Duration

3 hours

Brief Outline

To introduce academic staff to the uses of social media (including Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and Tumblr) and academic social networks (including Academia.edu and ResearchGate) in enhancing the reach and impact of their research.

Intended Outcomes

By the end of the workshop delegates will be able to

• Identify and target the social networks (both academic and non-academic) best suited to securing engagement and collaboration avenues for their research
• Understand and articulate the nature and function of social media, academic social networks, social bookmarking, and post-peer review, and their role in promoting engagement with research
• Understand the potential of open-access publishing integrated with a social media presence
• Evaluate their existing social media presence
• Embed social media into their teaching strategies, thereby integrating research, impact, and pedagogy
• Draw up a targeted action plan for enhancing and optimising their social media presence.

Target Audience

Academic staff who are new to social media and want to learn how to use it to promote engagement with their research, or those seeking to enhance and maximise the effectiveness of their existing social media presence. Also useful for administrative staff whose role includes the promotion of research.

Training Methods

• Baselining: following an introduction to tools and parameters for self-evaluation of social media presence, delegates evaluate their current presence and share with the group.
• Anatomy of a project on social media: group analysis of projects and events on social media, including research projects with social media presence on multiple platforms, and following an event live-tweet.
• Tweeting the workshop: delegates tweet before and during the session, and use analytics tools to evaluate the potential and actual reach of their tweets at the end. Delegates will set up a Twitter account during this process if they don't already have one.

Please come to the workshop with a smartphone or laptop with wireless access. There are a minimal number of outlets in the Boardroom, so please make sure that devices are charged beforehand.