Research has shown that the general population doesn’t trust advertising [1,2] and overt marketing communications, yet our lives are filled with an endless clamour of voices vying for our attention in order to influence our buying decisions. The life science researcher is an even more sceptical audience and has an equally challenging selling cycle.
Every new technological advance dramatically changes the realm of public relations and marketing communications, with “new approaches” such as social media, mobile, local SEO (search engine optimization), and content and inbound marketing expanding the “must do list” for the marketing communications professional almost daily.
The rise of public discussion forums, blogs and social media platforms like Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter have given the public back the power to shout as loud as large corporations, and one has to look no further than the “United breaks guitars” PR disaster to see the effect that one man, a guitar and a social media profile can have.
However, these same networks (along with targeted platforms such as Scientist Solutions and Biocompare) also provide a way for companies to target those groups that appear to be a relevant audience. But what is interesting is that even in targeted groups, the majority of the discussions are about the research scientists are undertaking and the methods they are using to generate results, rather than the tools they use to achieve it. When people do talk about products, they are likely to be by those that the Net Promoter System would consider a promoter or a detractor – not the merely ‘satisfied’ customer.
Even then, in the grand scheme of things only a tiny percentage of social media posts rave about new products or great service, especially in the B2B arena.
So how can you get your message heard with all this social noise?
Click here to learn more about how public relations has evolved into social relations.
