Online Scientific Exchange 24/7: How Do You Keep Up with the Conversation?

Key Takeaways

• Scientific exchange increasingly happens online and around the clock, functioning like an always-on medical congress alongside in-person meetings.
• According to a study of more than 50,000 KOLs conducted by Acceleration Point, 54% of KOLs take part in online scientific conversations or publish articles and opinion pieces to digital-only platforms.
• Most disease areas have between 20 and 30 digital opinion leaders (DOLs) globally, credentialed experts who share science primarily through digital channels rather than traditional publications and congress presentations.
• Online conversations always leave a digital footprint, which makes them easier for Medical Affairs teams to monitor systematically than informal, in-person hallway discussions.
• Social listening lets Medical Affairs teams surface the most relevant scientific topics and threads from large volumes of online conversation, so field teams can stay current between congresses.

Online scientific exchange is the ongoing discussion of medical and scientific topics that takes place on digital channels, such as social media, virtual congresses, and livestreamed sessions, rather than only at in-person events.

Where scientific discussion is conducted has changed radically in recent years. This shift was accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic, which pushed in-person events online, including professional societies' annual meetings, academic conferences, and medical congresses. But it was not solely an effect of the virus's outbreak. The evolution of more and better ways of interacting digitally, and of building professional relationships online, had been going on for years beforehand.

While it is again possible for scientists and researchers to gather in person, many experts have become much more comfortable with digital engagement. This means they are having more conversations across a wider array of digital channels, with greater numbers of participants, about more consequential issues than ever before.

It often seems as though social media has been transformed into something analogous to a 24/7 medical congress.

Of course, no matter how great its reach or how large its author's share of voice, a tweet will never be as important as the release of a peer-reviewed publication. Nonetheless, online exchanges are supplementing and, in some cases, standing in for the casual interactions that used to take place only at conferences: the lunch meetings, networking events, and casual conversations in the hallway between sessions.

The fact that many of today's medical congresses continue to include virtual components further blurs the distinction between online and offline gatherings. Because it is such an effective means of making scientific content accessible to larger audiences, growing numbers of conference organizers are offering registrants the ability to participate in sessions or symposia via live streaming. Increasingly, physicians can also earn CME credits online. A few medical congresses remain all-virtual to this day.

Conference organizers have found that the shift to virtual event formats brought several significant advantages, including much greater attendance. The European Society of Cardiology, for example, reported a 177% increase in the number of health care professionals who registered for its 2020 annual congress, the first one it presented online. What today's attendees seem to value most is flexibility. Survey research on medical conference formats finds that while a majority of medical professionals still prefer in-person events, virtual access lets them take part in congresses they would not normally attend in person.

Digital platforms may never replace face-to-face events entirely, but they do offer valuable opportunities for healthcare professionals and the wider medical community to come together, share and exchange knowledge, and work toward the advancement of science. As growing numbers of KOLs conduct scientific discussion on social media, it is increasingly important for Medical Affairs teams to keep up with these conversations. In practice, staying current with online scientific exchange is now as important as attending the key medical congresses in a given disease area. This is the same shift examined in X's (previously Twitter) impact on KOL and DOL conversations.

Why Is Social Media Now a Primary Venue for Scientific Discussion?

Today's KOLs are having more and more scientific conversations on social media. According to a recent study of over 50,000 KOLs conducted by Acceleration Point, 54% of KOLs are now involved in online scientific conversations or are publishing articles or opinion pieces to digital-only platforms. This represents a major increase from even two years ago. As many as 18% of KOLs now have accounts on Twitter, but in some specialties, this percentage is even higher. It may exceed 40% in the most active specializations.

Among KOLs with Twitter accounts, more than half are currently active and 60% are in the U.S. These experts have the potential to reach large numbers of highly engaged followers. On average, their accounts have 2,200 followers each, and a full 25% of these followers are identified as HCPs. Keeping track of what these KOLs are posting helps Medical Affairs teams understand which topics and evidence are shaping scientific discussion among physicians and medical experts.

A great deal of the social content these KOLs are publishing is scientific in nature. More than 60% of it mentions a specific treatment or disease, and between 7% and 20% of their conversations focus on a single disease aligned with their specialty. On average, these KOLs publish 97 original tweets per month and make 162 contributions to scientific discussions. Simply put, this is an enormous amount of conversation. Many of these experts are digital opinion leaders who rely on social media as their primary channel for sharing science.

It is not just that the number of discussions is growing. The number of relevant experts worth following is increasing as well. Currently, most disease areas have between 20 and 30 digital opinion leaders (DOLs) globally. (Some, such as oncology and cardiology, have significantly more.) These are credentialed medical experts who, like KOLs, have relevant scientific expertise and spend their time discussing the science. Unlike KOLs, however, DOLs do not typically rely on traditional channels such as publications and congress presentations to share their ideas. Instead, they have significant reach in the digital space, with large, well-informed, highly engaged audiences that include many HCPs.

How Can Medical Affairs Keep Up with Online Scientific Conversations?

It used to be that the vast majority of scientific discussions took place at conferences and medical congresses. KOLs would come from far and wide to share their ideas and opinions with other thought leaders. Today, the pace of the discussion is much faster, and its volume is much greater. This makes it challenging for Medical Affairs to keep up.

On the one hand, social media is an inherently noisy place. It is busier, and more distracting, than the conference-center hallways where KOLs would congregate in times past. On the other hand, it is easier to monitor what is taking place there, because online conversations always leave a digital footprint.

Medical Affairs teams that use the right tools, including a comprehensive social-monitoring platform that surfaces relevant content from a wide range of sources, are better positioned to separate the signal from the noise. Social listening lets a team take part in the virtual medical congress that is always underway on social media, and it helps surface the most relevant ideas and topics quickly. A platform that applies artificial intelligence to read contextual clues within scientific conversations can help identify the topics and threads that matter most to a given team. One that updates continually helps a team keep pace with fast-flowing conversations, and one with intelligent sorting and filtering helps keep complex information organized. For a fuller picture of how these capabilities support field teams, see how social listening strengthens Medical Affairs strategy.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is online scientific exchange?
Online scientific exchange is the ongoing discussion of medical and scientific topics on digital channels such as social media, virtual congresses, and livestreamed sessions, rather than only at in-person events. It supplements traditional venues like conferences and peer-reviewed publications.

Why are more KOLs discussing science on social media?
Since the shift to digital events during the COVID-19 pandemic, many experts have grown more comfortable with digital engagement. As a result, KOLs now hold more scientific conversations across a wider range of digital channels, reaching larger and more engaged audiences than before.

What is the difference between a KOL and a DOL?
Both KOLs and DOLs are credentialed medical experts with relevant scientific expertise. KOLs typically share their work through traditional channels such as publications and congress presentations, while digital opinion leaders (DOLs) build reach primarily in the digital space, with large, engaged online audiences that include many HCPs.

How can Medical Affairs teams keep up with online scientific conversations?
Because online conversations leave a digital footprint, Medical Affairs teams can monitor them systematically using social listening. A social-monitoring platform surfaces the most relevant scientific topics and threads from large volumes of online discussion, which helps field teams stay current between congresses.

Do virtual formats replace in-person medical congresses?
Not entirely. Virtual and hybrid formats supplement in-person events and, in some cases, stand in for the informal interactions that used to happen only at conferences. Survey research indicates that a majority of medical professionals still prefer in-person events, even as virtual access broadens participation.

Further Reading:

• The Role of Digital Opinion Leaders at Medical Conferences → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/digital-opinion-leader-medical-conferences/
• Top 10 Ways to Engage Digital Opinion Leaders → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/top-10-ways-to-engage-digital-opinion-leaders/
• KOL Digital Listening: Going Beyond the Search for Digital Opinion Leaders → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/going-beyond-the-search-for-digital-opinion-leaders/

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