1. Knowledge exchange and impact - enhancing your social media and digital profile
Lynda McIntosh, Research Communications and Marketing Manager,
Faculty of Humanities
188 Waterloo Place, Oxford Road
The University of Manchester
Tuesday, 17 January 2017

2. Agenda 2.00 Introduction to the day (Sherilyn McGregor)
2.05 Why and how academics should use social media to raise profile and engage with key stakeholders (Lynda McIntosh, Research Communications and Marketing Manager, Faculty of Humanities)
2.15 Content Creation for social media (Tom Mason, Senior Social Media Coordinator, Division of Communications and Marketing)
Discussion
Actions to begin today to enhance your digital profile and social media presence (Lynda McIntosh, Research Communications and Marketing Manager, Faculty of Humanities)
3.20 Media and social media - working collaboratively to promote research (Joe Paxton, News & Media Relations Officer, Division of Communications and Marketing)
3.40 Creating interest or pitching your story: 7 actions to begin immediately (Lynda McIntosh, Research Communications and Marketing Manager, Faculty of Humanities)
4.00 Close (Sherilyn McGregor)

3. Manchester 2020 – The University of Manchester’s Strategic Plan
Quality
To improve the quality of research outputs by 2020, ensuring that 90% of staff are judged as producing world-leading or internationally excellent research by peer review, through the Research Excellence Framework or our own exercises, and to ensure that the share of our publications falling in the top 10% of cited papers in their field is in line with that for the UK’s top five institutions. (Key Performance Indicator 3)
Reputation: portfolio of measures
A weighted portfolio of measures, including surveys, independent polling, measures of output (media coverage, web analytics etc) and league tables. (Key Performance Indicator 13)
Increased citations is a measure of quality
This is the why

6. Part 1

8. How are other academics using social media
How are other academics using social media? Case study – #GDIPotgan, with Dr Joanne Jordan, Global Development Institute
Be clear on what you want to achieve
I’m sure that Tom has lots of examples where research was turned into sharable content resulting in higher audiences, increased viewers and links higher numbers of downloads.

9. How are other academics using social media
How are other academics using social media? Case study – GDIPotgan by Dr Joanne Jordan, SEED
Aim of the project to communicate both to a Bangladesh audience and also to a UK audience (and beyond).
Established a #GDIPotgan on Twitter and Facebook (FB) allowed Joanne to more broadly spread the word about the project and also connect with hard to reach groups.
Main success with social media was targeting social media according to the country your research is based in.
BBC Media Action Bangladesh advised setting up a project Facebook page to connect with a Bangladeshi audience resulting in a FB page has over 4, 000 likes, largely through targeted advertisement.
Ability to communicate when out of country on various project events and outputs.
The documentary they created has had over 100, 000 views, largely through Facebook. Key success (for Joanne) was the English and Bengali versions received about the same views.
Resulted in the project’s nomination for the National Coordinating Centre for Public Engagement award (2016).
Be clear on what you want to achieve
I’m sure that Tom has lots of examples where research was turned into sharable content resulting in higher audiences, increased viewers and links higher numbers of downloads.

10. How to use social media responsibly…The University of Manchester’s social media guidelines
Be professional if posting with a University username.
Be strategic - think about your audience and your message; remember that once it is out there, it is almost impossible to remove, and word spreads quickly.
Be respectful - users are free to discuss topics and disagree with one another, but you must be respectful of others’ opinions.
Be transparent - check whether you need permission to reproduce, publish or share information, including photographs, notes and slides. Don't post anything that is confidential or belongs to someone else.
Be informed - when in doubt – check the University’s guidance or ask!
HOW in terms of how we guide what we should bear in mind when we’re using social media.
Consider whether any posting may reflect poorly on you or the University.
Don’t post content that could be considered to be offensive, defamatory or which could cause someone to feel bullied or could harm someone's reputation.

