Using social media to promote your research

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