Yes, I have a very large social media soap box, which I climb upon often to preach. One of the reasons I’m so passionate about talking about it is that it has many benefits that we reap daily. Also, unless you participate in it, it is difficult to understand why it is so powerful. Blogging is one activity that has clear benefits for a business, and we’ve outlined some of the most important ones below.

Opportunity. Comprendia realized this benefit almost immediately after setting up our blog in June 2008. I was invited to blog for the Biotechnology Industry Organization (BIO) at the meeting soon afterward, and was also asked in 2009. From these great opportunities for exposure, to regularly receiving complimentary conference admittance, to having a good reason to talk to everyone from prospective clients to famous scientists, we’ve reaped many rewards from our blog.

Website SEO (Search Engine Optimization). I recently talked to someone at a biotech company who was puzzled by the fact that content on their blog was ranked higher in web searches than their website pages. Why does this happen? Search engines love blogs and tend towards ranking their posts higher than other content. Now, while getting traffic to your website is only part of the equation, continually creating fresh content for your blog and monitoring what posts gain the most traffic help you to understand your customers better.

Education. What’s new in your field, and what are your customers (and competitors) up to? Blogging is a great way to pull your head out of the daily grind and think about these topics, which are obviously very important for your business. We learn a lot not only in researching for our posts, but also in the feedback we receive after we post, and in participating in the blogging community for our field.

Enjoyment. I’ll admit it, I’m addicted to blogging. It allows me to express myself, begin interesting discussions, and learn what is important to others. The scientist in me likes the possibility of analyzing the information, the marketer in me likes finding the ‘perfect’ image for each post. Am I part of a strange new ‘blogging breed?’ No, if you’ve been following this blog, you know that I’m a strong believer that we’ve been moving towards social media naturally for many years. Some have postulated that traits that make people good bloggers are nothing new.

In summary? Try it, you’ll not only like it, but you and your business will benefit from it. You may even be able to add a few items to this list. Also, software such as WordPress makes it easier than ever, check out our guide to get started.

To share this post easily, cut and paste: Why You Should Be Blogging http://bit.ly/9vxSN3

We’re really big WordPress fans here. It’s free, it’s powerful, and it’s popular, meaning that it is constantly improving. Like any free software, however, it doesn’t come with any formal support or guarantees, so keep that in mind when considering things like security and backups. We recommend using the fully featured version of WordPress that is self-hosted, because there is much more control and flexibility, but you can also set up a blog at wordpress.com if you don’t have the capabilities (note that you won’t be able to add all of the plugins below). We covered the basics of WordPress in an earlier post, and provided some resources to learn.

Below is our list of plugins that we automatically install or activate for our own blogs or our clients. They are all available in the full installation, and the newest versions (2.8+) allow you to search for and add them easily via the ‘Plugins->Add New’ feature on the left menu of the Admin panel. Check them out and contact us if you need more help:

