Information for health care researchers on understanding the information landscape in which they can build their own "brand" through social media and more.

1. Creating your
personal “brand”
Kara Gavin, M.S.
Michigan Medicine Dept. of Communication/IHPI Communications
Communicating your work through social media & more
as an early-career healthcare researcher

2. Who am I?
• Michigan Medicine & IHPI Communication team
• Trained in biology, science writing & journalism
• 25+ years’ experience communicating research
at U-M & Brookhaven National Lab

3. • Find & tell stories in the areas I cover
• Handle news media inquiries
• Push stories & info out any way I can
• Help researchers communicate directly
What do I do?

4. Why does U-M have staff like me?
• Our institution’s work should reach people who care
• U-M expertise can have impact – if it reaches the right people
• Taxpayers & policymakers who fund research
need to know what they’re paying for
• Most Americans need science/medicine translated

5. It’s easier than
ever to reach a
broad audience.

6. IHPI’s investment:
Staff | Channels | Training
Support to get health services research out to the
world, and to connect researchers with one another

7. What do you mean, “brand”?

8. Your personal brand…
• NOT a logo
• Must be built, over time
• Comes from how you present yourself to the
world…and what people can find about you
• Affects how people interact with you & your work

9. But first,
some context…

10. For 200 years…
• Information gatekeepers:
• News media
• Entertainment & publishing industry
• Educators & librarians
• Government agencies
• Journalists as the ‘fourth estate’: a watchdog of society
• Academic research as source of expertise & new knowledge

11. Last 20 years…
Traditional news media’s
gatekeeper & watchdog role has
eroded with its business model.

12. Institutions = news sources
Everyone = a publisher
This Photo by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-NC

13. An array of “bullhorns”

14. Institutions use these to amplify their
experts’ work
• “Brand journalism” – build & reinforce trust
• Original stories, images, videos, podcasts & more
• Built for search engine visibility & shareability
• Social media to disseminate and engage
• Fast response to questions & controversy

15. Michigan Medicine sites:
• New stories daily
• Research news & health advice
• Aimed at professionals & public
• Jump on timely news topics
• Shared on web, social media & email
• Optimized for search engine visibility
• 10.3M total views in FY22
(July 2021-June 2022)
www.michiganhealthlab.org
www.michiganhealthblog.org

16. Use what U-M creates
and what you create
to build your brand.

17. Key tools for you:
Facebook, Doximity, Reddit, Wikipedia, YouTube, Instagram, TikTok…
Your profile on IHPI & department websites

18. Why spend the time?
• Connect with others in your field & beyond
• Raise the visibility of your work
• Share new publications, news, observations, timely links
• Engage with individuals/institutions around the globe
• Get the most out of conferences & events
• Raise awareness of what YOU are all about

19. Why else? Altmetrics!
• Embedded in most papers
• Tracks activity per DOI:
• media coverage
• social media activity
• policy documents
• Assigns a score/percentile
• See who’s engaging with your work

20. DOI:10.1056/NEJMc2201761
745,105 views of letter
13th highest social media activity
of all NEJM-published content

21. Your essentials
• A robust professional web profile
• An up-to-date LinkedIn profile
• Google yourself & set up Google
alert for your name
• Know the PR person for your area
• Look at Altmetrics for your papers

22. “Laying low”
• Lurk on Twitter & LinkedIn
• Follow conference hashtags
• Subscribe to Twitter lists
• Join LinkedIn groups
• Favorite some Reddit forums

23. Take it to the next level
• Flesh out Twitter and LinkedIn bios
• Include social links in email signature
• Post about professional activities
• Reach out to your PR person about
upcoming work or timely expertise
• Write “plain English” blurbs on papers

24. Logical
organization
“You” and
other
pronouns
Active voice
Common,
everyday
words
Short
sentences,
short
paragraphs
Easy-to-read
design
features
Key principles for “plain English”

25. Engage more fully
• Share links/photos with your thoughts
• Salute the work/achievements of others
• Use LinkedIn’s “Write an Article” feature
• Post slide sets on SlideShare
• Be part of tweet chats, Reddit
discussions, Wikipedia editing, etc.
• On your personal social media,
be a source of truth

26. Join
• Platform to reach the public on timely topics
• Commentaries by academics, aided by editors
• Open copyright for republishing
• Routinely republished by major media outlets
• Easily shared via social media and the web
• Authors can see data on views & republishing

27. Be careful of…
• Connecting with patients on social media
• Getting too political/personal
• Especially if you want to impact policy
• Back opinions with published research
• Engaging in debates/advocacy without
understanding the platform you’re on

28. Where this can lead…
• Connect with others
• Spread knowledge
• Amplify your impact
• Keep up with new ideas
& opportunities
• Lend your voice
• Get more from
your work
• Build your brand

29. I challenge you…
• Venture onto social & web
• Learn from others
• See it as part of your career
• Build your brand so
it doesn’t get built for you!

30. IHPI Communications Toolkit
ihpi.umich.edu/comm-guide
Social Media Integrity site - best practices
socialintegrity.umich.edu/
Navigating Social Media as a Scholar
michmed.org/Q2V81
U-M resources

31. More Resources
Joyce Lee, M.D.’s Slideshares on social media:
http://www.slideshare.net/joyclee/presentations
Andrew Ibrahim, M.D.’s Visual Abstract Primer
https://www.surgeryredesign.com/resources
A list of IHPI members who tweet – follow them & learn!
https://twitter.com/i/lists/154150631

32. Still More Resources!
NIH Checklist for Communicating Science
and Health Research to the Public:
http://michmed.org/EzD1O
AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science:
http://www.aaas.org/pes
Health News Review: Health research communication:
http://www.healthnewsreview.org/toolkit/

33. Send questions & ideas!
kegavin@umich.edu
@karag
www.slideshare.net/KaraGavin