Are you a marketer or a life science company looking to boost your digital marketing game? With so much variety in the world of digital media, it can be hard to know where to start. One of the easiest and most affordable ways to get your name out there and engage with potential customers, colleagues and competitors is through social media!

Why social media?

Some companies market themselves on social media through memes or try to go viral, which may not be the best avenue to take to promote your life science or biopharmaceutical company. Nevertheless, social media can still be an incredibly important tool for your business. For example, social media can allow you to identify and engage with key audiences, create brand awareness, establish yourself as a thought leader in your field and even increase traffic to your website.

While social posts can help spread the word about your company and inform your followers about new promotions or events, it can also be an incredibly useful tool to personalize your marketing efforts and connect with your audience. Social platforms allow you to directly interact with your customers through comments or messages and showcase your brand’s unique personality. This kind of personalized, two-way communication can help your customer recognize and trust your brand, while keeping them coming back for more.

How should you use social media

Social media marketing may seem daunting at first, but it doesn’t have to be! Read on for some helpful tips and tricks to help you get started.

• Post consistently and frequently: With the fast-paced nature of social media, content can become obsolete very quickly. It’s important to find the right balance between posting enough so you reach and engage your target audience, while not spamming your followers. Additionally, ensure that the style of images and voice you use are consistent to make it easy for people to recognize your brand.
• Establish a posting plan: Programs like HeyOrca or Hootsuite can make posting consistently a much less overwhelming task, as both allow you to schedule posts weeks or even months in advance. These programs also suggest optimal posting times, which takes the guesswork out of when to post.
• Vary your content: One way to keep your audience engaged on social media is to publish educational posts in addition to promotional content. If you don’t have the time to comb through journal articles and news reports, or publish your researchers’ original findings, programs like Curata can automate this process and easily find relevant content for your page. In addition to varying types of posts, take the time to add original images and short videos, as posts with visuals tend to receive more engagement than those without. Shutterstock, iStock, Getty Images and Pexels are good places to start browsing for this type of content.
• Have profiles on different platforms: Key platforms where life science and biopharmaceutical companies can find their audiences are LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook. You may notice more engagement from your audience on certain platforms, and so you may choose to focus your efforts there. Companies targeting a younger audience may especially benefit from platforms like Instagram and TikTok, and companies with an established video production team should consider YouTube or Vimeo.
• Promote your social media on other channels: Make sure you have social media icons on your website as well as in your e-blasts and newsletters to make it easier for customers to find you online.

• Use hashtags in your posts: Hashtags like #NeuroTwitter or #CardioTwitter can increase your visibility among academics and industry professionals online, driving more followers and leads. Before posting, do some research about which hashtags might work best for your content, including which ones your competitors are using. Typically, a combination of both broad, popular hashtags and those that are more niche or specific to your content will help you get the right audience to engage with your post. Additionally, consider establishing a hashtag slogan for your own company to facilitate brand recognition.

If you’re still struggling to establish your company on social media or are finding it difficult to grow your audience, Scientist.com Marketing Services can help! Contact us below to learn more about our Social Media Management offerings.