Social Media or Website: Where Should a Biotech Focus?

Once public, one of the first approaches I see startups take is going all-in on social media.

Social media is a great channel to reach leads, especially LinkedIn.

But it shouldn’t be the cornerstone of your marketing strategy.

Let’s break it down.

Social Media is a Rabbit Hole

A LinkedIn post about your latest assay validation or a conference talk lives in your audience’s feed for about two to three weeks, max.

After that, it disappears, no matter how good the project was.

That’s why companies think they need to post daily (20 times per month) just to stay visible.

But here’s the reality for life sciences:

• Scientists don’t live on LinkedIn; many don’t even use social media.
• Algorithms prioritize engagement, not necessarily the depth of your data.
• It’s not where decision-makers search for solutions.

So while social media is great for raising awareness around milestones and reaching new audiences, it is not enough.

Website Content Gets the Most Out of Your Time

Your website is where credibility compounds.

A robust service page or case study can:

• Stay accessible forever → unlike a LinkedIn post, it doesn’t vanish in weeks.
• Drive organic traffic → people searching “flow cytometry CRO oncology” can find you months later.
• Build authority → it demonstrates scientific expertise in a way that resonates with both clients and investors.
• Help your sales team → your audience will trust you when they see you’ve solved similar problems before.

Additionally, among other metrics, Google ranks sites based on content quality, authority and relevance to the search.

These are all content-based metrics.

That means when a potential customer searches for “LNP formulation for mRNA,” the site with stronger content is far more likely to earn the lead.

For life science companies, this is key.

Remember:

A PhD student looking for a solution doesn’t search on LinkedIn or Instagram; they go to Google.

A Few Better Options Than Posting 20x/Month

Instead of exhausting your marketing team, here’s what works better in biotech:

• Focus on your website: optimize technical pages so scientists can discover them.
• Create evergreen content: case studies, white papers, and technical blogs that improve your authority (and give you source material to create LinkedIn posts).
• Get the C-suite involved: a weekly CEO or CSO post about vision or science carries more weight than any generic company posts.
• Encourage employee interaction: a “like” or comment from your scientists boosts reach; silence makes even good science invisible.

Then… no Social Media?

Focusing on your website doesn’t mean you should abandon your social media channels.

But quality takes time.

In my experience, the best-performing posts in biotech are those that:

• Teach something complex in simple terms (and visuals take time)
• Find the sharp edge of a case study (it takes thought and AI can’t replace this yet).
• Visualize the data (graphs, assay formats, or workflow diagrams often require extra effort but deliver much stronger engagement).

That’s why 10 carefully prepared posts a month can outperform 20 rushed updates, especially in a technical industry where data is everything.