Introduction to Social Media for Academics | Ecodemia

Introduction toIntroduction to

Richard RoafRichard Roaf

UCL Environment Institute

BackgroundBackground

What isWhat is

• Blogs

• Microblogs

• Social Networking

• Multimedia Websites

• Social Bookmarking

PopularityPopularity• Grown by 340% in 3 years in UK• Youtube videos are watched 2 billion times per

day• There are 500 million active users on Facebook• Every week 3.5 billion pieces of content are

shared just on Facebook• 6 million new users join Twitter each month

DemographicsDemographics

The average social network user is 37 years

old.

The average Twitter user is 39 years old.

The average Facebook user is 38 years

old.

What isWhat is

• Blogs

• Microblogs

• Social Networking

• Multimedia Websites

• Social Bookmarking

• Must engage the public with research on sustainable development

• Mainstream media is failing to do this

• Peer influence is crucial

• Social media connects positive greens to rest of population through weak ties

Social media andSocial media and

• Allows you to use creativity

• Helps people digest complex information

• Allows for engagement

• Creates a two way dialogue

Social media andSocial media and

Results of Pilot Study published in Autumn 2010. They like:

“Focused and concise evidence, without generalised or overblown statements...”.

“Evidence was provided about dissemination (such as audience or visitor numbers).”

“The activity went beyond ‘business as usual’ engagement (such as public lectures), and attracted widespread interest or involved a programme of activity which was often innovative.”

They don’t like:

“Reliance on indicators that lacked context or meaning, for example, numbers of hits on a website, without benchmarks or further contextual explanation”.

• Set to become more important

• Sixth formers are very active online

• Can present the department as more exciting, interesting, relevant

• Engaging with potential students is crucial

AttractingAttracting

Martyn PoliakoffMartyn Poliakoff

“Particularly impressive was a presentation describing online outreach including a "You Tube" video on the periodic table of the elements that has already received greater than a million "hits" worldwide.”

Chemistry for the Next Decade and Beyond

EPSRC

BlogsRapidly increasing number of academic blogsBuilds on academics existing competenciesBeing personalAvoid text overloadhttp://startswithabang.com/Can cross-post

How are otherHow are other

Youtube

Lots of lectures

Easier than ever to make videos

Important to be creative and different

RSA Animate

How are otherHow are other

Facebook

Great way to disseminate content

Can be used to share anything

Must initially recruit followers

Stanford University

How are otherHow are other

Twitter

Short posts used to share links and news

Increasing number of academics using it

Lots of funding councils & related bodies

Recruit followers by becoming one

How are otherHow are other

• Crowd sourcing and citizen science

How are otherHow are other

“The amount of knowledge and talent dispersed among the human race has always outstripped our capacity to harness it.”

Jeff Howe

Best Practice

• Use an integrated approach

• Help people climb the content ladder

• Be personal

• Take part in conversations

• Be different

How are otherHow are other

Integrated approach

Use a content platform and a distribution

platform

e.g.

Youtube & Facebook

Blog & Twitter

How are otherHow are other

Social MediaSocial Media

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

• Sharing what with who?Sharing what with who?• Assess your resourcesAssess your resources• Survey the landscapeSurvey the landscape• Establish guidelinesEstablish guidelines• What does success look like?What does success look like?

Sharing what with who?Sharing what with who?

• What research do you want to share?• What could be of value to people?

Who could benefit from engaging with your research?• NGOs• Government departments• Local government• Schools• Community groups• Online groups• Members of the public (which ones)

Assess your resourcesAssess your resources• Staff members• PHD students• Undergraduates• University communications team• University IT staff• External support such as Ecodemia

How much time do they have?

How much interest do they have?

What skills do they have?

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

Survey the landscapeSurvey the landscape• What are other people saying about this?• Where are they saying it?• List the topics and sites that are relevant

to you• Where possible assess popularity

e.g. number of followers

What does success look like?What does success look like?

A large number of hits?A significant engagement with a few

peopleTargeting the right people

Establish GuidelinesEstablish Guidelines

• Encourages a consistent presence

• Helps those who aren’t savvy

• See Vanderbilt University Best Practice

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

Choosing the right platformsChoosing the right platforms

• Where are your audience?• What will compliment your research• What is realistic

• Blogs

• Microblogs

• Social Networking

• Multimedia Websites

Start creating content

• Just do it

• Begin with your audience in mind

• Create a rough content timeline

• Don’t expect fireworks to begin with

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

ParticipateParticipate• Interact with your community

• Be part of the conversation

• Develop relationships

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

Monitor statistics and feedback

Facebook: Number of likes, comments

Online video: Views, subscribers demographics, comments

Twitter: Number of followers, retweets

Blogs: Number of views, comments, engagement

Review

• What worked for the audience?

Look at comments and statistics

Encourage honest feedback from target audience

• What worked for you?

How time intensive was it?

Getting started withGetting started with

4 Stages4 Stages

How could UCLHow could UCL

How could UCLHow could UCL

What doesWhat does

How could UCLHow could UCL

ReferencesReferences• Time Spent on Social Media has grown by 340% in 3 years in UK• Youtube videos are watched 2 billion times per day. Source:

http://www.youtube.com/t/fact_sheet • There are 500 million active users on Facebook. Source: Wikipedia• Every week 3.5 billion pieces of content are shared just on Facebook Source:

Facebook Factbook – visualisation produced for Facebook’s 6th birthday • 6 million new users join Twitter each month.

http://www.hubspot.com/blog/bid/5503/HubSpot-Releases-Third-State-of-the-Twittersphere-Report-SOTwitter

• Demographics http://royal.pingdom.com/2010/02/16/study-ages-of-social-network-users/

• Vanderbilt Social Media Guidelines http://www.vanderbilt.edu/publicaffairs/webcomm/vu-resources/social-media-handbook/appendix-a/

LinksLinks• Royal Society of Arts Animate Video http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6XAPnuFjJc

 • ICARB Video http://icarb.org/about/

• Video of Professor Martyn Poliakoff

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O2799XSIlZM&playnext=1&list=PLA6F45C81BAF9D513&index=61 

• Video by Stanford academic responding to questions from Facebook users  http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=710996190773

• SD Update blog http://www.sdupdate.org/

• Vanderbilt University Social Media guidelines

http://www.vanderbilt.edu/publicaffairs/webcomm/vu-resources/social-media-handbook/

• Award winning blog on physics http://startswithabang.com/