Sharing your research on social media
Find out how best to share and spread your research on social media and avoid common pitfalls.
Sharing your work on social media is a great way to connect with other researchers interested in the same topic, build networks and follow the wider national and international debates. It can also open up new discussions and opportunities to interact with people you would never have met in other contexts, as well as taking your research into the public domain.
Get started with social media
Select channel
Start by carefully selecting one or two channels that you think might be appropriate, based on what you want to achieve. You can start by identifying groups and networks on each platform to reach people interested in research news in your field.
Think about your purpose
Consider the purpose of your personal account. Is it purely professional, or do you want to focus on a particular issue? Who do you represent and what do you want to achieve?
Who do you want to reach?
Think about who might be interested in your research and who you want to reach. What kind of interaction would you like to have? It is important to identify your target audience and think about them when you publish. What are their motivations? This is crucial when deciding which channel to use.
How do you write?
Write with your audience in mind. Explain why your research matters. One tip is to get into the habit of writing a 'mini-abstract' for each article, explaining the 'what and why' of the research in 3-5 sentences. These are very useful on social media.
Research dissemination platforms
A profile page on LinkedIn is a great way to strengthen your personal brand and expand your network, which in turn increases your chances of securing new grants and exciting collaborations.
Avoid setting up your own LinkedIn pages for your work centres or units. Instead, use KTH's subject pages on LinkedIn. People are interested in topics - not the organisation.
Read more about how to recommend KTH's subject pages on LinkedIn.
Creating a well-functioning LinkedIn page does not require much effort. Pay attention to the different parts below one at a time and then you don't need to spend many minutes a week to have a well-functioning and active page.
Create your LinkedIn profile
Profile photo and background image
Choose a recent photo of you looking like yourself, with your face about 60% of the picture and dressed as you would for work. The background image is the second visual element at the top of your profile page. It grabs people's attention, sets the context and shows what is important to you in your professional role. A picture of the lab you work in, or an iconic image of the field you are passionate about, can help people quickly understand who you are.
Create a headline that is more than just your title
There's no rule that says the description at the top of your profile page has to be an academic or job title. Use the header to say a little more about how you see your role, why you do what you do, and what makes you tick.
Example: Communicator with extensive web experience and a commitment to sustainability, or Senior Design Lecturer and Project Manager with a passion for design and sustainability.
The story about you
In the About box, write a summary about yourself. Rather than listing skills or titles you have held, try to explain why certain skills or knowledge are important and what difference they can make to the people you work with or to society. This is an opportunity to talk about the social benefit you bring to society. This is appreciated by funders and potential partners alike.
See how Denise Mc Cluskey describes herself.
Expand your network
Start by synchronising your profile with your email address book to get suggestions from people you know. To keep your network up to date, get into the habit of following up meetings, conferences and seminars with LinkedIn requests to people who attended.
List your skills
A quick action is to scroll through your list of skills and select the ones that are relevant to you. This will help support the description in your headline and summary. Remember to stay relevant and not make the list too long, but choose skills that are at the core of who you are.
Focus on achievements
The Publications section is one of the most underutilised parts of a LinkedIn profile, so using it can really make you stand out from the crowd. Whether it's an academic article, a book chapter or a blog post, you should include it under Publications. You can find this section under Achievements, along with awards, courses and projects. Get into the habit of listing your publications and projects here, both ongoing and completed, and link to the project page so visitors can read more. Also, if you have a patent, prize or award, this is the place to flaunt it.
See how Devy Kartika Ratnasari, MSE, has worked on publications and other achievements.
Testimonials and endorsements
When other members can attest to your skills, your credibility is enhanced. Start by going through your network and identifying people who you think deserve a recommendation or testimonial from you. This often encourages people to give something back. Ask for referrals or testimonials from people whose words you really value. Then work proactively with your referrals to build an image of yourself that reflects reality.
Tips when starting to use LinkedIn
Share content from KTH
Sharing your own and other people's case studies, publications and other research news from KTH will help you reach your target audience and show what areas you work in. A post can reach more relevant people than, for example, a research conference, and even if you share work you are not directly involved in, it shows your passion and commitment.
Feel free to share news from any of KTH's official pages:
Share and comment
The first level is to have a network on LinkedIn. The next level is to become active by sharing relevant content with your network. You can start by monitoring your LinkedIn feed and sharing content that you find really interesting - and that fits your profile.
Adding a comment to your shared posts will make you stand out in the feed. Well-crafted comments also allow you to share a wider range of content. For example, you might question a particular finding in a report, but still find it interesting. A comment can then showcase your expertise in this area.
Follow relevant people in your field
Following relevant people and groups on LinkedIn helps you get interesting content in your feed, which you can then share and showcase.
By searching for groups related to your industry, you can further expand your network and discuss specific topics and share experiences with others.
X (formerly Twitter)
X is a channel where communication is concise and fast, and works well for short, continuous updates.
Write your posts as if they were newspaper headlines.
What is interesting is the "what and why" of the research, for example, "Sensors improve life for amputees", "ITM components double ventilator capacity" or "New metal alloy makes freighters diesel efficient".
A post can only contain 280 characters, so keep it short and sweet. Don't overdo the language - even if it is research. Remember that people ourside your research field should be able to understad it, and that a post has limited space. With this in mind, it is fine to write in general terms and leave the details. Instead, link to further reading for those interested in learning more indepth facts.
How to spread the word
To ensure that as many people as possible, and the right people, see your posts and share them with their networks, it is important to be active, especially in the beginning. Here are some tricks:
- Follow people and organisations you are interested in reaching.
- Republish their posts, for example, find other people's posts, comment on them and share them so that they appear in your feed. When you republish someone else's post, write your own comment on it so it is clear to your followers.
- When you start creating posts with extensive content, add contributors with @. For example, Registration open for #LCA Network digital conference on 26 Nov. Keynote by @JohanWidheden is one of the highlights. Register now! #lifecyclethinking Link: www.kth.se.
- Send important posts via direct message to selected people or organisations. This is done by simply creating the post and choosing Send via Direct Message.
Eventually, the people you target will recognise you, follow your posts and share them with their networks.
Hashtags
The hashtags # are essential on X. By tagging in a well-throught out way, your research can end up on important networks that reach thousands of people. Start by mapping which hashtags are used in your field. You want to tag those that are relevant and repeat them often. Choose about 3-5 hashtags (keywords) to work with.
However, hashtags can also be overused and if you tag every word, the text will be difficult to read. A maximum of three tags per post is a good guideline, and those that are not embedded in the text can be placed at the end of the post.
Hashtags during events are an effective way to expand your network. If you are hosting an event, encourage guests to use a unique hashtag of their choice when commenting on the event. That way, people can recognise each other, you get more followers, and everyone expands their networks.