1. Google XML Sitemaps. An important part of your blog is to make sure it has good search engine optimization (SEO). Google appreciates ‘help’ from you in knowing when there is new content on your blog, and this plugin will generate a sitemap and send it to Google periodically. This will help your SEO, so we highly recommend installing and configuring it.
2. All in One SEO Pack. This pack makes sure that your blog content is optimized for SEO. It needs to be configured, as well, and is by no means automatic, read the documentation and do as you are directed to improve your SEO–this may mean adding content to each blog post, but it’s worth it.
3. Redirection. This plugin is handy if you want to make ‘friendly’ or memorable URLs for blog posts that you’d like to promote. For example, for our monthly events with the San Diego Biotechnology Network, we make the URL ‘http://sdbn.org/december’ for the December event, etc. This makes it not only easy for our members, but for me in promoting it on Twitter, etc. If you foresee needing this capability, add this plugin.
4. Akismet. This plugin comes installed as default, and it helps enormously to weed out spam. However, there’s a confusing ‘activation’ that you need to do for this plugin. You need to get an account on wordpress.com to get a key to activate it. If you have a self-hosted blog, you’ll likely not need this account for other purposes, so it’s a bit confusing, but activation of the plugin is worth it, as otherwise your email will soon be flooded with either obscene or vague, flattering comments meant only to promote the person who posted it.
5. WP-DB-Backup. It is very important that you make frequent backups of your blog, and this plugin will do that for you. A few caveats–make sure that you set it up and that the backups are stored outside of your ISP. Also, take the time to do an extra check. Make sure that you know how to restore your blog from these backups, and document a procedure for doing so. If your blog is hacked, or goes down, the last thing you want is to have to figure out how to restore it while you’re stressed out that it’s down. It’s also possible that this backup plugin is not best for your system–if not, check around for others.
6. TweetMeme Button. In order to get your blog more exposure, you want to make it as easy as possible for people to share your content. The TweetMeme button allows people on Twitter to share your posts using the button on the top left of every post (including this one). More sharing means more readers, which is always good, and as we covered in a previous post, making things as easy as possible helps as well.
7. Sociable. Along this same vein, the Sociable plugin allows people to bookmark or share your content in a variety of ways. Configure it with the services you think your readers use, and the options will appear at the bottom of each post (including this one). There are even options for creating PDFs and printer-friendly versions of your blog posts, which can help your posts to have more ‘spreadability.’
8. WordPress Related Posts. You want your readers to stay on your blog and read as much of your content as possible, right? Showing them related posts helps you with this. It’s pretty self-explanatory, check below for an example.
9. Twitter for WordPress. WordPress sites are by default dynamic, changing often, and this is essential for your website to be more ‘web 2.0′ and compete with other sites. A great way to show your readers that you’re active is to display your Twitter feed in your sidebar, as we do here.

That’s our list of essential plugins, and of course we use others depending on the situation, and we encourage you to browse the WordPress Plugins page for more ideas–they show popular plugins, which can help. Also, look at other blogs and pay attention to what ‘attracts’ you as a reader–chances are those features are a good bet on your blog as well.

Which plugins have you found to be ‘essential’? We’d love to hear, leave them below! The great thing about WordPress is sharing ideas and having all benefit from the collective knowledge.

To share this post easily use the URL http://bit.ly/7ZflEb

Throughout my career I’ve had the need to either generate or find images to communicate science, and I actually enjoy it quite a bit. I thought it might be useful to others to provide a summary of resources. Finding and creating expressive images often inspires my blog writing, and it may help you as well. Besides helping you to illustrate your point, images get your posts recognized more easily on Facebook and other third party applications, and some blog themes work best if each post has an image.

Image Sources. Surprisingly, there are several good sources for very affordable (as little as $1), high quality images, see the table below for a listing. The easiest images to use are those which are royalty free which means you just pay one price for the image and can use it indefinitely in accordance with the guidelines provided on the site. Another option is to download images from sites such as Flickr which offer users a Creative Commons (CC) license. This license allows you to use the image for free as long as you credit the account that it came from–here is a nice example using and crediting Flickr images under the CC license. Use the advanced search on Flickr to limit your results to images with CC, and don’t use images that are marked ‘© All Rights Reserved’ as it’s illegal and bad karma.

Modifying Images. You may notice that some of the images I use for blog posts are specific to the subject, and this is done by adding text or other modifications. I’ve been using a free program called Gimp for about 10 years, and even though we have licenses and use Adobe products, I still rely on Gimp daily. It is similar to Adobe Photoshop, allowing you to create and manipulate different layers individually, a very powerful way to make custom images. It does have a steep learning curve, but it’s free and in my opinion the time spent learning it is worth it, especially if you’re on a budget. There are myriad tutorials online, just do a Google search. You should also learn about the different file types to understand how to work with them. Note: you need to save image files in the native format for the program to be able to keep the layers and change later–for Gimp this is the .xcf file.

