#GreatLakesSci: How to be a successful science communicator in the modern age of social media

Session: 17. - Great Lakes Outreach and Education

Nicole Wood, Scicomm Monday, [email protected]

Abstract

Scientists have recently discovered how little of their outreach is truly engaging the non-science audience. With the current political climate in the United States, it is more imperative than ever for scientists to help non-science audiences to fully understand critical science issues. Traditional forms of media, such as TV and print, are no longer the major way to reach these audiences. The Web 2.0 revolution has brought about new ways to communicate with audiences. Social media, including the Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram platforms, allow scientists and organizations to directly reach audiences and to help spread accurate information about these critical science issues in ways that allow for better audience engagement and thus understanding of the issues.

We will cover good science communication practices for social media. We will also break down multiple social media accounts on various platforms, from individual scientists to assorted types of science organizations, to tease apart what makes them successful in their social media science communication campaigns, giving attendees a fully formed template to follow. Scientists will be able to take this knowledge base and apply it directly to their social media outreach efforts to improve their engagement rates with their audiences.

1. Keyword
outreach

2. Keyword
education

4. Additional Keyword
science communication

5. Additional Keyword
#scicomm