This document provides guidance on using social media effectively. It defines social media as interactive content that users create and share. Social media can help make research more credible, effective and affordable at engaging audiences. The key is to share high-quality, factual, novel, quotable and useful content regularly. Popular social media platforms discussed include Twitter, blogs, and LinkedIn for professional networking. Analytics are important for measuring social media performance. Search engine optimization tips are also provided to help content be more discoverable.

1. Social Media Playbook
Social Media are a lot more than connecting with
friends on FaceBook and avoiding FOMO.
They offer many ways to define a message and
reach a professional audience.
SM can support our research, publishing, and
data dissemination.
Grow our professional reputation and your brand.

2. SM Defined
Social Media are content you create or comment
on and share interactively.
A message one just sees is not interactive
A scholarly print journal article ≠ social medium.
That same article as part of a blog or post on any
number of platforms could be.

3. Why Bother & Who Cares?
The experience shows that SM can be more

Credible

Effective

Affordable
At engaging and influencing an audience or
community – including scientists and researchers

4. Content in King and Queen
Regardless of the vehicle, SM succeed when
you have something to say

Factual

Novel

Quotable

News You Can Use

Don't just shovel (copy & paste)

Effort you can sustain (free can be expensive)

5. Content Worth Sharing?
If it is, so are we.
– Research Findings
– Secondary Research, Summaries, Analysis
– Editorial, Commentary
– Media
• Photos
• Video
• Graphics
• Audio
We are what we share

6. Tools and Techniques?
There are scores of SM
We'll review some of the usual suspects
New ones all the time
Don't be afraid to try some of these
All are free of charge, though premium versions
exit.

7. Survival of the fittest
In the Attention Ecosystem, the ROW is a click
away.

8. email – most abused medium

If in doubt, don't

SPAM is a four letter word

Be interesting enough so they'll come to you

email ≠ Gmail or Outlook with long CC or BCC
– Use an email service, e.g., MailChimp
– Respect your subscribers

If they've bothered to sign up, reward them

9. Media Sharing

Don't email files

Use 3rd
party sites such as:
– Flickr
– SoundCloud
– Pinterest
– Vimeo

Beware of bandwidth hogging – edit size

Be rights aware

10. Web Site(s)

Not SM but its foundation

Refer back to home site to go deep

Refer out to partners and allies

Ecosystem of related sites or subdomains
– botany.gobabeb.org
– arthropod.gobabeb.org

11. Twitter

Really brief – 140 characters max

Can and usually should include links

Good for real time commentary

Interaction with seminar/webinar speaker

Use #tags

Retweet & comment

Our handle is @Gobabebrsh – follow us

12. Blogs

If you have it – flaunt it. If you don't, don't

Don't hog the home page unless your good*

Post frequently or at least regularly

Have diverse contributors

Consider multiple blogs and blogging
platforms, e.g., WordPress and Tublr
* hint – not everyone is

13. Analytics

SM are measurable – it you aren't measuring,
you aren't serious

Most have built in analytics but

Can usually add 3rd
party tools such as Google
Analytics

Look at the dashboards and reports regularly

Follows, bounces, unsubscribes, forwards, ...

14. LinkedIn
With whom do you want to connect?

Research influencers

Classic 6 degrees of separation

Connection marketplace

15. SlideShare
Now that you've create presentation?

Narrate

Annotate

Share

Track

16. YouTube

Videocentric, but not just video

Backup for other video sources

Focus on the channel(s)

Owner Google makes it easy to find

Connecting through teaching

Screen casts as well as live action

17. Webinars, Podcasts, & Programs
usually, small is beautiful, but

These can be long

Use multimedia richness

Show, tell, and teach

Beware of slideware

What's the competition showing?

If successful, elicit discussion and links

18. SEO

The art (and science) of being found

When a visitor asks Google, Bing, or
DuckDuckGo about topics you're good at, will
you be found?

Who ranks higher for relevant queries

What do they have that you don't

Content => Keywords =>Content (repeat)