Understanding Communication Strategies and Viewer Engagement with Science Knowledge Videos on Bilibili

Abstract

As a popular form of online media, videos have been widely used to communicate scientific knowledge on video-sharing platforms. These science knowledge videos take advantage of rich and multi-modality information which has the potential to provoke public engagement with science knowledge and promote self-learning. However, how communicators strategically make science knowledge videos to engage viewers, and how specific communication strategies correlate with viewer engagement remain under-explored. In this paper, we first established a taxonomy of communication strategies currently used in science knowledge videos on Bilibili and then examined the correlations between communication strategies and viewers’ behavioral, emotional, and cognitive engagements measured by post-video comments. Our findings revealed the landscape of rich science communication strategies in science knowledge videos and further uncovered the correlations between these strategies and viewer engagements. We situated our results within prior research on science communication and HCI, and provided design implications for video-sharing platforms to support effective science communication.