Social media at a glance: for academics

There are dozens of social media platforms, each with a distinct personality and purpose, so it can be difficult to know which social media platforms are the most useful for academics to engage with. That’s why we’ve put together this how-to guide to help you decide which social media platforms are the best fit for your goals as an academic—whether that’s engaging with fellow researchers in your subject area, promoting your latest research paper or monograph, or just celebrating your achievements with friends and family.

How to choose a social media platform

Not sure which social media platform is the one you want to dedicate your time to? Use our “social media at a glance” guides for each of the main social media platforms to help you decide. Look at each guide and identify which platform best aligns with your goals. Check out the example post for some inspiration of the kind of content you could create and share on each social media platform.

Facebook

Goodreads

Instagram

LinkedIn

Reddit

Twitter

WeChat

Weibo

YouTube

How to use social media to promote your work

So, now you’ve chosen your social media platform. How should you best make use of it? Learn more about what’s expected of you on each platform, as well as information about how to use hashtags and a few example posts, in our more detailed Social Media Guide for Authors.

Read the Social Media Guide for Authors →

What are my other options for promoting my work?

Social media is not the only way to promote your work. If you don’t have the time to build up your own social media profile, why not approach your institution or alumni association about sharing your work on their accounts? If your research is relevant to current events, have you considered writing an opinion article to share your findings with a wider audience?

If you only have an hour or two to dedicate to promoting your latest article, chapter, or book, there are still things you can do. Check out our tips for promoting your work, with suggestions such as adding links to your email signature, recommending your book to your institutional librarian, or requesting a flyer with a free chapter or discount code.

_{Featured image by Austin Distel, via Unsplash, public domain}