.
Last week I meet with few Pharma & Biomedical Marketing Representitive, the detail discussion with them lead me to get a firm conclusion that how Indian Pharma and Biotech segment is totally unkonw about Online Marketing and their impacts on current Bussiness Model and Brand Engagment.
.
The topic of online marketing came up and I was reminded of how difficult it has been for the B2B segment as well as B2C for businesses to grasp a hold of the power in social media when one business is marketing to another. The value has still not been understood. They still view this type of e-marketing as not relating to them, when in actuality internet marketing is becoming one of the most effective ways to market online.
.
In today's economy B2B companies are decreasing their marketing budget and spending more online. A recent survey by Pharma B2B Magazine revealed that over 48% of those surveyed were increasing their online marketing spend.
Why is there such an effectiveness in online social media?
Truth is, so many people are tired of "marketing speak." Social media allows companies to relate to one another and bypass the fluff & brand engagment.
.
Social media describes the online technologies and practices that people use to share opinions, insights, experiences, and perspectives with each other. Social media can take many different forms, including text, images, audio, and video. Popular social mediums include blogs, message boards, podcasts, wikis, and vlogs.
.
The definition alone should reveal to you how important it is that B2B companies explore social media marketing channels.
In a recent study of B2B technology decision makers the following statistics were revealed:
@ 90% Participate in Video
@ 80% Participate in Blogs
@ 80% Participate in Wikis
@ 69% Participate in Social Networks
@ 53% Participate in Podcasts
In the same study it was shared that of 69% of B2B buyers use social networks "primarily for business networking and development."
At a minimum B2B businesses should at least be involved in communities and social network where there customers already are. Explore the opportunity to reach out to key influencers in your target market and optimize your content and social media applications for syndication.
I know that stepping out into social media can feel somewhat daunting for more traditional marketing team, but it doesn't have to be difficult to be successful. Chose a few initiatives that will work well for your company and gain you incremental success until you are more comfortable in really delving into the social media and applications.
Social media enables you to :
@ Share your expertise and knowledge
@ Tap into the wisdom of your consumers
@ Enables customers helping customers
@ Engages prospects through customer evangelism
.
Pharma & Biotech Marketer's should integrate Online Marketing strategy for both of business segment B2B, B2C. The purpose of this article is to set a framework for Pharma and life sciences Internet Marketing. In future articles, I will delve deeper into each of the elements that comprise the value chain.