Episode 17 - Leveraging social media as an academic with Jennifer van Alstyne

I’m talking to Jennifer van Alstyne about how to best leverage social media as an academic. If you don’t know what to share on social media except links to just published articles, then my guest Jennifer van Alstyne will have great content ideas for you (spoiler: you can share about your article waaay before it’s published and you can share that link more than once!). And don’t worry, using these strategies doesn’t mean that you have to spend more time on social media. We also talk about a more hidden barrier to why you might be avoiding social media.

Here’s what we will cover:
(01:25) Introducing Jennifer van Alstyne
(05:00) Should academics be on social media?
(08:25) How much time and energy should academics invest in social media?
(11:25) Cultivating an audience on social media
(19:10) How academics can post about their research and papers
(26:32) Which social media platform is best for academics
(34:35) Optimising your social media feeds
(37:05) Utlising hashtags and tags
(40:35) Incorporating social media a part of your writing and publishing process
(41:50) Accessibility guidelines for social media
(44:00) Mindset and feelings about sharing your publication on social media
(48:35) Where to find and how to work with Jennifer

With her company, The Academic Designer, Jennifer helps professors feel confident showing up online through social media, website design and bio writing. You can find her on social media under the handle @HigherEdPR

Link to accessibility guide that Jennifer mentioned: https://www.accessible-social.com/
by social media strategist Alexa Heinrich.

Podcast host: Anna Clemens, PhD
Video and audio editing: Jason Rivera

Want to learn how to develop a structured writing process to get published in top-tier journal time-efficiently? Then check out this free class I recorded:researcherswritingpodcast.com/free