INBOUND ACCELERATOR

According to a survey by Zazzle Media, marketers are finally becoming almost completely comfortable with content marketing and all that it entails.

Nearly 9 in 10 surveyed in 2019 say they feel their content marketing strategy is linked to all other parts of their business, compared to fewer than half of respondents just a year ago. The proportion of marketers who say they know the best practices for implementing content marketing has also jumped in the last year.

Every industry has individual nuances in marketing tactics, techniques and needs. And while nearly every B2B market is also filled with industry-specific knowledge and vocabulary that marketers must understand in order to create credible content, when it comes to businesses in the life sciences sphere, the need for expertise and immersion in the field is even greater.

Life sciences, as a field, encompasses a wide range of businesses, most of which support the infrastructure that enables the healthcare system, from medical device manufacturers, to pharmaceutical companies, DNA research, and the contract research organizations that take on drug discovery, pre-clinical and clinical trial research for pharmaceutical and biotech companies.

One of the most compelling tactics marketers can use when creating content is to provide audiences with useful information they can’t find anywhere else. That information is typically in the form of research — either from surveys, owned data, or by analyzing data from other sources.

Healthcare marketing has traditionally been dominated by two approaches: awareness campaigns on billboards, print media and broadcast; and general educational material, first as magazines, and now in electronic newsletters, blogs and websites. All of it is focused on a broad audience.

Between the growth of hands-free use of mobile devices and the explosion home “digital assistants” like the Amazon Echo, voice searches are rapidly becoming the norm rather than the exception.

But these types of searches require web pros and marketers to take a new approach to optimizing their pages, though some of the tips included in this infographic from Headway Capital apply equally to all types of search, including search engines’ preference for pages with fast loading time and searchers’ preference for results that provide easy-to-read information.

While marketing as a science and art may rely on a few universal rules and standard tactics, each industry presents nuanced needs and challenges. B2B marketing, particularly in the enterprise software industry, is a unique environment where gimmicks just don’t work.

How do I know? I’ve been deeply involved in the software and technology industries most of my career as a corporate communications team member, an agency representative and as an agency owner. I’ve learned a lot about enterprise software and how to effectively market it (or to market a technology company by positioning it for acquisition) along the way.

For most businesses — especially B2B brands — it is no longer enough for marketing content to sell. Marketing content needs to solve problems for customers.

Successfully placing contributed articles — also called bylined articles or thought leadership — in industry publications isn’t always an easy task. It requires developing article ideas or abstracts that publishers find attractive, pitching to the right publications, and finally, crafting a high-quality piece that meets publication guidelines and earns you a reputation for submitting great work.

Nearly everything you write as a marketer, and most public relations content as well, is intended to inspire the reader to do SOMETHING. Maybe that something is just to visit your website, maybe it is to sign up for a newsletter or download a webinar. Or maybe you want them to click “Buy Now” on your latest product.

Regardless of which action you want the reader to take, the rules for writing copy that converts remain largely the same.

Social media is no longer an optional piece of any small business marketing strategy. It must be there, in some form. But for small businesses with limits on both how much money and how much time is available to commit to social media, the options can seem overwhelming.

Should you focus on creating ads for Facebook and paying a per-click fee for the opportunity to get your business in front of more eyes, or spend more time on creating organic content (posts, links, videos, etc.) to increase engagement with the followers you already have?