Within the life sciences, scientific writing is key to informing industry professionals of your product, and ultimately guiding your audience to a sale. However, B2B life science companies often find strategic marketing weaknesses in an area where it should be strong — scientific content.
Is your scientific content falling short? Here’s what you should and shouldn’t do to ensure your scientific content helps you achieve your marketing goals.
Do: Use A Scientific Writer for Scientific Content
Your company employs talented researchers who perform cutting-edge development techniques. However, scientists are often untrained in effective science communication strategies. Health science marketing companies, like SCORR, specifically hire scientific writers to bridge the gap between scientific professionals and your target audience. A scientific writer may have a Ph.D., industry experience, a journalism background, or a natural curiosity for scientific topics. With a combination of scientific knowledge and writing chops, the writer can communicate your message to the chosen audience.
Don’t: Assume Scientists Can Write Scientific Marketing Content
Scientists are trained to write peer-reviewed articles with a formal and impersonal tone, focusing on methods and data analysis. They are often unfamiliar with writing blog articles, or other marketing content, which has a more engaging, personal voice. Unfortunately, sometimes scientists will write a perfect recap of a peer-reviewed article, but when translated to a blog or other long-form piece of content, it becomes less effective as marketing content. While the scientists are well-intentioned, this summary execution is a common trap for life science industry clients.
High-quality scientific content highlights what differentiates your company — whether unique talent, technology, or other feature. It should include anecdotes, approaches, or reasoning beyond the text of the paper. This is the lens a professional science writer brings to your copy — ensuring that there is a narrative for a reader to follow that demonstrates your value proposition, instead of a simple retelling of the same research story.
Do: Write High-Quality White Papers as Part of Your Strategic Marketing
Speaking of research, white papers are a fantastic strategic marketing tool. White papers can serve as a strong foundational piece of content. They are the single place where your scientific and professional acumen can be displayed with a large amount of nuance, without being a research publication.
A well-written scientific white paper can attract potential new customers or researchers if it answers a question they have or solves a problem for them in their capacity as a scientist or researcher. The primary purpose of a white paper is to build trust with your audience. If you can demonstrate expertise and provide value through a white paper, researchers and customers are likely to remember both when they need your services. Some of our clients’ best lead generation begins with a form-fill download of a white paper. When used correctly, the white paper is a powerful tool in your marketing plan.
Don’t: Write Promotional White Papers for Strategic Marketing
While white papers can be a powerful attraction to your company, they also risk becoming a major deterrent. A white paper can fuel strategic marketing, the text of the paper should not be promotional. The point is important enough to repeat — white papers are not promotional content. The industry expects white papers to provide descriptions of problems, methods, and/or solutions that your experts can provide.
“In this white paper, we will demonstrate that our company has the best liquid chromatograph-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) service,” is an example of how not to introduce your main points. A more appropriate statement would be, “When sampling serum for pharmacokinetics, using X approach will increase the sensitivity of LC-MS. As experts in DMPK, we have tried…” In the body of the paper, describe what clients should look for in their LC-MS service providers.
Your white paper can and should focus on your capabilities, especially if they are unique in some way. You can tilt the focus toward the services or products that you want to highlight, while displaying your knowledge of them.
By adopting this simple list of do’s and don’ts for scientific writing, you can upgrade your scientific, strategic content development and improve your marketing. Still need help creating strategic content that engages your audience? Contact SCORR today to see how our scientific writers can help you achieve your marketing goals.
About the Author
Haley Steinhardt