Effective strategies for managing paid media in the life sciences industries
As a media executive managing paid media campaigns in the life sciences sectors, I’ve learned how crucial it is to target the right audiences, increase brand visibility and drive valuable traffic. Third party trade media gives you control and accountability over the performance of your campaigns, making it essential for businesses of all sizes. Through experience, I’ve found that incorporating key strategies significantly improves return on investment (ROI) and ensures campaign success.
Define clear objectives – Planning
The first step in setting up any paid media campaign is to define clear objectives. In the life sciences industries, it’s vital to know whether you’re focusing on lead generation or brand awareness. For lead generation, strategies like sponsored webinars and gated content (e.g. whitepapers) have worked well for me, providing highly qualified leads. On the other hand, for brand awareness, display ads, eblasts and programmatic video ads often yield better results, helping to increase visibility among broader audiences.
Know your audience – Research
Understanding your audience is critical to success in life sciences marketing. By analysing demographics such as profession – for example whether they are a healthcare professional or researcher – seniority and interests, we can craft campaigns that reach the right people. For instance, targeting decision makers in life sciences companies with thought leadership content or key opinion leader insights has proven effective in several of our campaigns. Tailoring messaging to resonate with specific subgroups as part of these paid-for media strategies increases engagement and results.
Choose the right platforms – Booking
Selecting the right platforms is key to meeting your campaign goals. From my experience, advertising in reputable B2B life science trade publications and journals like The Scientist, Nature, NewsMedical, Technology Networks and SelectScience can deliver high impact impressions within targeted scientific and healthcare communities. These platforms provide a more focused audience, helping you build credibility and ensuring your content reaches professionals already invested in the field. By aligning the platform with the campaign’s goals, you ensure effective engagement with the right audience.
Implement A/B testing – Execution
A/B testing has been an invaluable tool in refining my campaigns. By experimenting with different headlines, visuals and calls to action, I’ve been able to pinpoint what resonates best with which audience. For example, I ran a campaign targeting life science professionals using two ad variations, one with a data-heavy headline and another with a simplified headline, and the simplified version ending up outperforming the other in terms of engagement. Continuously refining ads based on these insights ensures the campaign remains optimised and drives better results over time.
Monitor and optimise campaigns – Ongoing
Once the campaign is live, monitoring its performance regularly is critical. I track key metrics such as click-through rates (CTR) and cost per lead (CPL) to ensure the campaign is delivering on its objectives. In one case, I was able to identify underperforming banner ad formats early on and shifted the budget to more effective placements, which improved the overall ROI. Continuous optimisation, from tweaking messaging to reallocating budget, ensures long-term success.
Paid trade media in the life sciences industries is highly rewarding. By focusing on clear objectives, knowing your audience, choosing the right platforms and regularly optimising campaigns, I’ve been able to create impactful campaigns that resonate with key industry players. These strategies have proven to drive meaningful results, and I truly enjoy the challenge of planning new campaigns that make a difference in this fast-paced field.