Don't Start Your Life Science Blog Without Reading This

By Rob Wright

Even though the FDA has been dragging its feet on social media guidance, many companies have been dipping their toes in the water with ways in which to capitalize on the social media craze. One of the most straightforward things to do is create a company blog, which, from a technology standpoint, is actually very easy to accommodate. However, saying you want a blog and actually maintaining a blog are two very different things. Between 60% to 75% of blogs are not updated regularly or just plain abandoned. If you are thinking about creating a blog as part of your pharma company’s social media or product portfolio strategy, and then fail to maintain, it will reflect poorly on you and your brand.

Don’t Take Starting A Blog Lightly
Before you decide on whether you need a blog, consider this:

1. Are you committed to producing blog posts at a consistent, agreed-upon frequency? Just like a magazine that comes out every month, your blog needs to have a consistent string of posts from launch until it ceases to exist. There are no interruptions.
2. Do you have the ability and the discipline to produce quality content? You might have great ideas for the first dozen posts, but what about post 100, 200, 300, and so on? Can you start with quality and maintain it indefinitely?
3. Will you make time to manage and maintain reader engagement? This means reading and responding to comments in as close to real-time as possible, checking your mobile phone and replying at night and on weekends.
4. Are you committed to building a community around your blog?

Blogs provide an opportunity for you to interact with its readers, who may be employees, customers, and even competitors. Done poorly, it is also a way to alienate your readers – either by insulting them with low-quality content or ignoring their comments. Carefully think through the points above and your reaction to each one. Consider the time and content commitments and reader engagement activities. Having a blog is not a necessity. It’s a deliberate choice that you get to make after carefully weighing the obligation.  If you want to learn more about how to make a blog, check out www.howtomakemyblog.com or www.howtostartablog.org/