Content Marketing for the Life Sciences

Managing content like a product for long term success

Does this make sense?

You wouldn’t redesign a product from scratch for each new release. So why do we do that with our marketing campaigns?

Wouldn’t it make more sense to have a long term plan for developing an audience of potential customers just as we do for developing products?

What would that plan look like?

It would start with a process

• Process like those for products

• Makes Marcom a leader

• For example• Lays out what the competition are doing• Gathers info on target customers.

It would start with defining who you wanted to influence and a specific outcome you wanted to achieve with your marketing.

You’d gather requirements. What features (marketing assets) would help your target customers be more successful?

?

You’d create a product (a collection of assets) to help customers do their job better. It would educate them. And spark new ideas.

You would continually add functionality (new assets) to your collection to keep it up-to-date and make it even more useful -just as you would with a product.

Examples of content marketingHave you: • Downloaded a guide to choosing a digital camera? • Read a finance blog? • Seen The Lego Movie?

These are all examples of content in action. Businesses use content to interest, educate, and inspire a targeted audience with the intent of driving them toward a purchase.

Content marketing doesn’t rely on stirring up excitement around every new launch. (It doesn’t prohibit it either.)

Instead, the intent of including content marketing in your mix is to grow an audience that would benefit from buying your products by providing content that is useful to them and helps them do their job.

Imagine delivering content so valuable to your prospects that you would pay to advertise alongside it. Except now you don’t have to. Because you own the channel.

Because what your customers really want is to see themselves with fewer problems and more successes.

What kind of content?

• Industry trends

• Technology comparisons

• Workplace tips

• Application information

• Instructional videos

• Thought leader interviews

• Customer reviews

Multiple topics Multiple formats

Sending emails with links to brochures or application notes is not content marketing. At least, it’s not likely to be successful content marketing.

Content is successful when:

• Helpful for your prospect

• Delivered (or available) at the right time

• There is a plan to achieve specific outcomes such as leads or sales

• Content moves customers towards those outcomes with specific calls to action

It is wanted It is helpful

Why content marketing makes sense

Make your company a trusted resource

By solving problems or answering questions for prospects when they are looking for help, your company becomes a trusted resource for people who could benefit from your products.

It’s more efficient

Your promotions will be more effective when you have audience that looks forward to hearing what you have to say.

It provides market intelligence

Data on content performance and prospect interests provide intelligence in addition to leads, helping you better understand your customers’ needs and identify qualified buyers.

(Image shared by Creative Commons 2.0)

You’ll reach customers earlier in the cycle

With access to huge amounts of information and data, customers are more than half way through the buying cycle before contacting a supplier.

Content marketing lets you reach them earlier in the cycle (and ideally persuade them to identify themselves).

Who do you want to educate them? You or your competitors?

Did I mention it’s more efficient?

A well thought out plan will show you how to repurpose content so you can maximize the return on everything you create.

3 things you need to get started

A clear goal

What do you want to happen as a result of your marketing?

1

Setting a clear goal will keep you from wasting time. It ensures that everything you do is directed toward achieving a specific outcome.

Specific

Measurable

Attainable

Relevant

Timely

Make it SMART:

For example:

Increase traffic to our site from social media by 30% over the next 6 months.

Increase qualified leads from Europe by 5% this year.

A publisher mindset

As a content marketer you will still produce individual content assets to sell your products (application notes, brochures, video), but in a different context.

2

You’ll be publishing a stream of media (articles, videos, podcasts etc.) so valuable to your prospects you would pay to advertise alongside it.

A customer persona

In order to create the right content, you need to know who you are creating it for.

The first step is to create a detailed customer persona. This will save you from wasting your time and money developing content that your customers don’t care about and doesn’t help you reach your goals.

3

Even if you don’t go “all in” with content marketing, developing a customer persona will help you create marketing assets that are more relevant and engaging for your prospects.

Ready to get started?

You’ll:

• Learn how a persona differs from a segment.

• Do a fun exercise to describe your target persona

• Meet “Molecular Meg” – a detailed example

• Find out how to use your persona(s) effectively

Download the Life Science Marketing Persona Guide.

If you want more help, email me and tell me what you’d like to accomplish with content marketing.

Create a manageable content marketing plan to get more leads with less effort

Still here?

OK. Check out these inspiring examples.

Air New Zealand safety videos = marketing content 2.3 million views. Click to play.

Volvo understands that showing is better than telling75 million views. Click image to play.

It’s time to go home now. Call me.

+1.925.322.1451