Slides from a workshop for academics, researchers, and PhD students (1) to address the need to enhance the visibility of their work, (2) to raise awareness of opportunities for developing professional networks offered by social media (e.g. to connect to peers and collaborators, and engage with the work of others as they engage with theirs); (3) to discuss strategies for the development of presences on, and use of, social media.

1. Using social media to promote your
research
Professor Hazel Hall
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall

2. Why this session?
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

3. 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

4. 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

5. Where to be “locally”
Your profile may be generated by
others/automatically

6. Where to be “locally”
Some profiles can be
maintained by individuals

7. Individuals also supply updates
on publications, and news to
the local system

8. 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

9. 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

10. 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)

11. Resource sharing sites –
metrics example
SlideShare e-mails performance
summaries on a weekly basis
2010 presentation on Twitter +18 views
2012 professorial lecture +13 views
2013 conference presentation +13 views
2010 conference keynote +10 views

12. 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

13. Profile services - ResearchGate
•
•
•
Widens audience for your output
Other similar services, e.g. Academia.edu
Metrics available

14. Profile services – opportunities
to share expertise example
•
•
See what’s being discussed in your area of
expertise
Contribute to the discussion

15. Profile services – opportunities
to widen your network
•
•
You can follow their updates
They can follow yours

16. 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

17. Channel links
SlideShare e-mails performance
summaries on a weekly basis
Mentioned in blog post of 7 +18 views
2010 presentation on Twitter October
Mentioned in blog post of 2 October
2012 professorial lecture +13 views
Related to blog presentation +13 views
2013 conferencepost of 19 September
Mentioned in blog post of 2 October
2010 conference keynote +10 views

18. 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/altmetricsachieving-and-measuring-success-incommunicating-research-in-the-digital-age/

19. 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

20. WordPress, AboutMe & Twitter

21. So where should you “be”?
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

22. 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

23. Should you set up a personal blog?
• 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

24. If you do 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)
•
http://hazelhall.org/2013/10/07/anYou’ll need a consistent brand across the platforms
afternoon-of-advice-from-thesis-whisperer– Same photograph
dr-inger-mewburn/
– 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

25. Using social media to promote your
research
Professor Hazel Hall
http://hazelhall.org
http://slideshare.net/hazelhall