Tracking Emerging Topics at Medical Congresses with Social Listening

Medical congresses are where new clinical data, treatment approaches, and scientific debate first reach a wide audience. Much of the discussion around these meetings now happens in public online, on platforms like X (formerly Twitter) and LinkedIn, before, during, and after the event itself. Social listening gives Medical Affairs teams a structured way to follow that discussion and understand which topics are gaining attention.

Social listening is the structured monitoring and analysis of public online conversation, including posts, hashtags, and discussions, to identify recurring themes, sentiment, and the voices shaping a field. Applied to medical congresses, it helps Medical Affairs and Field Medical teams see which subjects are drawing scientific interest and how that interest changes over time.

Key Takeaways

• Social listening is the structured monitoring of public online conversation to identify themes, sentiment, and influential voices; applied to medical congresses, it shows Medical Affairs teams which topics are gaining scientific attention.
• Tracking congress hashtags and keywords over time reveals which research areas are rising or falling in discussion, not just how much activity a meeting generates.
• Congress social media activity is usually driven by a small, highly engaged group. At the 2018 ECCMID congress, about 13,000 delegates attended but only 591 Twitter accounts actively posted (Clinical Microbiology and Infection).
• The substance and sentiment of a conversation matter more than raw volume, and observed discussion should be weighed against how representative it is.
• Social listening helps identify the clinicians and digital opinion leaders shaping a topic. During the 2018 ESMO Congress, the most-shared non-commercial voices were clinicians and professional organizations (ESMO Open).
• Social listening adds context for scientific engagement planning; it supplements, rather than replaces, direct interaction between Field Medical teams and experts.

For a practical companion to this article, see how Medical Affairs teams can use social listening tools at medical congresses to gather insights, connect with stakeholders, and support collaboration.

How does tracking hashtags and keywords reveal emerging topics?

Monitoring the hashtags and keywords tied to a congress shows which themes are being discussed most and how that mix shifts over time. Volume alone is not the goal; the pattern of what rises and falls between meetings is what points to emerging topics. Congress conversation can move sharply from year to year. One analysis of the Academic Surgical Congress found Twitter engagement rose from roughly 11,400 interactions in 2015 to 32,100 in 2017, then declined to about 26,100 by 2019 (The American Journal of Surgery). Tracking these shifts helps Medical Affairs teams see which research areas and discussion threads are gaining or losing attention.

What can analyzing conversations and engagement reveal?

Beyond counting mentions, social listening lets teams read the substance of the discussion: the questions clinicians raise, the data points that generate debate, and the sentiment attached to specific topics. It helps to know how representative that discussion is. At the 2018 ECCMID congress, an estimated 13,000 delegates attended, but only 591 Twitter accounts actively posted about the meeting (Clinical Microbiology and Infection). A visible online conversation is often driven by a comparatively small, highly engaged group, so Medical Affairs teams should weigh what they observe accordingly rather than treating it as the view of every attendee.

How does social listening help identify key opinion leaders?

Social listening surfaces the individuals whose posts are shared and discussed most during a congress, which helps Medical Affairs teams recognize who is shaping scientific conversation in a given area. In an analysis of discussion during the 2018 ESMO Congress, the most-retweeted non-commercial voices were clinicians and professional organizations rather than commercial accounts (ESMO Open). Identifying these experts and digital opinion leaders creates openings for scientific exchange and collaboration on topics relevant to a team's therapeutic focus.

Used together, tracking hashtags and keywords, analyzing conversations and engagement, and identifying key opinion leaders give Medical Affairs teams a clearer, evidence-based picture of the scientific discussion around a congress. That picture helps teams plan timely, relevant scientific engagement and stay current with the topics their stakeholders care about. Social listening does not replace direct scientific exchange, but it adds useful context for the teams responsible for it. For a broader treatment of the same subject, see Acceleration Point's guide to social monitoring for medical congresses.

Curious how this applies to your organization? Let's talk.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is social listening in Medical Affairs?
Social listening is the structured monitoring and analysis of public online conversation, such as posts, hashtags, and discussions on platforms like X and LinkedIn, to identify recurring themes, sentiment, and influential voices. In Medical Affairs, it is used to understand how scientific topics are being discussed and by whom.

How does social listening help at medical congresses?
At medical congresses, social listening helps Medical Affairs teams track which topics draw the most discussion, read the sentiment and substance of that discussion, and identify the clinicians and organizations shaping the conversation. This supports timely, relevant scientific engagement planning.

Which topics or trends can social listening surface at a congress?
By monitoring congress hashtags and keywords, social listening can surface emerging research areas, frequently debated data, and shifts in attention between one meeting and the next. Comparing activity across years shows which themes are gaining or losing prominence.

Is congress social media activity representative of all attendees?
Often not. Studies of individual congresses have found that a relatively small share of attendees generate most of the visible online activity. For example, at the 2018 ECCMID congress about 13,000 delegates attended but only 591 Twitter accounts actively posted (Clinical Microbiology and Infection). Teams should interpret social listening findings with that limitation in mind.

Does social listening replace direct engagement with KOLs?
No. Social listening adds context by showing which topics and voices are prominent online, but it supplements rather than replaces direct scientific exchange between Field Medical teams and experts.

Further Reading:

• Mapping the Modern Patient Journey Through Social Listening → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/patient-journey-social-listening/
• Highlights from the 2024 MAPS Conference → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/maps-2024-conference-highlights/
• 3 Digital Ways to Engage Key Opinion Leaders (And Why) → https://www.accelerationpoint.com/resources/3-digital-ways-to-engage-key-opinion-leaders-and-why/