Building the BioSurfaces Brand Without a Marketing Budget
The Problem: I joined the BioSurfaces team a little over 4 years ago charged with the ambitious goal of building the name of our company. BioSurfaces, which was founded in 2003, was an established small life science company. Similar to many smaller non-venture capital funded companies, BioSurfaces had not focused on letting people know who they were. I was faced with a significant challenge— let literally the world know what BioSurfaces was all about without having any budget to allocate towards this marketing effort. It seemed like an insurmountable task at first. How do you relay all of the good things that BioSurfaces does without any resources?
The Approach: The lack of a budget forced me to dig deeper into the industry in which our company operated in. It became imperative to gain a comprehensive understanding of the latest trends and topics in the life science industry that could potentially contribute to the growth of our brand.
In the initial months after joining the company, my focus centered on developing our presence on social media platforms, particularly LinkedIn and Facebook, which we had not previously utilized. By creating and actively managing these social media profiles, we were able to attract new users to our website, generating a heightened level of interest in BioSurfaces. The ability to reach a wider audience through these channels laid a solid foundation for our marketing endeavors.
As the following year progressed, the challenge shifted towards creating content that not only attracted new followers but also engaged our existing audience. We brainstormed and implemented various weekly and monthly post series over the course of the next couple of years. One such series, "Spin of the Week," involved monthly blog posts by our co-founder and President, Matthew Phaneuf. These posts covered a wide range of topics, providing updates on the latest developments at BioSurfaces. It gives the readers some insights while offering some perception into the good and not so good experiences of a small business owner. Since its inception, the blog has consistently generated a substantial audience.
Additionally, we launched a Webcast series that delved into specific products and product lines offered by BioSurfaces. These webcasts provided in-depth discussions about the journey and development process of these products, enlightening our audience about the intricacies of our work. After a year of successful webcasts, we introduced "Factual Fridays," which aimed to captivate our audience by sharing intriguing facts related to the field BioSurfaces operates in. This series not only showcased our expertise but also fostered curiosity among our followers.
To further diversify our content and maintain a consistent online presence, we initiated the "Monthly Spinoff" series at the end of 2022. This series, which you are currently reading, covers a wide range of subjects based on the interests of our BioSurfaces team members. By publishing these monthly articles on our website like this article, we aim to educate our audience while simultaneously spreading brand awareness. The merging of these different types of posts allows BioSurfaces to establish a strong online presence, effectively increasing brand recognition and disseminating knowledge about the electrospinning process and its numerous benefits.
Tracking the Progress: While each of these content initiatives served to benefit BioSurfaces by attracting potential new customers, the availability of analytics proved to be a game-changer. Throughout the years, we gathered and analyzed data on the performance of our posts and the overall website traffic. Armed with these invaluable insights, we were able to make strategic adjustments to our website and content strategy, ultimately directing more attention towards specific pages and optimizing their impact. Moreover, in our efforts to enhance brand awareness and attract potential customers to our In Vitro Research Tools business, we ventured into advertising through Google Ads and utilized various promotional features offered by LinkedIn.
By harnessing the power of analytics and leveraging targeted advertising, we have witnessed a significant increase in brand recognition and engagement. When I originally joined BioSurfaces, the website had a total of 906 users throughout its existence, with these users originating from 37 countries. Currently our user base has grown significantly, reaching 16,983 users, and we have expanded our reach to 96 countries worldwide.
Plans for the Future: Our commitment to providing valuable content and staying attuned to industry trends has not only solidified BioSurfaces' position in the market but has also enabled us to continuously expand our customer base. With every new follower, every click, and every interaction, we are one step closer to achieving our ultimate goal of establishing BioSurfaces as a leading name in the field of electrospinning.
Written By: Cameron Phaneuf
Director of Marketing and Sales
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