marketing ideas for healthcare and life sciences

There is a wealth of content available to connect with your audience across the life sciences and healthcare landscapes. These days, most of what we produce is consumed digitally and online; we would recommend developing the following kinds of pieces to best engage with your target audiences:

 

Traditional blog posts and articles

Your own website is the perfect starting place to share your perspectives and insights on industry challenges, trends and innovations. You can also showcase your valued team, and put them front and centre of your brand. Remember, people like doing business with people, so give your audience the chance to get to know your wider team.

Infographics and eBooks

Infographics and eBooks combine visuals and written word to tell a story. Many people prefer to consume content this way, as it can be quicker to read and easier to digest. These are great tools for how-to and best practice guides, as well as when you want to convey data and provide answers to questions.

 

Social media marketing

The power of social media as a marketing tool is only increasing. Post short snippets of info to entice, and grow, your followers and drive traffic to your website. Don’t be afraid to make your posts fun, interactive and informative – letting your brand’s voice be heard – and use various channels to promote events, signal scientific breakthroughs and celebrate company milestones. It’s a great place to provide a glimpse into the inner workings of your business, support charities and even recruit new people. Overall, social media should be social! Encourage interaction, invite debate and be responsive – all this is great content.

 

Explainer videos

With more of a narrative approach, explainer videos are a great way to engage with the scientific community and showcase your team at the same time. Keep them short, informative and on topic – don’t over complicate your objective – and, ideally, include a CTA to encourage further brand engagement. YouTube is one of most widely used search engines, so don’t neglect this platform! Create your own YouTube channel to post your video content, and ensure it is accessible on your socials and website.

 

The importance of partnering with a content marketing expert 

All this is great, I hear you think, but who has time for this? Many of our clients have the expertise and experience to develop high value content, but it’s rarely at the top of their to-do list. This often leads to their campaigns being postponed and their budgets diverted, meaning all of these good content ideas get shelved.

 

This is where a specialist scientific marketing agency can really help. Expert marketing intel combined with the scientific know-how can help you to create engaging and technically precise content for life science audiences. Here at kdm, we work closely with our clients from the start of their campaigns, helping them to build their value proposition, identify their target audiences and develop on-point brand messaging. Importantly, we also help them define what topics are going to best resonate with their target audiences. What will drive the most engagement? What are the burning questions in their fields?

 

With our large team of technical writers, designers and videographers, we can help you to develop content for your campaign – from white papers and webinars and videos and testimonials – and share it across multiple channels to maximise reach and engagement. We can also recommend third parties to work with when you want to extend your reach. But remember, content marketing isn’t a one-off effort; marketing in the life sciences requires a sustained, consistent approach to respond to changes and new directions in the market.

 

Get in touch if you’d like to chat through your ideas or latest campaign, and let us help you to generate powerful content that resonates with your target audience, builds engagement and breeds trust in your brand.