By the Fancy Comma, LLC team
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What is called “marketing” – or “digital marketing” in the online space – actually just refers to the practice of marketing anything – whether your goal is to sell something, build community, expand the reach of science literacy, or something else. One can market products and services, or even their own ideas. As such, marketing can be an important part of a public relations strategy for science communicators to amplify their message.
Science communicators, do you know how to market your message? Learn new skills from these books on marketing, digital strategy, and ethics.
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Scientists and science writers, take note: if you communicate science in any form in your work, did you know you can use marketing strategies to make your science communication more engaging? You can even work at the intersection of science and marketing as a scientific copywriter, as we do!
Keep reading for eight book recommendations that can help you improve your marketing skills in science communication (SciComm). These books cover health care marketing, digital marketing, marketing ethics, and more.
You’re a life scientist new to marketing
Essentials of Health Care Marketing by Eric Berkowitz
Essentials of Health Care Marketing walks one through all of the foundations of marketing, but in a way that is tailored to the healthcare and life sciences fields. If you work in the life sciences and want to get into marketing writing, but don’t have any experience beyond your science expertise and your love of writing, this book is for you.
You want to be a cool marketer, not a sleazy marketer
Nobody likes to be duped, but in recent years, many companies have been revealed as greedily targeting their marketing to drive sales at the expense of people’s best interests. The SAGE Handbook of Marketing Ethics covers all things marketing ethics so that you can maximize the good that comes of your marketing endeavors and adhere to the ethical standards set by professional organizations such as the American Marketing Association.
You want to learn marketing ethics from others’ mistakes
Marketing Ethics and Society by Lynne Eagle and Stephan Dahl
Marketing Ethics and Society is more than just a marketing ethics guidebook; it also features examples and case studies of unethical marketing. Eagle and Dahl include examples of unethical marketing relevant to those in the complex sectors of science, health, and technology, such as pharmaceutical marketing and business-to-business (B2B) marketing. Learn what to do as an ethical marketer from Eagle and Dahl’s compendium of real-life ethical quandaries.
You’re confused by marketing lingo
Digital Marketing Excellence covers everything you need to know in digital marketing. This is the perfect book for you if you are a scientist-turned-science-writer and would like to know what everyone in the marketing world is talking about. The book unpacks key concepts and terms, types of marketing, and everything you need to execute a digital marketing strategy. By the end of this book, you should be able to converse fluently with marketers as a scientist.
You want to monetize your writing skills
B2B Digital Marketing Strategy: How to Use New Frameworks and Models to Achieve Growth by Simon Hall
Business-to-business or B2B marketing is a type of marketing that can involve lots of money, as it involves marketing from one business to another. Digital strategy is important for B2B as many of the companies involve high-tech products and services – which also makes them an ideal topic of writing for the scientist-turned-writer. The B2B marketing cycle has unique considerations, and if you want to learn about them, check out this book.
You enjoy reading about academic theory sprinkled with practical examples
Digital and Social Media Marketing by Aleksej Heinze, Gordon Fletcher, Ana Cruz
Digital and Social Media Marketing is an academic textbook on everything you need to know to be a marketer in the digital media realm, including social media. The textbook mixes “academic theory with practical examples from a range of different organisations worldwide,” providing insight into the techniques needed for creating, developing, and maintaining a polished digital presence.
You want a comprehensive marketing textbook to keep around for reference
Foundations of Marketing by William M. Pride and O. C. Ferrell
The textbook Foundations of Marketing is a high school and university-level textbook that covers everything in a marketing strategy from start to finish. The first section on strategic marketing answers the question, “What is the point of marketing?” grounding the discussion in the relevance of marketing to the global economy and to society at large. The next sections dive into marketing research, customer behavior, making decisions about a product and its price, and finally, coming up with distribution and promotion strategies.
You crave a light, but informative, digital marketing book
I like Understanding Digital Marketing because it’s one of those books you can pick up and easily read from cover to cover. It’s a compilation of writings from many different digital marketers whose job it is to explain things clearly. Reading this book can give science communicators a feel for the many types of digital marketing that are out there, without using too much extra brainpower. The book talks about all kinds of different digital marketing, including strategies to use. They really get digital marketing in the current era – discussing “three-screen” marketing needed now that we sit at home, watching tv, with our laptops, tablets, and mobile phones all in use at the same time.
Read Your Way to New Skills
To check out our other book reviews and recommendations, click here. You may be interested in the books we have written at the intersection of science, communication, and public relations as well.
If you’re looking for FREE resources to improve your science writing (including science copywriting) skills, check out Fancy Comma, LLC’s resources page! We also provide science writing tutoring. Get in touch!
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