One questions we get a lot from researchers is, “Why should I be on social media?” Usually they see social media as a superfluous tool for young people to update friends of their relationship troubles and what they’ve eaten for lunch today. While many people do use social media this way, there are plenty of others who use it in a very meaningful way. And once you come around to see the immense power of social media, there’s no going back.

Over the last few weeks, the team here at Experiment have been working on revamping our education materials. So we took a minute to make a quick video that addresses why we believe more scientists should be on social media. Though we think that using social media for science communication is valuable in and of itself, there are a few more direct benefits for scientists who use social media.

TL;DW:

• Social media can be a great way to ‘demonstrate impact’ for grant proposals
• Social media is where the people are. If you want to reach lots of people and grow an audience, social media is the best way to do it
• It’s great for networking, sourcing collaborators, finding opportunities, and having conversations around your research

What do you think of the video? Feedback welcome!

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For more information, check out Matt Shipman’s blog on science communication:

Scientists: Social Media Is Not Necessarily a Waste of Time

SciComm Matters Because…Funding Agencies Say So