blogging and tweeting for academics
TRANSCRIPT
www.ids.ac.uk Engaging, Learning, Transforming
Blogging and tweeting
Robin Coleman
Digital Communications Officer
Institute of Development Studies
@IDS_uk
1 March 2015
It’s all about me!
www.ids.ac.uk Engaging, Learning, Transforming
Marketing background with over 10 years of academic
online communications experience
Manage the IDS website (www.ids.ac.uk) and research
team blogs
Set up, manage and grown IDS social media:
IDS Twitter followers = over 45k
IDS Facebook fans = nearly 160k
Have personally blogged about travel and root beer!
Questions on blogging
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Who’s written a blog?
What challenges are there to writing a blog?
How do you find blog posts?
What words or phrases would you use to define your
experience of blogging or reading blogs?
Why blog
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You’re the experts or thought-leaders – people need your insights
A great way to share your research
Opportunity to collaborate or communicate with project or with your
research consortium colleagues
Good for “niche” (or specialist) audiences
Building your profile (in a field or subject area) and research network
Cost-effective (in terms of your time and production costs)
Useful for by-passing traditional media (especially if it’s choosing not
to cover your area of expertise or concern)
Why blog
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“…academic blogging does not take place in a vacuum. It is
grounded in existing research and expertise. The flexibility it
affords allows this relationship to be a dynamic one – blogging
can be underwritten by research conducted, in progress or is
merely planned. It also provides a degree of space and
freedom to extend beyond the realms of research.”
Mark Carrigan, Managing Editor, LSE British Politics and Policy blog
Different blog post styles
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Blog style Approx. word count/time Examples
Write about your research (after it’s published or during the research process)
800-1,200 words, Half day (during) Early headlines from research on policymakers and ICTs… (after) Economics: Part of problem, or part of the solution?
Share your opinion on other research / key external reports
600-900 words, 1-2 hrs Global Drug Policy VI: Bold West African drug policy proposal should be taken up, and taken further
Describe an experience (e.g. field trips, recently attended event or conference)
600-900 words, 1-2 hrs Reflections on the K* summit: beyond K-Star-wars?
Comment on current affairs/topical issue or respond to a media story or other blog
600-900 words, 1-3 hrs The WTO Bali Deal: ‘Doha Lite and Decaffeinated’
Multimedia – incl. podcasts, videos, slideshows or images
100 words, <1 hr (assuming multimedia web-ready), 30mins
Eve Gray talks about why Open Access is crucial for research from the global South
Top-5 lists or Regular/named posts (e.g. “Links I like…”)
200-300 words, 1hr Duncan Green’s regular Monday morning Links I Liked
Who’s your audience?
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Students, colleagues or experts in a similar fieldwho might be struggling with the same question or whom you want
to impress
Potential funders
Campaigners and activists
Journalists
People from your country or who share the same
religious/sexual or other identity
NGO workers
How to write a blog post
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Outline your postBreakdown into sub-headings
Fill in the details
Language and toneInformal & conversational
Is English your audience’s 1st or
2nd language?
Headline and TitleKeywords
Opening paragraphKeywords
How people read from the web
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Image based on eye-tracking
studies
Red areas are where eye read
word for word
What are the implications of this
pattern?
How people read from a phone
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Which one’s better?
Edit the blog post – for humans
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Sleep on it before editing
Sub-headingsKeywords
Flow and orderDoes it tell a story?
