Can Science Be Sexy? – General Electric, Wellcome Collection & Deep Sea News on Social Media

Chemistry, physics and their cousins weren’t my cup of tea back in school.

Society often associates science with tech-obsessed geeks and nerds who are most likely to be living in the world of Otaku. Yap, that old cliché. But those stereotypes are changing. Science doesn’t always mean geeky and boring stuff.

Have a glance at these 3 science-related companies on social media.

Okay, we know they are not the hottest brands. But they are truly innovative.

It has unmistakably brought something emotional and human-like to an otherwise often monotonous scientific world.

General Electric

• Beyond a B2B business

GE’s Instagram account features various intriguing and powerful visuals – ranging from jet engines and wind turbines. The images are captivating and never boring, with a mix of ‘light-weight science’ and the latest technology.

What it has achieved on its Instagram and Pinterest? It has made their business more relatable to consumers.

(General Electric’s Facebook)

• A Behind-the-Scene Feeling

Just like how people want to have a peek of fashion show’s backstage, people are also discreetly interested in ‘Do Not Enter’ area in a lab. Its Pinterest and Instagram give some sort of a behind-the-scene look.

GE’s images give people an insight into what engineers are/were working on over there. The company has shown its leadership in innovation – far beyond just a company making household appliances (see Entrepreneur).

• User-Generated Content

GE has done well in creating shareable and user generated content. The company’s Vine account featured campaigns, using hashtags. #6secondscience campaign asked users to submit their unique experiments. The most interesting and creative experiments got re-vined by GE.

Welcome Collection

Welcome Collection is another cool example. Though it is less known, its blog and twitter tell you interesting stories.

• Let the Images Do the Talking.

Welcome Collection’s Twitter account features a good use of images. Just a sort of feeling you get when you flip through a magazine. But they don’t just deploy random pictures. Of course not. All images are related to their exhibitions or events.

(Wellcome Collection celebrating #MuseumDragon on Saint George’s Day)

• The Golden Formula

There is a golden formula on social media that every company should use.

Inform + entertain = WIN

And Wellcome Collection is mastering it. Its digital collection on social media range from beautiful piece of art to the history of medicine. Some you might find weird, but still somehow enlightening. It can’t give you a full lecture on, say, biology. But it certainly stairs up your curiosity.

(Wellcome Collection on WordPress)

• Cool Hashtags

The final point why Wellcome Collection is cool on social media? Unlike some other old museums, they are more modern and updated. Just have a look at the way they use hashtags on Facebook and Twitter.

Or some other quirky hashtags like#mermaid

Deep Sea News

Deep Sea News is not an ordinary science blog. With passion for preserving sea life, ‘Deep Sea News aims to demystify and humanize science in an open conversation […]’ (see deepseanews.com). It’s not mainstream, but it’s got a strong fan-base who likes something unique and different.

(Deep Sea News on Tumblr)

• Witty twist to ordinary science

What makes it stand out ofrom the crowd is clear. It adds some twist to emotionless science. Who said science is a bore? Who said scientists are not sexy?

• Building a Relevance

Normally science has little relevance to people’s life. But DSN’s Pinterest account has established a connection between two worlds through science-related light-hearted things.

• Humanising Marine Life

More importantly, DSN has added emotion to their ‘products’ – marine creatures. They are given some sort of personalities that make them more relatable (and maybe adorable?) to viewers.

Can you see a smiling Giant Isopod?

What do you think?

London Web Agency Appnova – keep following us on Twitter @appnova and “like” us on Facebook for useful news and tasteful digressions about geeky stuff.