11. 7 clear actions for you – improving your digital profile
Sustainable Consumption Institute
188 Waterloo Place, Oxford Road
The University of Manchester
Tuesday, 17 January 2017

12. 7 clear actions for you
1.Choose communications objectives you will work on for the next 6 months.
2.Choose three or four key stakeholders to target in the next 6 months.
3. Think about most appropriate content for each of your stakeholders across multiple channels (video, image, text, blog, Tweet, Facebook, Linked In, Mendelay)
4.Review your online profile – do an audit, quality profile photo (no icons please), biography with key words related to your research, and links to the Sustainable Consumption Institute.
5.Identify any specialist journalists and bloggers within your research area and study their preferred content. If you know who they are, offer to write a blog for them.
6.Arrange a meeting with Lynda McIntosh and Joe Paxton to help you develop key messages and with Lynda/Tom Mason to develop social media/media campaigns. We can help you decide how you will measure success (social media analytics – follows, likes, increase website visits, # event attendees etc.)
7. Keep us informed about forthcoming conferences and research outputs!

13. How are other academics using social media
How are other academics using social media? Suggestions on using Twitter by Professor Robert Ford, SOSS
Tweet regularly, but keep it professionally focussed
Follow high profile people you like in media/politics/academia
Get in debates, use the knowledge you have
Make your research easy to access – Tweets with URLs
Don’t expect nuance or politeness, do expect to be misunderstood
140 character limit tends to produce bluntness & misunderstanding
If you want to expand on a Twitter discussion, do a blog about it
Don’t expect instant results. Building up followers takes time, but is worth it in the long run
Twitter provides unprecedented opportunity to directly get attention of policymakers, other academics, interest groups, media
Be clear on what you want to achieve
I’m sure that Tom has lots of examples where research was turned into sharable content resulting in higher audiences, increased viewers and links higher numbers of downloads.

16. 7 clear actions for you – working with the media
Sustainable Consumption Institute
188 Waterloo Place, Oxford Road
The University of Manchester
Tuesday, 17 January 2017

17. Tips for working with the media – be a source of information
Learn the specialist journalists in your field
Build relationships with the experts, journalists and funders
Visit them (usually in London) the next time you go
Invite them to come to you, if you can make it worth their while
Provide clear information, links to details and let the journalists do the writing
Be the expert within your institute and an advocate for the research.
There aren’t that many specialist journalists in your field – probably 3 or 4, no more than 10. Learn who they are and what they cover
Go and visit the journalists in London.
Invite them to come to you – arrange 7 or 8 really good people for them to talk to
Eg. if you invite them to a conference, arrange to have your 3 best speakers meet them

18. Before sending out your press release – check
Media lists are up to date
Correct dates, grammar and spelling, links work
Researcher prepared to comment, contact details
Text has been signed off by Director
Considered the best time to send the release
Engaging and clear subject line
Include digital content: quality images, links to graphs, and stock video without sound for international outlets

19. Top 7 Actions within next 3 months
Add your name to list of academic experts within the SCI (Susan has this)
Create list of current projects with a short sentence summary
Meet with the Media Relations Officer and update them regularly on forthcoming publications
Identify the specialist journalists within your research area – pick one to meet
Arrange to attend media training
Read a variety of news and features to learn styles and audiences of various publications
Select one research feature idea to discuss with Joe/Lynda for future development
Don't assume that the Press Office will know about your research if you don't tell them. Create a list of your academics, list their areas of expertise, become known as someone who will put their academics forward if they are relevant to the story. Create a list of projects and arrange to meet with the media relations team regularly. , have a chat – they are here to support you.
Track what is working – excel spreadsheet, track requests, contact, media mentions etc. Review regularly…

20. Resources and references
Beginners guide
Altmetrics measuring online activity for academics
Peer review by social media
An academic paper: Understanding the functional building blocks of social media
Effective Strategies for Increasing Citation Frequency (2013)
The University of Manchester social media brand guidance
Events planning resources on HumNet