Overheard at GMM HQ
"It’s time for leadership, especially CEOs, to mic up and face the audience." - Kiara Jackson, on the importance of guest podcasting for life science companies.
PR Trends—Q2 Update
With fragmented news consumption and increased competition for eyeballs, journalists are closely evaluating whether a story idea has the “it factor” that will translate into traffic and social engagement. Pitches are both overwhelming and underwhelming journalists. More than 1 in 4 journalists receive over 100 pitches per week. And guess what? Most pitches end up getting the boot. Why? They aren’t relevant and/or don’t stand out from the sea of pitches. And, contrary to popular belief, a sizable percentage of journalists say they like receiving pitches on Friday, Saturday and Sunday with their favorite day being Monday. So PR pros set your reminders and mark your calendar!
The public and journalists alike are hungry for positive news. One third are also looking for stories on furthering diversity, equity and inclusion as those conversations bear weight across a variety of communities. In addition, journalists want more research-based, thought leadership and authentic storytelling on new technologies that are helping businesses and consumers.
Make It Matter
It’s time to get graphic. Provide journalists with multimedia elements that bring your story to life to help ensure that your pitch is less likely to wind up D.O.A. The vast majority of journalists (82%) included images with their stories in the last year, followed by videos (45%), infographics (43%) and social media posts (39%). On top of this, more than 1 in 5 journalists (22%) explicitly said they wish PR pros would include multimedia assets in their press releases.
Evolving for a Post-COVID Future
The world wasn’t prepared for the COVID-19 pandemic and by the look of it, it isn’t prepared for a post-pandemic future either. Ready or not, life science companies need to understand customer behavior as it relates to the vaccine rollout and post-vaccine world. Anticipating how customer behavior might change during this pivotal moment will better inform your marketing strategy from spend to campaign activities moving forward.
Make It Matter
When it comes to your digital marketing strategy, take our advice and don’t return to business as usual. Continue to hunker down with your already digital marketing strategy. Research by Gartner indicates that, “a strong majority of consumers indicate a low level of willingness to engage in a range of normal activities even after they’ve received a full dose of the vaccine” meaning your digital marketing tactics are right where they should be. Life science companies need to focus on making sure marketing remains digitally enabled to nurture leads without relying on traditional, face-to-face models of communication.
