Social media is becoming essential within the professional world. Even for researchers and evaluators. So here are some positives of social media to help you create greater impact with your work.
- Timely Feedback. Posting on professional and/or academic social media about your research topic and ideas allows for immediate feedback. This eliminates the waiting game and can even help draw positive attention and interest in your work. This could also help reach a larger audience. It is also useful when you are wanting to test out new ideas, or re-frame old ones.
- What is everyone talking about? Scrolling through your feed can be a beneficial tool to see what everyone else is working on or talking about. With each post, you can see what others are interacting with and how. This is a great way to gain insight, join discussions or even stumble across something you probably would not have otherwise!
- Open for Discussion! When writing a post, think about how it can generate discussion amongst your connections. Also by posting with hashtags this will broaden your audience even further. This means your post will reach those outside your immediate circle. If you maintain this mindset every time, it will make each post beneficial.
- Funding Opportunities. For researchers, professional and/or academic social media is a great way to meet collaborators and stakeholders. By using your network you can reach out and interact with those you want to work with. It will also allow for others to reach out to you as well. This strategy will leave a lasting impact on those connections.
- Broadening Audiences and Awareness. Sharing your research via online platforms will increase your reach. It will help to meet the audience who will be interested in your topic. In fact, in many parts of the world, social media is the preferred communication channel, over formal emails or events. Further, it allows you to get the message out globally about exactly what you are doing and the outcomes you desire. The handy sharing tools on these platforms will also benefit with a speedier distribution and higher access levels to your research.
Links:
- Driving Impact Online (30 min read, 2 book chapters)
- Why Use Social Media – University of South Australia (7 minute watch, videos)
- Enjoy Social Media? I Asked Academic Twitter Here’s What You Said (5 min read, blog post)
- Opinion: 4 reasons why development professionals can’t be social media skeptics (5 min read, blog post)
- Why academics (and students) should take blogging / social media seriously – Duncan Green (3 min read, blog post)
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