What types of images should you use? That’s up to you, but it’s a good idea to stay consistent to reinforce the brand of your blog. On the Comprendia blog, we use simple images which have a level of abstractness–a single item or person. If possible, try to be consistent in where you place the images in posts to reinforce branding as well. We’ve summarized the list of resources below, and feel free to give us more ideas and we’ll add them.

Thanks to Holly Barnes of Eton Biosciences for sending me some of the resources for this post.

To share this post easily use the URL http://bit.ly/4wZLmA

If you’ve been paying attention, you may have noticed that I’ve gotten quite a lot of ‘mileage’ out of social media and blogging. I’ve gotten loads of complimentary passes to conferences, pieces published in notable blogs, and even an H1N1 vaccination last week (long story, and thanks to the Mission Valley Medical Clinic).

I was talking to my sister about how bartering is ‘back in vogue’ now that companies have fewer financial resources, and she pointed out this is how some commerce was done in the early days in America–pay your doctor with a dozen eggs. This is a great way to do business in the new ‘outsourced’ economy, but you should remember that maintaining a good reputation is more important than ever, and that bartering should be done carefully so as not to abuse your relationships.

How do you leverage your skills to garner resources from others? For me, the blogging angle has worked well, mostly because I have some credibility and a large network, I like to write, and there is a real need for good content. In short, the key is to find someone that values and needs your skills and knows you, knows of you, or knows how to find out about you. Social media to the rescue…a strong online presence and network certainly helps! Also, nothing gives you a ‘channel’ and platform for your efforts more than starting a blog, check out our post on WordPress for more information.

The new ‘barter economy‘ is part of a larger trend in which companies collaborate more, covered well in the book What Would Google Do. Google, in building their business, realized that companies that collaborate get more done with less. You might even decide that giving away some of your services for free might benefit you in the long run, a theory that the book Free describes (and you can get Free for free here). The idea is that by providing your services free, and getting your work ‘out there,’ you’ll benefit so much from the exposure (and perhaps karma/future business from the receiving company) that it will be worth the initial expense.

Although bartering is a great way to get the things you need on a tight budget, you should remember that you must be willing to deliver the goods, service, or karma and make sure that your bartering partner is happy with the results. Always keep in contact with, and even reach out to, those you want to partner with. Not delivering on bartered goods or services can be just as bad as failing to provide paid for items, even if there is no contractual obligation. Having a reputation of ‘never giving, always receiving’ can be a black mark that you will not soon be able to erase, especially in today’s uber connected business world.

Take home message? Be creative and realize you may be able to get things you need from others by proposing that you barter. Take advantage of the new ways to connect and communicate and realize that they mean that your reputation is more important than ever.

To share this post easily use the URL http://bit.ly/513eQN

I see enormous potential for life science companies to use social media to engage their customers and grow their business. Sometimes when I talk about it, however, the concepts can come across as being somewhat foreign. Some people wonder how tools like Twitter can help them to grow their business, and are perplexed by the jargon and ‘special world’ that social media marketers seem to live in.

However, social media can be seen as an extension of tools life science companies have been using for years, such as newsletters, posters, and guides. Realizing that social media is really a natural progression of these resources helps to better understand how to create new tools and how to fit them in with your traditional marketing strategies and tactics.

Social media is about stepping beyond your product line and offering customers with resources that apply more generally to their daily ‘pains’ or interests, and allowing them to interact with you and other customers in the process. These resources could be blogs, forums, or groups set up with customers in mind, you can see examples on our compilation of life science companies using social media. While many of these companies are just getting started, check out the Promega or the 23andMe blog for good examples.

While these new tools are more interactive, taking advantage of ‘web 2.0′ principles, many of the ideas are similar to educational materials life science companies have been putting out for years. Calbiochem, now EMD Chemicals, has long provided signal transduction pathway diagrams and reviews to help researchers understand complex phenomena such as apoptosis and angiogenesis, and was also famous for its detergent guide (a favorite of mine). Invitrogen/Life Technologies (past & present!) have distributed several different newsletters over the years, one dating back to 1978!

