Moving Beyond Photo Sharing
When researchers hear the term ‘social media,’ they likely think of Facebook for sharing photos with family members and friends. And, while everyone at the workshop had heard of Twitter, many researchers did not see its utility for sharing their work. Speakers at the workshop highlighted several advantages to using social media as a means to reaching a researcher’s target audience, which may include the scientific community, the general public, and reporters.
Sharing policy messages from research on social media can:
- Increase buzz about an article and potentially increase citations for researchers.1
- Expand the reach of research findings and key messages.
- Create an opportunity for researchers to build media relationships without starting ‘cold.’
- Provide practice in thinking through how to concisely communicate policy messages from their research.
I’m a Researcher. Where Do I Start?
Many of the researchers felt overwhelmed by the idea of adding another item to their list for research dissemination, and weren’t sure how to get started with Twitter. Moreover, the economists in the group noted there is a significant time lag between releasing findings and final publication. By the time the results have been published and the media is interested, the story may be less relevant due to the time lag. The researchers also noted that the specific findings may change during this period, and wondered what results they could share via social media during the publications process, and when those results could be shared.
Start Small
Despite these challenges, the workshop’s communication and media experts encouraged participants to identify a realistic goal and start small. That might mean starting with sharing research results on Facebook, where nearly two-thirds of its users, or approximately 44 percent of the U.S. population, get news.2 Researchers can also start by allocating an hour to setting up a Twitter account, identifying their Twitter brand (key research topics and tweets), and finding some relevant individuals and organizations to follow.
Additional strategies to consider:
- Identify specific journalists or editors on Twitter who you want to reach with your research.
- Work with the communications department at your institution to identify opportunities for sharing your research.
- Create buzz in advance of releasing research results by tweeting while traveling to the country under study or for conferences.
Learn More
How to Tweet Your Research
Communicating Research to the Media
Working With Journalists
###
1. “Dr Melissa Terras: Open Access and the Twitter Effect,” accessed here.
2. Jeffrey Gottfried and Elisa Shearer, “News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2016,” (May 26, 2016), Pew Research Center for Media and Journalism, accessed here.