Science communication @ LTV

Science and social media

Tips from Ida Andersson and Camilla Zakrisson Juhlin at the Unit for Collaboration and Development

In previous newsletters from Science Communication @LTV (October 12, 2021), we gave some tips on how you can use social media to make your research visible. There are many different purposes for using social media and you need to think about yours. But once you know why you should be active in social media and who you want to communicate with and in which channels, we have five tips on how you can think about posting:

Get interaction in your posts. Feel free to talk about your research but also make sure that the followers interact in the comments field, making your post more widely spread but maybe you also will get new thoughts and ideas for your research. You can make the interaction happen by asking questions, be active in your comment field and comment, answer and ask follow-up questions. Feel free to interact on other people's posts as well to build your brand as an expert in your field.

Focus on quality in your posts. Quantity is of course important as well; it is usually not enough to post from time to time - you need to do it on a regular basis. If you must choose, choose quality rather than quantity. Plan to post regularly, even if there is longer time between each. But then make sure that the posts are good and interesting for your followers. Behind the scenes posts are often popular, add something more than just a movie or picture, tell a little about what you do and why.

Schedule posts for one or two weeks ahead, or at least plan them. Are you going out on a field trial? Then plan to make posts from there and plan the message as well. Take photos and film on site. If you do not want to publish directly, do so when you return to the office or at home. But at least then you know what you want to communicate and how, the posts will then be easier to produce.

Keep track of how the posts are performing. Use the information to better know what your target audience is interested in. Most social media channels have built-in statistics that you can follow, choose a few parameters to keep track of.

Preferably do not cross-publish the same content in several channels, adapt the message and expression along the channel. So do not publish the same image and text on Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook - change according to which target group follows you in which channel.

In the next upcoming newsletter from Science Communication @ LTV, we will focus more on social media as a way for outreach of your research and to strengthen your personal brand as a researcher.

Watch out in your mailbox on 31 May.