This document discusses using social media to communicate research. It defines social media as websites that allow contribution and engagement. Popular platforms mentioned include blogs, Twitter, YouTube, Facebook and LinkedIn. The document outlines benefits of social media such as accessibility, engagement and raising your profile. It provides examples of using different platforms and recommends regularly sharing engaging content like images and updates. The document advises planning content and goals, considering your audience, and cautions against sharing sensitive information or anything unprofessional. Resources for learning best practices are also included.

1. Using Social Media to
Communicate Your Research
Nicola Osborne, Social Media Officer
http://edina.ac.uk/
Heriot-Watt Crucible VII, 15th
January 2015, Edinburgh

2. Introduction

3. What is Social Media?
• Social Media are any websites that allow you to contribute, to
engage, to connect with others and are “Web 2.0” tools
(O’Reilly 2005).
• Examples include:
– Blogs (WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr, etc.)
– Twitter
– YouTube and Vimeo, Vine
– Facebook
– Google+
– Flickr, Instagram, Pinterest, Giphy, etc.
– LinkedIn, Academia.edu, etc.
– Mendeley, Delicious, Diigo, Reddit, etc.
– FigShare
– Stack Overflow, Jelly

4. Why Use Social Media?
Social media tools…
• Are go-to spaces for expertise and advice.
• Offer new ways to tell stories, to engage in
dialogue, to reach out to your audience(s).
• Rank highly on Google, Bing, etc.
• Can enable direct access to key figures from
Principal Investigators to Research Councils to press
and potential research participants.
• May generate media interest in your work, new
collaborations and other unexpected opportunities.
• Offer inexpensive ways to raise your own profile and
that of your research.

5. What tools should you use?
• Blogs - make your work visible, enable semi-formal ways
to share working methods and progress, and provide a
way to find and engage in dialogue with your audience.
• Twitter - very effective way to share key research
updates, build a network around your work, find peer
support and advice, track news.
• Video or Audio - can bring clarity to complex concepts
quickly. Well-made short videos or animations can
convey complex concepts and research quickly,
accessibly and in very engaging sharable ways.
• Instagram, Flickr, Pinterest, etc. – any images bring
a project to life – research is about people, ideas, events,
collaboration, equipment... Images make your ideas,
achievements and discoveries far more tangible.

6. What should you share?
• What your research is about and what it aims to
achieve.
• Processes, updates, changes of approach – to the
extent that such transparency is appropriate and
acceptable.
• Quirky, playful and accessible content around your
work and research area.
• Publications, presentations, press mentions and
materials that reflect research outputs and expertise.
• CHECK ANY EXISTING PRIVACY, NON-DISCLOSURE
OR SOCIAL MEDIA POLICIES AND ENSURE YOUR
SOCIAL MEDIA PRESENCE OR ACTIVITY COMPLIES.

7. Some examples…

8. Blogs: What’s on my Blackboard?
http://whatsonmyblackboard.wordpress.com/

9. Blogs: Mary Beard
http://timesonline.typepad.com/dons_life/

10. Blogs: The Conversation
http://theconversation.com/

11. Facebook: I Fucking Love Science
https://www.facebook.com/IFeakingLoveScience
http://www.iflscience.com/categories/technology

12. Tumblr: NPR’s Seed to Shirt
http://seedtoshirt.tumblr.com/

13. Twitter & YouTube: Joe Hanson
https://twitter.com/jtotheizzoe

14. Twitter & Vine: #6secondscience
https://twitter.com/search?q=%236secondscience
http://6secondscience.tumblr.com/

15. Planning Social Media Use
• Consider what you want to achieve, what your
goals are, what you want to share about your
research. How can you track progress?
• Think about your audience(s): where do they
hang out online? What will engage them in your
work? How can you make it relevant to them?
• Be creative – what social media tools could help
you to communicate in new ways?
• Be pragmatic - what best fits your project’s style,
expertise, and time availability?

16. Planning Social Media Content
• Brand your presences and ensure you complete
your profile information. Always link back to your
definitive research profiles and project websites.
• Regularly share interesting engaging content,
use images, listen to and engage with the audiences
you are reaching out to.
• Ensure you keep profiles and presences up to
date and relevant, review their effectiveness, and
ensure they represent your work as you want it to
be seen.

17. What should not be shared
• Commercially sensitive data or other material
your employer/PI would not want shared or that
might breach guidelines.
• Personal information about colleagues,
participants, those at partner organisation that might
breach Data Protection law or ethical guidance.
• Material (images, discussion board posts, tweets,
etc.) that might impact on your own professional
reputation or the credibility of your research.
• Anything you would not want a funder, professional
peer, project partner, or future employer to see or
read.

18. Useful Resources
• LSE. 2013. Impact of Social Sciences blog.
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/
• Minocha, Shailey and Petre, Marian. 2012. UK: Vitae Innovate and Open University.
Available from:
http://www.vitae.ac.uk/CMS/files/upload/Vitae_Innovate_Open_University_Social_Media_Han
.
• O’Reilly, T. 2005. What Is Web 2.0: Design Patterns and Business Models for the Next
Generation of Software. In O’Reilly, 30th September 2005. Available from:
http://oreilly.com/web2/archive/what-is-web-20.html
• Patel, S. 2011. 10 ways researchers can use Twitter. In Networked Researcher, 3rd
August 2011. Available from:
http://www.networkedresearcher.co.uk/2011/08/03/10-ways-researchers-can-use-twitter/
Privacy Settings Links:
• Facebook Privacy Settings:
http://www.facebook.com/help/privacy
• LinkedIn Privacy Settings:
http://learn.linkedin.com/settings/
• Guide to Google+ Privacy Settings:
http://lifehacker.com/5827683/a-guide-to-google%252B-privacy-and-information-control/

19. Managing Your Identity Online
Useful Search Engine
• Google: http://www.google.com and Google Blog Search:
http://www.google.co.uk/blogsearch/
• Bing: http://www.bing.com/ and Bing Social Search:
http://www.bing.com/social/
• Topsy: http://topsy.com/
• Twitter Search: https://twitter.com/#!/search-home
• Social Mention: http://www.socialmention.com/
• Whos talkin: http://whostalkin.com/
• Social Searcher: http://www.social-searcher.com/
• SmashFuse: http://www.smashfuse.com/
Useful Tools for Automatic Checking and Task Management
• Google Alerts: http://www.google.com/alerts
• Tweetbeep: http://tweetbeep.com/
• IFTTT: https://ifttt.com/