Front load your important points
Chunk large wads of text into paragraphs
Single spacing
Use lists with buletpoints
Provide a summary text of the blog
Create a call to action
C.O.P.E. = Create Once Publish Everywhere
How search engines
discover/display your blog
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Title of page – 1st 50-55 characters
Hyperlink to website or blog
Date (depending on type of content)
then 150-155 characters taken from
the first paragraph or ‘teaser’ text
Search: “Public and Private Control and Contestation of Public Space amid Violent Conflict in Karachi”
Edit the blog post – for computers
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Reduce the Title lengthGoogle displays 1st 50-55 characters
Sub-headingsKeywords
Front load your important points
Provide a summary text of the blog
Links should descriptive not ‘click here’ or
‘report’
C.O.P.E. = Create Once Publish Everywhere
How a good blog might
look like
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Blogging motivations
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Ask for statsDon’t expect high numbers yet
Give time to build
Get feedback, answers, opinions
Creating your own niche community
Zimbabweland – land rights blog
Blogging resources
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6 blog tips for busy academics
http://matt.might.net/articles/how-to-blog-as-an-academic/
Advice for potential academic bloggers
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2013/01/14/ad
vice-for-potential-academic-bloggers/
Times Higher Education blog ‘Confronting the critics of
public engagement’
https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/confronting-
critics-public-engagement
End of part 1
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Time for a break?
Quick poll – Twitter
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Who has a smartphone?
Who uses social media for their profession?
Who has a Twitter account?
In a nutshell
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A social media channel or social network
Tweeting - sharing information, opinion, links, photos or a status
publicly
Find out what others are doing, latest news, events etc. instantly
Accessible via a feed made up of those you ‘follow’ via Home
Each tweet allows 140 characters
Your identity is represented by @yourshortname
Accessible via internet connected device - PC, Macs, smartphones,
tablets
A mar-comms tool for research uptake – direct connection with your
niche audience or community
How to present yourself
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Create a short but meaningful @name – up to 15 characters
Bio text should explain who you are and what you tweet about –
passion, specialism, etc. Use keywords that will get you found
Bio text allows 160 characters so keep it short
Include your Location and Website / Blog URL
Images and branding
Upload a good square profile image which works well in small
dimensions
Header image – landscape allows creativity
Background image for branding
“Birds of a feather flock together” -
Create a niche community
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Follow those who share common interests
You may gain followers by following them
Who you want to influence
Who influences or inspire you
Twitter’s own search and recommendations to
find new people to follow
Follow those who use #Hashtags that you
would use - for instant search filtered – simply
click on #hashtag word as a link
Create lists to organise who you follow
Instead of ‘following’ people you can add them
to a list
Examples:
your work colleagues
News websites
Bloggers
Funders
Event attendees or speakers
Look at other users’ Lists for new potential
followers
How to use Twitter
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Tweeting
140 characters per tweet – luckily Twitter
will count down the number remaining
Share links (inserting web address gets
automatically shortened) to web pages,
videos, anything with a URL
Share images (photos, infographics etc.)
#Hashtags – common subject keywords
which create instant search/filter function
(have different colour and can be clicked
on)
Poll – want a quick quiz and engage with
your followers. 4 x choices for
answers/votes
Engage with others
Reply to others – show them someone’s
listening or mention (MT) others – keep the
conversation going
Retweet – (RT) others who your own
followers would appreciate
DM (Direct (private) Message) –
sometimes works depending on who (big
accounts may ignore you, be unaware)
Like – previously ‘Favourite’ acts as a
bookmark function but now just a ‘Like’ this
post indicator (useful for recording your
influence) – indicates success
Good etiquette
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Don’t use CAPITALS – looks like you’re SHOUTING!!
Mention others by their Twitter @identity
#FF (Follow Friday) – a chance to thank those who have
retweeted, mentioned, replied or those you can recommend
to others
Use #Hashtags with purpose but don’t over use them in a
tweet – looks spammy
Don’t clog up others’ feed by tweeting multiple times in
short time spans
Exception to rule is Events
Before attending an event warn your followers or
introduce others who maybe event tweeting
Commentate on key points at a seminar, take photos,
share links if mentioned in seminar
Tips and tricks
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Tweeting
Get noticed by Mentioning another @identity in
your tweet if they have something to do with the
communication
Before tweeting check who else is talking about
the same subject then Follow them just before
sending tweet
Distribute and schedule your tweets
Timing for maximum exposure
Pin your most important tweet – promote a
tweet to the top of your profile feed
Title your blog under 100 characters – C.O.P.E.
