What’s the value of science communication in content marketing?
People rely heavily on expert insights and online research to make decisions. Forty-six percent of Americans say “digital tools,” such as search engines, forums, and social media are essential for their ability to learn more about a product before buying it.
Science is a crucial part of that. During pre-purchase research, consumers need fact-based, actionable information—whether it’s for pet care, cannabis use, or anything in-between. The world needs writers who can translate scientific data into plain-language content more than ever before.
But making that plain-language content is harder than you might think. And public trust in the scientists who produce those facts is waning. Research shows that this distrust transfers onto the companies who rely on these scientists’ data: Sixty-three percent of people now believe that businesses intentionally try to mislead them with false or exaggerated statements. Pushing misinformation via poorly-translated scientific information can exacerbate that distrust.
Plus, the confusing messaging from agencies like the Centers for Disease Control, apparent partisan political patterns displayed by the World Health Organization, and the “doomerism” associated with climate science have made it significantly more difficult to earn public trust through research-based facts.
Science writers must know how to navigate these sensitive times. Highly skilled research-based writing that restores trust in, and engagement with, the very science that your business and customers rely on daily is critical for developing rapport and a positive reputation.
The key to all this? Producing plain-English content that engages, empathizes with, educates, and empowers your target audience—in that order. Let’s call it “the Four Es.”
One writer that knows how to do just that is Amelia Zimmerman.
I asked Amelia Zimmerman, ESG and Sustainability Writer, to share her experience and perspectives in science communication for content marketing. Here’s what she had to say.
Amelia, once a TV commercial writer, now writes “human-centered stories that inspire behavior change,” primarily through B2B in the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and sustainability spaces.
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Where do you feel public trust in science currently stands?
What is the value of working with a professional science communicator for content marketing?
How would you describe the value or function of your role as a science communicator and, more specifically, an ESG and sustainability writer?
What is the value of scicomm in the B2B space, in particular?
What is your typical process in developing a science-based article?
How does science-based content help brands stand out from competitors and build credibility?
What else should readers to know?
Where do you feel public trust in science currently stands?
I think ‘science’ has become a kind of deity in the pandemic and post-pandemic world. That’s a generalization, because as the pandemic showed us, there’s a huge split between those who trust ‘science’ with their lives, and those who distrust it completely—particularly in the context of, say, the COVID vaccines. But if we take vaccination rates as an approximation of public perception of and trust in science (and of course it’s much more complicated than this), then we’re looking at some 85% of the population who have at least some kind of trust in modern-day medical science.
Similarly, in my niche (climate change and sustainability), we’ve seen a huge shift in the dialogue since the turn of the century. In the early days, climate denialism was the bad guy: we were fighting against leaders and policy makers and a large portion of the general public who refused to believe climate change was real (or human-caused, or cause for concern). These days, we don’t have to deal with too much of that anymore. Plain old denialism pretty much went out with Nokia cellphones.
But now there’s a new kind of antagonist on the scene—Seth Klein calls it new climate denialism. This is where organizations and governments acknowledge the “science” and agree that it’s “important to take decisive action,” and assure stakeholders that they are “taking the problem seriously,” while pretty much doing nothing at all to reverse their impact. In some ways this is worse than the old denialism, because it’s so much harder to recognize.
What is the value of working with a professional science communicator for content marketing?
If you’re an organization in the sciences, working with an experienced science communicator can make a huge difference to your content and messaging. Generally speaking, what the sciences need is to get people on board—whether that’s investors, donors, customers, staff, the government, the public—and science communicators know how to make people care. It’s clichéd, but ‘scientists’ are often a little too close to their work to know the most engaging way to tell their story. That’s not always the case, and some scientists are also talented communicators. But in general, the best science communicators will help your brand find the right balance between education and inspiration, and put your work in the context of what matters to your audience.
How would you describe the value or function of your role as a science communicator and, more specifically, an ESG and sustainability writer?
When you hire a science communicator in place of a more general writer, you’re hiring a certain willingness to take time and patience with the material and go deep into the research. Many more ‘general’ writers won’t go as deep as scicomm writers will, and even if they do, scicomm writers come with an understanding of how to best engage readers with the scientific material at hand. This involves translating technical concepts into ideas that are easily understandable, memorable, and shareable, as well as writing in such a way that makes a reader want to continue reading. Most scicomm writers have a strong grasp on storytelling principles. Combined with the ability to understand scientific information, this is what sets them apart from general writers, and from traditional scientists.
What is the value of scicomm in the B2B space, in particular?
I think many content creators in the B2B space fall into the trap of writing in corporate or industry jargon, or in technical ways that aren’t accessible to all readers and don’t prioritize narrative and engagement. This is a huge downfall in a lot of B2B content I read. Many marketers think ‘business to business’ means one business talking to another—but really, it’s just humans talking to humans. I think we can inject a little more humanity into B2B content, and that’s really what scicomm is about: bringing back the humanity into our technical and scientific content.
What is your typical process in developing a science-based article?
I like to start as early as possible and immerse myself in the research. I’m not a scientist by trade, so if it’s a new niche or topic, I’ll generally start pretty high-level for context, and then follow the footnotes and hyperlinks to go deeper. Getting started early means I can just enjoy this phase and absorb all I can, before I start to outline and then go into more targeted, purposeful research—always from reputable and peer-reviewed sources. This leads pretty naturally into first, second, and third drafts, and so on. Sometimes I’ll interview experts as part of my targeted research phase.
How does science-based content help brands stand out from competitors and build credibility?
There’s a reason that mystery novels outsell biology textbooks (except in university bookstores.) Science can be interesting and beautiful and fun—and, sometimes, life-changing—but only if it’s communicated well.
The biggest problem I find with science-based communications is that they assume a level of knowledge that is too far above the general reader. Online readers have very short attention spans, so if your content makes them feel confused or uneducated, you’ll lose them fast.
It’s not about ‘dumbing down’ ideas, or making readers feel inadequate. It’s actually the opposite. It’s using accessible language and structures that allows everyday readers to understand a topic, without tripping them up in academic or industry-specific language. The best science communication doesn’t make readers feel stupid; it makes them feel smart.
If you treat your readers as smart and help them to understand things that matter to them, they’ll form a unique bond with your brand, which can be a powerful way to generate brand loyalty and establish your authority.
What else should readers know?
If you’re interested in studying how great science writers work, you can’t go wrong reading Carl Zimmer, Bill Bryson, Siddhartha Mukherjee, Carl Sagan, Neil DeGrasse Tyson, and Richard Feynman.
Although it’s more economics-based than ‘science’-based, Freakonomics is also a great example of turning numbers-based content into engaging stories. Another great place to start is with documentaries. Skilled documentarians are masters at taking fact-based content and weaving it into a compelling story that you can’t stop watching.
If you’re a scientist, you might also read books about science writing, or about writing without jargon. Some of my favorites include Connection by Randy Olsen, and Death Sentence by Don Watson.
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