What’s the take home message? Sell social media to your management as an extension of your existing tools with the added benefit that web 2.0 tools will help you broaden your customer base while collecting more metrics, often in real time.

How do you get started? Use existing content and themes to bootstrap a social media program. If you’ve stopped putting this useful material on the web because you’re putting it in newsletters or fancy flash animations, put it back into your web content as it will help customers who are seeking the information you’re providing to find you (and improve search engine optimization or SEO). Social media is a tool to help you engage your customers more, but realize that it is a natural extension of what you’re already doing. Employ those closest to the customer, such as customer service and sales, to help you devise a plan. Integrate social media with your existing marketing plans–you might even say that you should marry the two…

Yes, there will be some adjustments you’ll need to make when thinking about using new media. You’ll need to think about policies and strategies to chart a course for success. Need help? Comprendia is the only company with extensive social media experience specific to life science, let us help you develop a social media charter so you can hit the ground running with the tools you already have in hand.

To share this post easily, use the URL http://bit.ly/v0yN6

A common theme, and something that is very satisfying with our work, is that through our actions we show biotech and life science companies how they can use tools such as social media to grow as we have. About six months ago at a San Diego Biotechnology Network event, we gave out CDs with a few of our Biotechnology Marketing 101 presentations. Cynthia Davenport, Ph.D., Founder of TigerTox Pharmaceutical Toxicology Services, received one, and actually looked at them and gave us a call (very cool when things work as intended!).

After meeting with Cynthia, we decided that the best way to get started was with a BioStartup™ Marketing Kit, providing her with a logo, branding, and website in one package. We started by gathering TigerTox’s needs through our online Creative Briefs, a process we utilize to assess high-level objectives, tactical details, and to tease out aspects important for positioning companies and products. The Creative Brief process is a mainstay of traditional marketing, and we have made it more accessible to our clients through our online forms and have also tailored them for new tools such as social media.

We received Cynthia’s Creative Briefs and started with her logo. The process went quickly because she knew what she liked (and didn’t!) and we refined the logo in a few rounds. Communication and setting expectations are key in the process. The TigerTox logo is simple, expressive of her company’s name, versatile, and is part of a larger branding of the company as a whole. What we love about the Creative Brief process is that we can always look to it for guidance and keep on track to be sure objectives are met.

Next, we developed a website and ‘ToxInsights’ blog for TigerTox. We leveraged WordPress, great software which provides a framework for professional, dynamic, and easily administered websites (even high-powered blogs like Johnson & Johnson’s JNJBTW use it). We utilized our programming and design skills to created a branded site which is highly customized, allowing for integration with Twitter, RSS feeds, and search engine optimization (SEO).

We also provided in-depth technical and social media training to TigerTox, allowing Cynthia and her associates to hit the ground running–they’ve already got several blog posts done. We even helped TigerTox to easily find resources to help with blogging and Twitter through a customized RSS feed. Our background in life science as well as social media helps us to anticipate our clients’ needs, as we’ve used the tools firsthand to reach scientists. We also help companies develop a Social Media Charter™ to guide you and ensure that objectives are met, you can learn more on our Social Media Capabilities page.

To summarize, we GREATLY enjoyed working with TigerTox and we love the fact that they looked to us for inspiration. We hope that you’ll in turn be inspired by them to develop your business or products, as they truly ‘get it’ and have a great product for drug development. We plan to give more examples and resources at the upcoming Bootstrapping Biotech event with the San Diego Biotechnology Network October 29th. Not in town? We’re videotaping it and will provide links afterward. Also, contact us for a free consultation, perhaps the best way to become inspired!

To share this post easily, use this URL: http://bit.ly/3LdDsG

If you’ve been following our Biotechnology Marketing 101 blog, you likely know that we are ‘in the know’ about social media. We’ve used it to grow our own company and the San Diego Biotechnology Network, and we’ll be featuring our work with other companies soon. Check out our Social Media Capabilities page to learn more and to get started!