Engaging
Use the Notifications tab to see mentions and
interactions
Retweet those who’ve mentioned or replied to
you
Search for tweets that mention you or your
organisation’s full name not @name then
Retweet
Craft your tweet & edit again
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Check the spelling to look professional
Shorter the better – someone may want to quote
you (without having to edit)
Avoid duplicate words
Remove unnecessary words
w/ = with, #TT = Translated Tweet, #ICYMI = in
case you missed it
Insert URL between text to increase click-thru
rate
Use #hashtags within the sentence rather than
an afterthought
Instead of using Reply to respond to others, write
new tweet & quote @name prefixed with a full
stop so it will appear on your followers’ feed
(otherwise hidden)
Twitter for research
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Your mission: Become respected, become the expert
Tweet whitepapers for peer review
Highly tweeted articles are 11 x more likely to get
cited than less
Tweet your blog to engage like-minded peers, RT
others you like
Tweet online publications you’ve written, others you
like, projects you’re involved in
Pin your most important/relevant tweet for promotion
Poll your followers for quick research results
E.g. chocolate world cup
Twitter analytics
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Try Twitter’s own statistics service -
https://analytics.twitter.com/user/*youridwithoutthe@/tweets
Therefore, for example:
https://analytics.twitter.com/user/ids_uk/tweets
See your stats on your Followers too
90-9-1 or the 1% rule
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Ratio of online forum/social media grouping
90% ‘lurkers’
9% ‘contributors’ or ‘engagers’
1% ‘super fan’ or ‘thought leader’
Your mission is to be which of the above?
Be a great party host
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Welcome old and new friends (followers, #FF Follow Friday)
Introduce new friends to others (mention, retweet)
Stimulate conversation (tweet questions, well-founded opinions)
Quote others and be topical – keep the conversation going, use #hashtags
No one likes a party pooper – don’t moan or vent your anger about trivial
things
Take an interest in new people – (retweet those who offer similar opinions)
Retell old tales to those late to the party – but don’t bore people by
repeating your yourself
Thank those who have helped you – not just Friday’s (retweet, mention,
reply)
Kindness gets rewards – Retweeting usually get returned or remembered
Ignore those who are rude or vulgar – avoid public spats
Evict those who annoy others (use the block/spam option)
Further resources
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Twitter for researchers (slideshare) - http://www.slideshare.net/UniofYorkLibrary/twitter-for-
researchers-22963915
Using Social Media to Increase your Research Impact (slideshare) -
http://www.slideshare.net/mishdalton/social-media-for-researchers-22433236
75 powerful ways to get more Twitter followers - http://twittertoolsbook.com/how-to-get-
more-twitter-followers/
15 ways to increase the click through rate of your tweets - http://blog.bufferapp.com/15-
ways-to-increase-the-click-through-rate-on-your-tweets
Ultimate complete social media sizing cheat sheet -
http://www.lunametrics.com/blog/2012/11/12/final-social-media-sizing-cheat-
sheet/#sr=g&m=o&cp=or&ct=-tmc&st=(opu%20qspwjefe)&ts=1384940675
Topsy - http://topsy.com/
Final word on public engagement
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Quote from Stephen Curry, Imperial College London
“it has given me opportunities to have a say in some of the important
issues that affect the business of science, such as funding, publishing
and research assessment.”
“It’s not something every scientist needs to be involved in but if some
of us aren’t outward-looking and willing to engage in debate and
dialogue with the public then we do a disservice to the idea of the
university and deserve every insult about ivory-tower mentality that
might be flung at us.”
See Times Higher Education blog ‘Confronting the critics of public engagement’
www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/confronting-critics-public-engagement
Thank you
Robin Coleman,
Digital Communications Officer,
Institute of Development Studies
@IDS_uk
1 March 2015
www.ids.ac.uk Engaging, Learning, Transforming