Hotbeds: The Benefits of Going Niche
By Suvarna Sheth, BioSpace.com
How it Started
BioSpace Hotbed campaigns have over a 20 year history and originated as a vehicle catering mostly to growing biotechnology companies in the San Francisco Bay Area. For years, the focus of the campaigns has been to spread the word about this exciting growing industry, and to attract talent and investments to help the industry in the region to flourish. The first Biotech Bay hotbed map currently hangs in the Smithsonian Museum of American History.
Over the years, the campaigns have gone to a multi-media format, and grown both nationally and internationally. Hotbed campaigns are now marketed to over 400,000 unique monthly visitors on BioSpace.com, as well as at BioSpace industry career fairs and other industry conferences.
Find out what the top three benefits to becoming a Hotbed member from two of our best hotbed “insiders” and learn how becoming a member can benefit your business, too.
Hotbed Benefits
According to Ryan Guensch, senior account executive at BioSpace, the Hotbed campaigns give both growing and established life science companies a targeted and trusted platform to reach life science professionals for a full year through print, e-mail, online, event and word-of-mouth marketing with their message.
Guensch works closely with client-partners to provide recruitment and branding solutions. He specifically reaches out to existing and potential new members of the BioMidwest Hotbed Campaign. This campaign services companies seeking exposure in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Ohio, Nebraska, Wisconsin and the newest addition, Kansas.
Guensch says one of the key benefits to becoming a Hotbed member is targeted exposure that is hard to beat. “Here is a simple analogy,” he points out, “having your company message on a billboard is nice, but having this billboard posted in front of 400,000 professionals from the industry in which you are working is excellent and effective.”
By becoming campaign members, companies are able to reach a wide and industry-focused audience of potential job-seekers, clients, partners, investors, etc. with a host of recruitment, product, and collaboration opportunities.
The second benefit, according to Guensch, is that it’s easy, maintenance-free marketing, all year-long. “Companies only need to provide a logo, company profile and building picture, and BioSpace does the rest,” he explains.
He also says his clients love the colorful, Hotbed maps. “They love seeing their company name, logo and building out on the printed pieces, the big glass-framed maps, the mouse-pads and the BioSpace website for thousands to see.”
Lastly, and most importantly, he says it’s cost-effective. “How much time and resources typically go into an entire annual branding, marketing campaign, including print, web, e-mail and event exposure?” he asks.
For relatively minimal cost, effort and resources, Hotbed campaign members can virtually have BioSpace be an additional branch of their marketing, recruitment, IR and PR departments, reaching tens of thousands of interested industry professionals with their message.
“There is no need to re-create the wheel when seeking industry exposure,” Guensch adds, “companies can plug into the leading online life science network for a full year campaign, with less than one hour’s worth of effort.”
Do you have the Edge?
Jennifer Masel, account executive in Pennsylvania, says clients absolutely have an edge over other companies when they become part of a community of a specialty niche site like Biospace.
“And don’t just take my word for it,” she says, “published authors like Peter Weddle who compare online job boards have been speaking for years of the advantages companies get by ‘going niche.’”
In Workforce Management‘s March 2011 issue, BioSpace was highlighted as a top specialty job board in the life sciences on Weddle’s 2011/12 Guide to Employment Sites on the Internet referenced in the article “Niche Sites Gain Monster-Sized Following.”
Workforce Management March 2011:
Weddle’s 2011/12 Guide to Employment Sites on the Internet
“In today’s world where there is so much information at our finger tips, it’s easy to get overwhelmed,” she says, “niche sites like BioSpace centralize the needs of biotech, pharma and medical device into one community where people can read up on news, events, and jobs.”
According to Masel, the top benefit to being a part of the campaign is the exposure that companies get. “As a Hotbed member, you are instantly exposed to the largest life science portal that’s on the web today,” she comments.
As far as website traffic – Hotbed members average three times the amount of traffic to their profiles than non-Hotbed members. Along with this is the branding companies get through distribution on Hotbed collateral through the year at biopharma events and national career fairs.
Masel says companies renew their Hotbed memberships, year after year, as they see the value of being a member. With monthly traffic reports, she says members are able to see the impact of their participation.
The Hotbed campaigns are constantly evolving to bring additional value to participating companies. As a new feature, BioSpace will offer exposure of various campaigns in airports and on buses starting this year.
Since the original Biotech Bay Hotbed was introduced, 10 more regional Hotbeds have launched. “It’s truly amazing to see each year the excitement the launch of a new campaign brings,” Masel says, “it’s the thrill of seeing who is on the map this year.”