Guest Post: Good Practices in Sharing Professional Information on Social Media

[This post is from Parvathy Hariharan, who also provided some other recent posts. Continuing thanks, Parvathy! —Barbara]

Social networks such as Facebook, LinkedIn, and Twitter play an increasing role in connecting researchers across the world. Here are some tips to remember when using social media to share professional information.

Focus on attaining your goals: List your social media goals. Maybe you want to increase awareness of your research, find students or collaborators, receive research updates, or obtain a new job. For each such goal, you may seek a different audience. Provide content geared to your goals, and resist the urge to share other content. Consider having different accounts for personal and professional use.

Time your updates: Because social media provide a live ongoing news stream, timing is crucial. Note the peak activity times of your audience. Interact then, so your message appears at the top of audience members’ news feeds. Some sites let you set up your message in advance and automatically release it at a predetermined time.

Check your visibility: Monitor the privacy of your profile regularly to know who can see and share your work. Ensure that people get enough professional information about you to feel safe adding you to their networks. Check the accessibility of all aspects of your profile—contact details, photos, videos, and updates—since social media outlets are constantly tweaking their formulas for best reach.  

Be safe: Never share a message when in doubt. Change your passwords regularly. Remember to sign out of your profile when using a public computer. If the account represents your team or your department, ensure that another person can access it in case of emergency.