Social media for promoting research
Using social media as a researcher
Social media gives you a free platform to increase awareness of your research while building long-lasting connections. But how do you decide what to write and what channels to use?
A researcher recently asked me, “How should I be using Twitter as a researcher?” I replied, “What’s your purpose and who is your target audience?”
Once you have the answers to these questions, you can decide how best to invest your time and energy to help grow your career as a researcher.
How could you engage on social media channels?
In a recent workshop, I asked researchers to think of themselves as a brand. How would you sound? What tone of voice would you use? Would you be fun, serious, formal, conversational, vague, confident, personal or professional? For example, I think of myself as a positive, colourful and approachable brand like Graze and aim to embody those personality traits when I post on social media.
You also need to decide how often you are going to post, remembering that less is more but consistency is key!
I love Graze’s fun and colourful branding (not to mention their snack boxes!).
A handy equation to build your game plan
To decide which social media channels are right for you, jot down some ideas on paper using this equation:
Your purpose/s + your target audience/s = join the channels your audience use + plan your messaging
What is your purpose of using social media?
Do you have a long term goal to raise your profile as an expert in your field or as an advocate for a cause you believe in? Or do you want to start using social media to stay on top of the latest trends, news and peer updates?
If the answer is yes:: I have written this post with you in mind. You may benefit from having personal social media accounts such as Twitter, LinkedIn, Facebook or Instagram, so you can start sharing your own content (or sharing other people’s content). Firstly, you need to decide on your audience and which channels to use, so skip to the section below.
If the answer is no: you may only want to use social media to occasionally get survey participants or share a piece of information - rather than to progress your career. If this is the case, you could save time and energy by leveraging existing channels rather than setting up your own. Try asking your university, local media outlets, charities or businesses to share a post on your behalf. By sharing your information, they will have a bigger reach to an existing and already engaged audience.
Who is your target audience on social media?
Thinking about which audiences you want to engage with, will help you to choose the right social media channels to achieve your purpose. Who do you want to engage with and where can you find them? What social media channels should you use? Search Engine Monkey’s diagram below helps you to understand who uses which social media channels and why. This will help you to choose which channels to join.
Create a social media action plan
Now you’ve decided your purpose, your audience and what channels to use, your next logical steps are to set up your new social media channels. Decide how often you are going to post and create an action plan to use social media to grow your career.
For more advice about using social media to grow your career, why not use or adapt my 30, 60, 90 day action plan, or contact me for further advice and support.
