5 Ways to Promote Your Research on Social Media

"If you want people to read your papers, make them open access, and let the community know (via blogs, Twitter, etc.) where to get them.”

Melissa Terras, University College London

Social media has remodeled the collective sharing of ideas via online communities, networks, and blogs.

So, is it necessary for scientists to be an active part of the online world?

Well, check out our previous article:

5 Reasons Why Researchers Must Promote Themselves on Social Media

Social media does not just benefit the general public, but also business people, scientists and researchers, students, and teachers. Social media marketing is a free method for authors, researchers, and scientists to reach out to the world and promote their work. It has now successfully become a marketing platform that offers benefits not only to researchers but also to their target audience.

It is difficult for a scientist to only spread the results of his/her research through posters and conferences. Social media platforms can offer a much greater reach than a conference.

Thus, for scientists, these tools offer a powerful platform to accelerate or create new contacts with fellow researchers, increase article citations and enhance communication between peers.

Listed below are five ways researchers can promote their research on social media and the internet:

1. Discuss the science that matters to you

The best way to promote your research on social media is to keep your target audience updated on the science that you are involved in. Researchers can discuss or show how their science/research is being performed. This can involve anything from videos or updates on how a particular research project is progressing. Another good way is to talk about the science behind research papers of interest, the set-backs faced while carrying out a particular project, how this research will benefit society, etc.

2. Be active on social networking sites (Twitter, LinkedIn, ResearchGate, Slideshare, Google+)

Being an active member of these networking sites will help you market your research effectively. For example, some research has shown that scientific articles that are tweeted are more likely to get cited compared to others. Additionally, researchers can upload their presentations and build followers by being a part of Slideshare.

The University of Dublin offers a guide on promoting research for the greatest impact. They mention that listing publications that have been both published and are in the process of getting published on ResearchGate, Academia.edu or LinkedIn will help promote your research. Moreover, having a profile on LinkedIn and ResearchGate will help you connect and collaborate with other researchers and make your research more visible.

3. Consider micro video-blogging

As a scientist, you can promote your research by making short videos that are relevant to the topic using animations or live figures. A fellow scientist will always be attracted to a video over a dry write-up. It is also easier to retain a person’s attention via interactive videos. There are numerous tools that can help you develop a good video, but even simply telling about your research in a face-to-face video format will work. Then, the video can be shared on social networking sites, such as LinkedIn, Google+, your personal blog, etc. You can be sure that your video will draw attention to your research.

4. Consider blogging

Blogging helps to bridge the difference between the real world and academia. Scientists can blog about topics related to their research or discuss the details of a research project after its completion and publication. Blogging is a controlled way to showcase your scientific skills to the research community. It is easy to share a tweet about your published article, but a more detailed synopsis of your work can be listed on your blog.

5. Monitor your promotion results and make changes accordingly

After promoting your research paper, it is of utmost important to monitor the results to determine the effects and reach of your research. Your expertise in data analysis may even come into play here!

First, you can track citations of your publication by setting alerts on, e.g., Web of Science or on the publication’s website, if available. If you have a website, your traffic can be monitored via Google Analytics. For social media posts, most social media networks provide analytics, such as the number of views, likes, and shares a particular video or post receives.

A new and interesting tool for monitoring your research promotion efforts is Altmetric , which includes many useful features that are specific for understanding the reach of your scholarly content.

Scientist can then inform their grant agency about the impact of the study or research on social media. Many funding agencies today welcome social media promotion of your research projects!

If your posts are not successful or do not have the impact you had hoped for, set new goals and try new methods . Eventually, you will develop a formula that resonates with fellow researchers!

The ideas for scientific social media marketing listed above are just a few of the many ways you can promote your research on social media. Your research will gain accolades if you promote it in a well-planned and systematic way.

We at Falcon Scientific Editing encourage you to be an active part of social media networking. Don’t forget to follow us on Twitter , LinkedIn , Facebook , and Google+ and let us know how your research is going. We may even reshare one of your posts about your research to our audience of researchers!

What ways do you market your research on social media? Share your methods with us !

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About the Author:

Lavina Miranda has a Master of Science in biotechnology from St. Xavier’s College with expertise in molecular biology and microbiology. After graduation, she worked as a content designer and E-tutor. To pursue her passion for scientific research, she then joined the National University of Singapore (NUS) in 2014 where her work included reprogramming probiotics to become viable vessels for the treatment of superbug infections. In her current role as a researcher at Kuwait University, her project focuses on the effect of garlic ( Allium sativum ) on the expression of insulin m-RNA and polypeptides in the tissues of streptozotocin-induced diabetic rats. Apart from research, she also enjoys exploring new places, socializing with people from different cultural backgrounds, and dancing.