Leveraging Social Media for Your Startup
Launching a biotech startup is no small feat. Doing it without the backing, or assistance, of an experienced venture capital group or a business incubator also means that you will have to wear many more hats than you probably even expected. In addition to your science efforts, you have plenty of business and financial planning tasks to oversee, as well as hiring and running your research group and making sure there are plenty of microcentrifuge tubes. However, it is important to take a moment and consider the potential benefits from starting, and actively maintaining, a social media presence.
Raise Awareness of Your Enterprise. While you and your colleagues are working hard to advance the science and expand your data, you owe it to yourself to make an effort to expand your visibility. While your science will ultimately be the largest driver of your ability to attract the interest of outside parties, part of your business development plan should include leveraging social media channels. Having a presence on LinkedIn, X (formerly known as Twitter), or Facebook can be an important tool for getting more eyes on your company. Publish a paper? Tweet about it along with a link. Just got an SBIR grant? Make certain it is on your LinkedIn feed. Having the best day possible at a scientific meeting? Take a picture and post it.
More Eyes on Your Company Means More Opportunities. Using social media platforms wisely can be a relatively non-labor intensive means by which to spread the message of your startup. Following critical influencers, key opinion leaders in your area of expertise, or other scientists / businesspeople you hope to reach out to can keep your company name in front of people. More importantly, judicious and appropriate use of hashtags and directed messages gets you in front of the people in their circle as well - people who may connect with you in the future. Note: Always keep it professional and remember, you may have deleted it from your account, but it lives on forever in the ethers of the internet.
It's Not Just About the Science. Once you began your startup, it became about more than simply the science. Elevator speeches, non-confidential business Powerpoint presentations, these are not solely about touting your excellent science, they are about marketing your nascent enterprise. One path to added resources for your company is having more people aware of what you are doing; not so long ago, that was really only accomplished by publishing a paper or attending scientific or business meetings, business plan competitions, and dozens of post-event meet-and-greets. Now, while these are still very much part of the process of growing a small business, you can also reach a much wider audience right from your keyboard. #success
