Social media is not just a place to watch funny cat videos or share with the world what are you up to. Then why do we need social media as researchers? Well, it’s also a great way to develop a professional network and build an expert profile!
Let’s talk today about how you can use social media to promote your work as a researcher, meet mind-a-like people and build your personal brand as a researcher. I’m going to share some of the social media rules for students and researchers that helped me and Dawid to build our networks on Instagram and LinkedIn. Ready? Let’s talk about social media tips!
1. Benefits of social media – active social media presence is a free way to connect with others in your research area.
I often get asked how can social media help students in their studies and what are the uses of social media in academia? You also often ask me about the best social media tips. Let me answer with another question!
Do you know how many people use social media? According to Emplify, currently (Nov 2021) monthly active users on Facebook is 2.90B, Instagram 1B, and LinkedIn 0.76B. What does it mean in terms of the benefits of social media and how social media help students and researchers?
If you look at each social media platform as a network of potential friends, collaborators or even clients, just imagine how many people you can meet over there. And the best part is that by sharing your work, you can actually help many people and achieve a real impact with your research! Wow – isn’t it amazing?
Social media is and will be a free way to connect with people who are interested in your work. Can social media destroy real-life communication? I don’t think so! It’s true that the vast majority of content includes pretty, unrealistic pictures, funny stuff or other stuff that gives us a good laugh. But I do believe that social media is a great place for sharing your research, building relationships and inspiring others to use the outcomes of your research.
2. What social media to choose?
With so many social media platforms available these days, you may wonder what social media platform would be best to share your research and whether is social media good for students and researchers. I must disappoint you – there is no simple answer.
In my opinion, the best social media is the one where your potential clients or fellow researchers are present, and the one with which you are most comfortable. I would say that there are no good or bad social media. But there are more or less effective!
Before I share my view on which social media is the best for researchers, let me explain how does social media help spread information. Broadly speaking, each social media platform cares about the value that you add to your network. This largely means that the posts and updates that you share on your profile should be engaging or teach your network something. At the end of the day, social networks are interested in keeping people on their platforms for as long as possible, right?
I wouldn’t explain what is social media addiction here, but it is in social media networks interest to stay on their platform for a long time. Hence it is so easy to procrastinate and get distracted! One of the best social media tips I received, therefore, is to focus on the social media platform you find most engaging, but can resist the temptation to spend hours scrolling through the feed!
So which social media to choose? Well, the most popular, Facebook has 2.90B active users and it gives you the most possibilities. it has a large selection of groups and there is a likelihood that you’ll find one related to your research area. By the way, check out our group on PhD Motivation and Wellbeing! It also means, that there is a lot of people you will compete with for attention and reach.
