Lessons Learned at Media140au

The key to effective use of social media is to keep people up to date and empower them to make informed decisions.

I went to a conference on the use of social media in science communication last week. I came away from the day feeling inspired about how we can use social media to inform others and correct the misinformation out there. I felt excited about how I could use it in my work. I felt so inspired that I joined twitter while I was at the conference. I can't believe it's taken me this long. - twitter is awesome.. but I digress. 

I wanted to blog about some of the things that I learned at this conference. I wish I had the talent and inspiration to be a fabulous, intelligent science blogger and put all of this to use. but instead I'll have to try and utilize all that I've learned at work and hope that it helps us to increase recruitment for our trial.

A good example of effective communication is Andrew Maynard's 2020 Science Blog in which he asks questions in order to promote discussion.

Key points from the keynote

You can't just emulate other people's successes without really understanding what it is that they have done to be successful.

Be careful not to alienate people by being forceful and uncivil with your own opinion. This makes it difficult to have an open and honest dialogue.

Social media makes it easier to listen to other poeple and their thoughts and concerns. Then we are able to build a two-way relationship.

It is important to engage listeners as equals.

How to "listen"

Buzz numbers is a "listening" tool that tracks your mentions on social media and the sentiment behind the mention.

There are other free tools (ie socialmention), but you get what you pay for.

We should be listening for: 
our brand/organization name; competitors; broader industry mentions;
key stakeholders (eg CEO/ministers); scientific research; topical issues.

Why should we be "listening"?
In order to identify raw insights and gain feedback;
to assist in engaging customers/participants by identifying opportunities and leads;
for campaign analysis - are people speaking about us online;
to build an online community and reach out to bloggers;
to get on top of bad media;
to analyze our reach and recognition.

Other points from the day

It's important to focus on the dialogue, not just the tools.

Look at the facebook page of the Chief Scientist of Australia for ideas on how to interact with the public.

It has been shown that the more you "communicate" the more popular you become ie the more followers you attract and the more they interact with you.

It's important to bridge the gap between on and offline. Don't limit communications to online. Once a communication/contact has started, it can be continued offline.

Questions to ask ourselves

Where is the target audience? How do you get the right audience into the discussion?

How can I empower people to make a decision that is right for them?

Who is in your social network and how can I use them?