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Creating your personal brand: Communicating your work as an early-career healthcare researcher
1. Creating
your personal
“brand”
Kara Gavin, M.S.
Lead Public Relations Representative,
Michigan Medicine Dept. of Communication
Policy & Research Media Relations, U-M IHPI
Communicating your work
as an early-career
healthcare researcher
2. Who am I?
• Michigan Medicine Department of
Communication & IHPI Communication team
• Trained in biology, science writing & journalism
• 20+ years’ experience communicating about
research at U-M & Brookhaven
National Lab
3. • Find & tell stories
• Handle news media inquiries
• Push stories & info out any way I can
(including IHPI & MichMed social channels)
• Help researchers understand/use
communication channels
What do I do?
4. Why does U-M* have staff like me?
• our institution’s work should reach people who care
• U-M expertise can have impact
• taxpayers & policymakers who fund research
need to know what they’re paying for
• most Americans need science/medicine translated
• it’s easier than ever
*and lots of other places too
Because…
5. IHPI has invested in even MORE!
• Staff: Communication manager, Government/external Policy Relations (2), Media
Relations, Writer, Designer, Event/membership manager, Communication specialist
• Channels: Website, member profiles, news & feature articles, issue briefs, Twitter,
LinkedIn, internal & external newsletters, videos, infographics, digital signs
• Training: Twitter, LinkedIn, Government Relations, opinion/commentary
7. Your personal brand…
• NOT a logo
• Must be built, over time
• Comes from the ways you present yourself to
the world…and what people can find about you
• Affects how people will interact with
you & your work
8. A new era of
communication
• Traditional news media’s gatekeeper role is
eroding
• Big institutions = trustworthy news sources
• Everyone’s a publisher
9. Who needs
reporters anyway?
• Social media & search
• Institutions & individuals create &
share directly
• Visuals are vital
• Fast response to
questions & controversy
11. • 1-2 stories a day
• Easily shareable
• Custom graphics
• Paid social media promotion
• Open copyright
• Always looking for timely &
timeless ideas!
13. Why do it?
• Connect with others in your field & beyond
• Raise the visibility of your work
• Share new findings, publications, news items, observations, timely links
• Engage with individuals & institutions around the world & next door
• Get the most out of conferences & events
• Raise awareness of YOU for career purposes
14. Why else? Altmetrics!
• Aggregating activity around journal articles:
• media coverage
• blog posts
• social media activity
• policy documents
• Traces links to papers & DOI mentions
• Assigns a score & percentile
• Not perfect! But getting better
15.
16. Your essentials
• A robust, updated professional
web profile
•Basic LinkedIn profile
• Google yourself/set up alert
• Know your PR person &
when you should contact us
17. Take it to the next level
• Claim Twitter handle, add bio & link
• Share links & posts about your work,
talks, professional activities, etc.
• Tell your PR person about upcoming
papers & timely expertise
• Write “plain English” blurbs
on your research – then
share on web & social
18. “Laying low”
• Start by “lurking” – follow individuals,
institutions, organizations, news media
• Monitor Twitter traffic at conferences via
hashtags (& use them!)
• Subscribe to lists of Twitter users compiled by
others in your field
• Join LinkedIn groups for professional societies
19. Engage more fully
• Share links to your
own work & work of others
• Use LinkedIn’s “Write an Article” feature
• Post slide sets on your site or SlideShare
• Take part in tweet chats, Reddit AMAs, online campaigns, virtual
journal clubs, etc.
• On your personal social media,
educate friends by sharing news/observations
20. Join
• Platform to reach the public on timely topics
• Articles created by academics, aided by professional editors
• Open copyright for republishing
• Routinely republished by major media outlets, from the
Washington Post to IFL Science
• Easily shared via social media and the web
• Authors can see data on views & republishing
21. What could happen?
• Connect with others
• Spread knowledge
• Amplify your impact
• Keep up with new ideas &
opportunities
• Lend your voice
• Get more from
your work
22. Be careful of…
• Connecting with patients on social platforms
• Being too political/personal –
but DO cite published research
• Engaging in debates/advocacy without
understanding the platform you’re on
23. I challenge you…
• Venture onto social platforms
& web publishing
• Learn from others
• See it as part of your career
• Build your brand so
it doesn’t get built for you!
24. Social Media Integrity site - best practices
U-M Social & School of Information
https://socialintegrity.umich.edu/
Navigating Social Media as a Scholar - examples
U-M Public Engagement site
http://michmed.org/Q2V81
Two new U-M resources
25. More Resources
My handouts on social media, news media, etc.
https://www.slideshare.net/KaraGavin
Joyce Lee, M.D.’s Slideshares on social media:
http://www.slideshare.net/joyclee/presentations
Andrew Ibrahim, M.D.’s Visual Abstract Primer
https://www.surgeryredesign.com/resources
IHPI members who tweet – follow them & learn!
http://michmed.org/e0Zgg
26. Still More Resources!
NIH Checklist for Communicating Science
and Health Research to the Public:
http://michmed.org/EzD1O
AAAS Center for Public Engagement with Science:
http://www.aaas.org/pes
Health News Review:
Toolkit for communicating about health research:
http://www.healthnewsreview.org/toolkit/