While vacationing, visiting family in coastal New Jersey (nicer than it sounds), I spent some time on the beach. A plane with a trailing banner flew by, advertising a product I still don’t remember. Ever the marketer, and never being the type who likes to zone out for hours on the beach, I started to think about this flavor of ‘broadcast’ advertising.

The problems are multi-fold: 1. I didn’t have any clue what the product was 2. I had no idea how to follow up to learn more 3. Even if I did have a ‘burning desire’ to find out, I certainly forgot the name of the product by the time I got to the internet (ignore the fact that I had my blackberry and could have looked it up).

What’s interesting is that this company probably paid $1-3K for this promotion (maybe more, as I learned that flying a plane with a banner is quite an art). What did they get in return? I’m sure they don’t even know–hard to determine a return on investment (ROI) on a media has no way of tracking. Instead, I think they should have hired college students to visit 4-5 beaches, and hand out free samples and chat the beachgoers up. Now THAT I would have remembered, and they also would have gotten feedback on peoples’ reactions to the product.

Relevance to life sciences? If you’re like me, you ‘cut your teeth’ on this type of ‘broadcast’ advertising, mostly print Ads (although it would be cool to rent a plane). Even some online banner Ads and e-mail blasts can be forms of broadcast advertising (banner blindness is a well-known phenomenon where users learn to ignore such information). You got used to putting your message ‘out there’ without expecting many metrics and feedback. Now, however, there are myriad ways to promote your products in an engaging manner AND to get metrics that can be used to determine ROI and the next tactical (or even strategic) steps.

Examples? Set up Google Adwords, targeting those who are looking for your product, and learn what people are searching for. Start a blog or forum on your website, forming an interactive community that cares about your products and tells you want their needs are. Make sure your newsletter is about customer needs, and not just a listing of your products. These are just some ideas–by being resourceful, and ruthless about ROI, you’ll surely come up with more.

Should you abandon broadcast advertising? No, it has a place in your tactical marketing plan, reinforcing your brand. But, it is easy to fall into the ‘same old, same old’ and to rely on it too heavily. Contact us for a free consultation to learn how to get started engaging more and broadcasting less.

A friend told me she saw a story on NPR about gaps in coverage of events in Afghanistan because so many news organizations are suffering and can’t afford as many reporters in the different regions. Hopefully, this is just a temporary situation, and changes in the media landscape will eventually mean more coverage, but it made me stop and think about news in the biotech and life science industry. With fewer resources, some news organizations have resorted to simply reprinting press releases rather than adding value by selecting truly newsworthy releases, and/or editorializing to put the information in a broader context. I have watched this firsthand as the San Diego Union Tribune’s biotechnology section has changed significantly over the last year, as changes in personnel have taken place.

The result? A sea of press releases, each told from the company’s perspective, touting their company or new product as the best thing since sliced bread. Who will listen or care? Fewer than you think, as we all are confronted with much too much information these days. Anyone can send a press release these days, and that means that everyone does. Comprendia monitors the web and social media activity for the major life science brands, and has found that these verbatim press releases make up a significant amount of the online ‘news’ from these companies.

What is the solution? If you’ve been reading the Biotechnology Marketing 101 Blog, you likely know what’s coming next, as it’s a common theme (some would say it’s our soapbox ;). Today’s environment requires that you build a community that will care about your news or product launch. A newsletter is a great first step, but let me ask you: how much of your newsletter is simply focused on your company and products? This limits your reach substantially. For example, let’s say you sell columns for protein purification, and your newsletter reflects this very narrow field. Your customers will see you in this small area, stifling your opportunities for growth. Think about the potential to grow by creating a general protein purification blog or newsletter, providing tips and resources that are not always directly related to your products (as we’ve discussed earlier). Besides widening your customer base, you’ll get feedback from customers not only about your core products, but also about upstream and downstream applications, allowing you to move into new product areas. Becoming the resource for a more broad area also helps you to be found by search engines, and your readers may even be so zealous that they pass the information on to colleagues.

