using social media to promote your research
DESCRIPTION
Slides from a workshop for academics, researchers, and PhD students (1) to address the need to enhance the visibility of their work, (2) to raise awareness of opportunities for developing professional networks offered by social media (e.g. to connect to peers and collaborators, and engage with the work of others as they engage with theirs); (3) to discuss strategies for the development of presences on, and use of, social media.TRANSCRIPT
Using social media to promote your research
Professor Hazel Hall
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall
Purpose
1. To address the need to enhance the visibility of your work
2. To raise awareness of opportunities for developing professional networks offered by social media– Connect to peers– Connect to collaborators– Engage with the work of others as they engage with yours
3. Discuss how you can develop your presence on/use of social media
Why this session?
Why this session?
By the end of the session you will
• Be aware of the importance of engaging with social media to promote your work:– at the level of your School/research group or institute– as an individual
• Enhanced your familiarity with the range of tools available for these purposes, and how they can be implemented
Where to be
• (Local profiles)• CV services• Resource sharing sites• ID services
• Profile services• Blogging platforms• Impact measurement tools• A tool to keep track of it all
Your profile may be generated by others/automatically
Where to be “locally”
Where to be “locally”
Some profiles can be maintained by individuals
Individuals also supply updates on publications, and news to the local system
Where to be externally
• Individual practice varies enormously amongst academics and researchers
• LinkedIn – most(?) academics and researchers
• Fuller online presences – few at level of individual
• Research projects are better catered for in general
CV services – e.g. LinkedIn
• Electronic business card• Widely used• Provides “Googlable” results for individuals
• Connect to known contacts• Be introduced to new contacts
• Use update feature to disseminate news• Join groups for current awareness and
discussions
Resource sharing sites – e.g. SlideShare
• Showcase your work• Widen the audience for your output• Networks develop around resources shared:
slides, video, sound etc.• Useful for amplifying reach in live settings
(e.g. in combination with hashtagged Twitter stream)
Resource sharing sites – metrics example
2010 presentation on Twitter +18 views
2012 professorial lecture +13 views
2013 conference presentation +13 views
2010 conference keynote +10 views
SlideShare e-mails performance summaries on a weekly basis
ID services - Orcid
• ID distinguishes you from others• Especially important for those with
common names • Provides route to your publications• Metrics available
• See also Researcherid.com
Profile services - ResearchGate
• Widens audience for your output• Other similar services, e.g. Academia.edu• Metrics available
Profile services – opportunities to share expertise example
• See what’s being discussed in your area of expertise
• Contribute to the discussion
Profile services – opportunities to widen your network
• You can follow their updates• They can follow yours
Blogging platforms - WordPress
http://hazelhall.org
• Publish news, e.g. event previews and reports, student successes
• Advertise – jobs and studentship opportunities
• (Whinge)
• Use “static” pages for static material e.g. CV, publications archive, handout archive
• Easy to set up• A commitment to maintain well• Needs to be managed as one channel
alongside others• Use other services to drive traffic to your
blog, e.g. Twitter• Use blog to route traffic out again, e.g.
to university pages, SlideShare
2010 presentation on Twitter +18 views
2012 professorial lecture +13 views
2013 conference presentation +13 views
2010 conference keynote +10 views
SlideShare e-mails performance summaries on a weekly basis
Mentioned in blog post of 7 October
Mentioned in blog post of 2 October
Related to blog post of 19 September
Mentioned in blog post of 2 October
Channel links
Impact measurement tools - ImpactStory
Currently• Downloaded• Saved• Cited (GoogleScholar, Web of
Science) In the future• Acknowledged • Included in syllabi • Quoted in the press • Cited in policy documents • Recommended by others • Praised by opinion leaders • Mentioned in social media
http://hazelhall.org/2013/07/14/altmetrics-achieving-and-measuring-success-in-communicating-research-in-the-digital-age/
Keep track - AboutMe
• Keeps track of it all for you• Helps others find you across platforms• See also links here to:
• Google+• Kiltr• Klout• Newsle• Quora• Spruz• Topsy
• Note the absence of Facebook
WordPress, AboutMe & Twitter
At a minimum
• Up to date profile on “official” university platforms– e.g. school and/or research centre/institute web pages
and
• A LinkedIn profile• An About.me profile
So where should you “be”?
If you publish• ID services: Orcid, Researcherid.com• Research profile services: ResearchGate, Academia.edu• GoogleScholar
If you present externally and frequently, also consider• Resource sharing sites for slides, video, sound: SlideShare, Vimeo,
YouTube, SoundCloud
If you’re interested in your impact, sign up for• ImpactStory, Topsy, Klout
If you want to keep up to date, and keep others updated• Twitter
So where should you “be”?
• Do you want/need a full “independent” online profile?– Probably more important to those establishing their career whose personal brand will
have greater longevity than their association with their current institution
• Do you enjoy writing?
• Are you prepared to give up your free time to blog regularly?
• What would a blog give you that you can’t get from use of other services?– In-house news platform– Update function on LinkedIn
Should you set up a personal blog?
• It’s worth spending time to come up with a good blog name
• It will take seconds to register– But you’ll need to set aside at least the equivalent of a working week to set everything
else up if you plan to pull all your resources together (and a create a secure means of keeping track of all the registrations and passwords)
• You’ll need a consistent brand across the platforms– Same photograph– Same means of describing yourself– A means of directing people to your “main” about pages
• You should set personal editorial guidelines and a communication plan
• Always remember who employs you– Articulation of what you present on your blog with what is published elsewhere– Bear in mind social media good practice
If you do set up a personal blog
http://hazelhall.org/2013/10/07/an-afternoon-of-advice-from-thesis-whisperer-dr-inger-mewburn/
Using social media to promote your research
Professor Hazel Hall
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall