Oh, the dreaded budget cuts.

Right now, it’s just adding insult to injury. If things with COVID-19 weren’t challenging enough, now executive leadership is slashing the marketing budget—yet expecting rave results.

While there’s no secret playbook, strategic marketers need to find high impact and relatively low-cost tactics targeting customers where they are. It’s safe to say, that’s online (#WFH). In particular, your customer is on social media and it’s safe to say they will continue to be for the foreseeable future.

Before you give yourself a pat on the back for already being on social media, you need to ask yourself if you’re doing it right.

Most life sciences companies struggle to see the results they should because they’re not leveraging the platforms correctly. And few actually excel at humanizing their brand, which can undo all their efforts.

Here, we’ll share the four social media sins we see life sciences companies making time and time again and how to do social media in a way that delivers the results you need.

Social Media Sin #1: It’s about me not you

You’re missing the “social” in social media and your customers notice. The ratio of product promotion to value-driven content is off balance. Look for the golden ratio of 4:1; for every four pieces of educating, entertaining, or empowering content, you have one post promoting your product or service. Share valuable content that is relevant to your customers’ needs based on core content themes and topics. That’s value for your customer and more bang for your buck!

Based on your customer-focused themes and topics, you’ll want to offer up even more variety. Use content from your company or even from third parties including infographics, checklists, whitepapers, videos, and other resources.

Social Media Sin #2: Lack of consistency

By consistency, we don’t mean monotony. Consistency in your content and branding is a must. Pertaining to content, this doesn’t mean you should use the same information repeatedly but instead take this hopefully evergreen content and reframe it in new ways. In your branding, be consistent in how you share your point of view and use your brand tone and styles (i.e. fonts, colors, etc.).

Being consistent also entails being timely. Embrace being nimble with real-time engagement and decision making on social media. Your customers will thank you and you’ll reap the benefits of increased engagement. This is a dreaded task for many life sciences companies but can easily be simplified by setting up two processes. Start by crafting pre-approved canned responses as a workaround for strict, time-consuming, but all necessary parts of the approval process. Second, get in the groove of bulk content creation in two-week batches. With these two processes in place, you’ll be more timely and responsive, putting you in your customer’s good graces.

Social Media Sin #3: No narrative

Your content is sharing key information about your product(s), but it doesn’t resonate with the customer. Grab the customer’s attention with authentic storytelling about your brand rather than plain data. “Messages delivered as stories can be up to 22x more memorable than just facts”, according to Onespot. By showcasing the data and important information about your product as a story, you are directly tapping into the customer’s emotional side of the brain. Ultimately, this is the driver of the decision making that will choose between you or your competitors.

Social Media Sin #4: You sound like a robot

For many life sciences companies, marketing tactics and online presence can come off as robotic. When you don’t sound like a real person, it can be a turnoff for customers and create barriers between them and purchasing your product. The great news is that you already have one of the most effective social media tools, your team. Turn employees into brand ambassadors so they can give customers direct insights on how the company works, the brand’s philosophy, and thought leadership.

Since you already have one of your greatest assets in place, why not take it the extra mile? Focus on language that is conversational and optimistic. Using your brand’s distinct voice (if you don’t have one yet we can help with that), messaging should include concise everyday words, contractions, and colloquialisms. Put yourself in your target customer’s shoes and use language they can understand.

Now is the time to double down or get a fresh start on your social media strategy. Addressing each of these sins will lead to a humanized brand that customers will naturally gravitate toward and even more importantly choose over your competitor.

Why Humanizing Your Brand is Your Best Shot

• Connects on a deeper level

• Instills trust and credibility

• Shapes the brand’s culture

• Builds positive relationships

• Motivates prospects to use your product(s)

• Drives loyalty and advocacy

In order to achieve these outcomes and reap the benefits of humanizing your brand on social media, you must be committed to it for the long haul. Deloitte Digital points out that an informed and humanistic approach “can make every moment matter—not to the brand, not to the customer, but in ways that are mutually rewarding to both.” Humanizing your brand isn’t a one-time deal; it’s an ongoing dialogue between you and your customer. Humans prefer to interact with other humans instead of a robot. That’s a fact. Why would your social media strategy be any different?