The community you build will feel as though they are a part of the product development process, and will truly care about your product launches. While this type of marketing appears to take more time and effort, you’ll find that not only does today’s environment require such an approach, but that it is more beneficial for all involved. In effect, the crowd has spoken and, they want and need this type of interaction from you. Need help? We’d be more than happy to help you get started, sign up for a free consultation.

Most of the posts here are related to science or biotechnology in some way. We’ll take a bit of a detour here to discuss how songs can be used to understand social media. For someone like me, who thinks about it a lot, it’s easy to see the similarities. I hope you’ll start to see that ‘everything old is new’ and that social media is a natural progression of our culture, involving many of the same ideals and etiquette we are familiar with. Each song title is linked to a version you can play on blip.fm, enjoy!

1. The End by The Beatles

This song sums up social media (SM) very well–the famous line from it is “And in the end, the love you take, is equal to the love you make.” As we’ve discussed earlier, it’s all about paying it forward. You need to enter into SM with the goal of giving back first. Only then will you begin to see that others will gladly return the favor. Unlike the song, however, sometimes I feel as though I may get back more than I put in, if that’s possible! The Beatles taught us a lot about life and it’s not surprising their songs ring true for SM.

2. With a Little Help from My Friends by the Beatles

SM is all about using the power of the community, also known as crowdsourcing. Have a question? Send it ‘out there’ and you’ll be amazed at how quickly it can be answered. Wondering what your colleagues in a particular area think about a topic? Poll them–places like FriendFeed science groups are a good place to start. You’ll also start to identify experts in certain areas, or ‘channels‘, who will help you to understand the wealth of information we are all trying to sort through these days.

3. Respect by Aretha Franklin

Now that everyone can easily self-publish, how do you know who and what information to trust? It’s all about an author’s ability to garner R-E-S-P-E-C-T. To achieve this, you must consistently provide valuable and credible information to your peers, and be careful not to abuse relationships or be a bad citizen. Sound hard? On the bright side, respect can be contagious–if you receive it from your inner circle, it will be evident to others. Don’t be afraid to put a little flair on your blog to show your standing in the community. People appreciate cues to help them learn who to respect. In the words of Aretha, it’s a way to “find out what it means to me.”

4. What Have You Done for Me Lately by Janet Jackson

This goes along with getting a little help from your friends. Let’s say you have a press release you’d like to promote. Who will help you by using their precious ‘social media capital’ to promote it? Likely the people you most recently have helped promote THEIR news, blog, etc. Social media moves fast, and if you haven’t ‘paid it forward’ to me recently, I’m not as likely to notice you need help. What have you done for me lately? It may sound selfish, but our professional circles are getting larger and it’s easy to forget those who we don’t hear from or about recently. Stay visible and help others–something we covered in our recent ‘Connect, Don’t Collect’ post.

5. Easy by Barenaked Ladies

The more influential a person is in SM, the busier they are maintaining their networks, staying on top of the latest news and tools, etc. Most are more than willing to help out others, in the spirit of SM, but you should realize you’ll get the best results if you make it easy for them. A few months back someone I didn’t know kept messaging me on twitter to ‘link with them on LinkedIn.’ This would have entailed: 1. Looking up the person’s name on twitter 2. Searching for the person on LinkedIn 3. Inviting them to connect. All for someone I don’t know. Long story short, we didn’t connect until they made it easy for me by sending me the invitation which I simply had to click on to accept. Make it easy for people to help you. Use short, ‘friendly’ URLs for your news. Send LinkedIn requests with a short note explaining who you are and why someone should help you.

Now that you’ve seen the parallels between songs and social media, maybe you’ll start seeing them too in other places–tell us where you’ve ‘seen’ them below!