How to Use Social Media to Share and Engage in Research
Have you been trying to figure out how to share your research with the people who can actually put the information into practice?
Are you an OT that wants to support research or find research that applies to your current caseload?
Here are a few tips and tricks I have found over the years to help published research being used in our daily OT practice using social media as a tool.
For Researchers trying to use social media to share their work
Set your intention or goal.
Who needs to see this work?
How do you want them to use the information?
This will help guide the social media platform and format you use.
Find out where your audience or stakeholders spend their time
Are you trying to find other OT researchers? If so, Twitter is probably best. How about people in your community? Facebook groups or local online community forums may be more helpful to get the word out.
Choose the format that best speaks to your audience
If you want healthcare administrators or clinicians to look at your work, they most likely don’t have time to read through an entire article. Try sharing it on a podcast or with an infographic that they can quickly digest.
Have an action at the end of your post
What do you want them to do after viewing the post? Should they find regular updates on your website? Reach out to contact you?
Track your engagement
View the analytics of the post to see how much engagement you are getting or view your Altmetric score. If it’s not working, try something new.
For Occupational Therapists wanting to engage more in research:
Follow authors that align with your clinical practice area on Twitter, LinkedIn, or Instagram so you can be aware of new research as soon as possible
We created a blog post about OT researchers and the topics they are studying here.
Setting a goal ahead of time regarding what you want to learn more about can help you from falling into the rabbit hole of information.
View their posts, save them, and then comment!
Sharing your personal experience can help them know what is feasible in the clinic and what is not.
You can also get the researcher's contact information if you are trying to implement a new intervention. They can help you know what might be acceptable to adapt.
Respond to survey request posts
I know there are a lot of requests to complete surveys out there, but if one fits you, fill it out while you see it. This allows you to share your lived experience of being an OT.
Any other tips you have? Share in the comments below.