Creating compelling scientific videos for social media

Social media presents a fantastic opportunity for keeping in touch with your wider audiences. Posting videos can be especially useful for sharing engaging educational content, highlights from conferences or key updates on a therapy area. But with many social media users scrolling through hundreds of posts per session, you have to be savvy to draw someone in and keep them interested.

Remember that viewers on social media may not understand complex topics and scientific language, so it is important to explain information in a clear and simple way. Imagine you are telling the viewer a story. This format helps to keep the viewer engaged while making sure that the flow of the information is easy to follow.

1. Have a clear beginning, middle and end

When conveying the story, it is important to have a clear beginning, middle and end. Try to share the ‘why’ before the ‘how’, so that each point clearly and simply leads on to the next. This will help to keep the viewer engaged and interested throughout the video. 

2. Avoid jargon

Viewers on social media may not understand specialized scientific terms. It is important to keep messages simple and to avoid jargon. One way to reduce specialized vocabulary is to consider your language through the eyes of someone you know – perhaps someone without a professional science background at all. 

3. Be light on the detail

Try to resist explaining too much too soon. If detail is not directly relevant to your key points, it is best to avoid including this completely. If the detail is essential, make sure that you share this only once the viewer understands the basic concept.

4. Use analogies and examples

Using examples and analogies can help a viewer to understand complex topics, as it gives them a frame of reference. Even if an analogy is not 100% accurate, it may help to get your point across without confusing the viewer. 

5. Talk to the viewer as an individual

Using the first person as much as possible is important when trying to educate. It helps to keep the viewer engaged, which is key when discussing a complex topic.

6. Make the content relevant

Why is the topic important to the viewer? As interesting as the science may be, public audiences are not likely to engage unless it has relevance to them. Try explaining the end goal of the research or how it could directly impact patients, even if this is far in the future. 

Interested in creating a compelling scientific video? At medDigital we love turning complex science into powerful and digestible content. We offer a range of content services that can support you in engaging your audiences.