communicating research through social...
TRANSCRIPT
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Communicating Research Through Social Media
Ashley Washburn Office of Research and Economic Development NURAMP Workshop April 24, 2015
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Why Engage?
• Social Revolution 2015 video
– https://youtu.be/jottDMuLesU
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Ways to Engage
As a professional
• Share your knowledge
• Follow trends in your
discipline
• Make, maintain professional
connections
• Share news about your
research
• Stay informed about UNL
news and events
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Ways to Engage
As a department or unit
• Share faculty, student
successes
• Connect with stakeholders
(funding agencies, other
researchers, students,
prospective students,
alumni)
• Promote events
• Provide customer service
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Ways to Engage
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Ways to Engage
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Ways to Engage
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Ways to Engage
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Getting Started
• Define your goals/objectives for social media
Increase awareness of UNL research
Promote faculty achievements
Promote ORED events and build
engagement
Share news, info with internal and external
audiences
Office of Research & Economic Development
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Getting Started
• Determine your audience
– Is it internal, external, or both?
– Be as specific as possible
External
Funding agencies
Media
Industry
Opinion leaders
Internal
UNL faculty, research staff
Departments, units
Graduate students, postdocs
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Choosing Your Platform
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Choosing Your Platform
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Choosing Your Platform
• Consider your demographics
• Which channel(s) work best for achieving your goals?
• Which platforms do your partners use?
• How many photos and videos will you share?
• What is sustainable?
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Pros
• Great for reaching
niche audiences
• Brevity – 140
characters
• Ideal for real-time
posting
• Constant traffic
• Hashtags
Cons
• Photo sharing is
clunky
• Brevity – 140
characters
• Can be hard to
monitor
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Anatomy of a Tweet
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• Sharing timely content
• Sharing UNL research in the news
• Shout outs
• Live tweeting
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Sharing your research, in 140 characters
Tell why it matters
Recognize publication
Recognize co-authors
Recognize funding agency
Link to news release
Link to media coverage of your research
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
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Events
Promote registration
Webstream info
Real-time updates
Fast photo sharing
Engage with
participants
Event follow-up
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Twitter for Events
• Promotion
• Webstream
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Twitter for Events
• Real-time updates
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Twitter for Events
• Fast photo sharing
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Twitter for Events
• Engaging with the audience
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Twitter for Events
• Event follow-up
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Pros
• Wide usage
• Photo sharing
• Visual representation
of a brand
• Enables better
storytelling than other
platforms
Cons
• Privacy
• Constant changes for
page managers
• Maintenance can be
challenging
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
• Think ‘visual storytelling’ (i.e., stuff to share with friends)
– Photos
– Videos
– Infographics
– Links
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• Think ‘visual storytelling’ (i.e., stuff to share with friends)
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
YouTube
• Maximize your audience
– Subscribe and feed UNL’s channel
– Subscribe to the UNLresearch channel
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Getting the Most from Social Media
• What makes your research, or your department/unit, unique?
• Authenticity
– Voice
– What’s your social media personality?
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Getting the Most from Social Media
• Reward your loyal followers
– Use likes, shares, favorites
– Retweet content that reinforces your key goals
• Post consistently
• Promote your social media channels
– Email signatures
– Websites
– Departmental newsletters
– Print publications
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Social Media for Busy People
• Focus on quality
• Decide what’s sustainable
• Designate a time to monitor feeds
• Share others’ content
OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Managing Your Presence
• Comfort level with personal vs. professional social media use
• Personal: You are your brand
• Professional: You are representing a brand
• Pros and cons of sharing opinions via social media
Individual account
• Put social media guidelines in writing
• Choose a point person
• Trust is key – choose contributors carefully
• Account sharing
Multiple-user account
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OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
Resources
• UNL Social Media Guidelines – http://ucomm.unl.edu/social-media
• Mashable – http://mashable.com
• Facebook page inspiration for scientists:
– Science360
– National Science Foundation
– Scientific American
– NASA
– Nature
©2015 The Board of Regents of the University of Nebraska. All rights reserved.
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Ashley Washburn
Research Communications Manager
[email protected] * 472-3760