Social media Ineke Imbo Science Communication UGent Ineke.Imbo@UGent.be
Why? Research most important aspect of our job but not the most visible How big was the audience at your last conference? How many times has your latest paper been cited? How many friends do you have on Facebook? How many followers do you have on Twitter?
Why? Research most important aspect of our job but not the most visible Blogs, Facebook, Twitter effective in giving your work more attention? Yes! But use the social media consciously engage in social networks with a purpose and a plan Discussing your research on social networks will prove rewarding for your readers and you!
Goals Get your research known by more people Reputation management Connect with society Create involvement Media engagement Get to know the people that read your research Get people curious to learn more
Purpose Connect & collaborate with peers Do better research Collect data Recruite participants Generate & refine ideas Improve your writing Extra s Funding opportunities, finding jobs Back-channel at conferences
Concerns & Fears http://blogs.nature.com/soapboxscience/2012/06/07/reachingout-so-you-want-to-communicate-science-online-the-flowchart http://theconversation.com/status-anxiety-shouldacademics-be-using-social-media-25142
Twitter or Facebook?
Twitter Facebook Online collaboration: Scientists and the social network (Richard Van Noorden). Nature 512, 126-129.
Did you try Twitter? Twitter Virtually every topic is covered! You are updated with current and breaking news Your research is always embedded in a broader context Are you studying butterfly wing movement? Your followers are interested in biotechnology, too. Do you examine the legal impact of satellite crashes? Everybody likes a rocket launch YouTube video now and then.
http://www.edudemic.com/a-visual-guide-to-twitter-for-beginners/
http://www.edudemic.com/a-visual-guide-to-twitter-for-beginners/
http://www.edudemic.com/a-visual-guide-to-twitter-for-beginners/
http://www.edudemic.com/a-visual-guide-to-twitter-for-beginners/
http://www.edudemic.com/a-visual-guide-to-twitter-for-beginners/
Write a meaningful bio and add a good portrait photo to attract followers (ditch the egg)
If you only broadcast and never listen, people will start to notice and unfollow you
Use hashtags to group your tweets by content (and search using hashtags too) Conferences Double check meaning #don t #put #a #hashtag #before #every #word #dontuselongwordsashashtag
Use the search facility to locate topics that interest you and to discover (and follow) people with similar objectives
Tweet useful content: news, blogposts, websites, Tweet about your research status and publications interested people might follow you your followers learn about your work you can discuss about it
Don t be tempted to obtain followers by any quick route, this will not aid your twitter presence
Tweet regularly but not too often, people might think you are addicted rather than engaged
Set aside time in your schedule to tweet make it part of your routine in order to keep up the momentum Especially for shared account
Maintain a balance between how many people you follow and how many follow you You don t have to follow who is following you Unfollowing is ok
Engage in conversations and (goodnatured) debate this is the key to getting value out of twitter
Invest your 140 characters with wit, warmth and character - learn the art of constructing concise but interesting tweets
Show personality and humour in your tweets - no one is going to follow a twitter account that could be run by a robot Mixture of 30% chatter & 70% content = golden standard
Retweet other peoples tweets and others will retweet yours in return Retweet (RT) or comment on relevant stuff from others interactive discussions start
Favourite tweets Made you laugh Thank you Well done Great stuff Save for later
Tweet at lunchtime and between 4pm and 5pm when twitter is busiest and they will be seen Week: between 1 & 3 pm Weekend!
Desktop apps
Manage multiple accounts
Manage multiple accounts
Schedule tweets
Desktop apps Share Facebook, LinkedIn, Link shortening ow.ly, bit.ly, Analytics TOPSY Archive twdocs Filters
Facebook Personal Social network for personal information to share with your friends Don t put stuff online you don t want the whole world to see If you use Facebook in a private way, Facebook won t help your research Professional Do put stuff online you want the whole world to see (fellow researchers, future employers, future collaborators)
Contact Ineke.Imbo@UGent.be @inekeimbo Inspiration http://www.slideshare.net/sterretje8/twitter-forresearchers-40389778 @ResearchUGent http://ruben.verborgh.org/ @RubenVerborgh https://twitter.com/priestlib @PriestLib http://socialnetworkingforscientists.wikispaces. com/general