Social media is an amazing tool for journal editors. Many editors are already are using Facebook, Twitter, or LinkedIn to create an online community for their journals. This, in turn, is providing them with an ideal platform to raise the profile of their journal and promote their content.
Not all journal social media profiles are created equal though. The secret to a successful online community is planning. You need a well thought out social media strategy to reach the right audience with the right messages to make an impact.
Sounds daunting, but don’t worry – we’ve created a Social Media Guide specifically for editors to help support and guide you. Learn how to market your journal using social media and keep it as your go-to guide as you build your community.
Before you dive into the guide, though, follow these seven simple tips for a successful approach to social media.
Let’s start simple:
Use your knowledge of your research community. Talk to colleagues, students, and friends to really understand your target audience, how they communicate online, and what they want to see.
Gather the following information:
Answer these questions and it will help you decide which social media platform to use, the type of content to create, and how often to post.
Different people prefer different social media channels. Make sure you go where your audience already is, rather than trying to make them come to you. Similarly, consider if the type of content you want to promote matches with the social media channel.
Twitter, for example, requires lots of regular posts and interaction, good for subjects that relate to current events and trends like politics or climate science. On the other hand, Instagram is primarily image-based and might be good for promoting the hidden beauty of your subject, like these microbiologists have done.
Your social media account is a great way to market your journal. It also allows you to build and maintain an engaged community for your journal. Begin by following and engaging with industry experts, influencers in your field, and professional bodies and societies.
You also want to spread the word to your colleagues, peers, friends, and board members. Ask them to follow your profile and share your content. This will increase the reach of your posts and boost your journal community.
Aim to balance your posts so that you aren’t spamming your audience. Try to post a mixture of content that promotes your research and the journal, engages the community, and is shared from other relevant accounts. Similarly, posting a mixture of text, images, videos, and infographics is a good way of keeping things fresh.
Examples of content you can post:
A good way to ensure you’re posting a mixture of content is to create a content plan. In your content plan, determine the type of content you plan on posting, which platform you will post the content on, and how often you plan on posting.
Make sure your posts are engaging your journal community, as well as promoting your journal to the biggest possible audience. There are a few tried and tested ways to help your posts resonate with your audience, these include:
We recently hosted a Twitter chat on how journals can benefit from social media. During the event, experts and social savvy journal editors gave us their insights.
For the highlights, check out our panel’s top tips for success below:
Our team of social media experts have created a full guide for editors that takes you through each step of your social media journey. This expands on the tips in this post and gives you lots more advice and insight.
Download your free copy of the Social media guide for journal editors below (available in English and Japanese).