How to get the most out of social media
Social media plays a vital role for NCAS, and our staff, by connecting us with the wider science community and shining a spotlight on our work for the public. It is our gateway to meaningful interactions and sharing our atmospheric research.
Platforms such as Instagram, X (Twitter), LinkedIn, and Facebook support NCAS and our staff to:
- connect with a wide demographic of people
- raise awareness of our research or projects with the public
- open up conversations with others to better understand how they are making sense of our research
- sharing science news and explanations, events, jobs, training courses, and other opportunities
- improve research through staying connected and informed
Guidance for using LinkedIn
LinkedIn is great for sharing longer posts to updating your connections about your latest work-related activities. It is also an easy platform to build connections on and generate a large audience.
You can also repost from other users, meaning you don’t have to always be posting your own content to keep your feed active.
Creating content
Content can be longer on LinkedIn however it should still be to the point, easy to read, and free from complex terminology.
Visual assets are important in LinkedIn posts (Ex. Pictures, diagrams, videos) as they will make your post stand out on people’s feeds.
Tag relevant people and organisations in your posts to encourage engagement with your post.
Make it easy to track content using hashtags. Hashtags can be used within a sentence, or listed at the end of a post.
How can you support the Communications Team with the NCAS social media accounts?
We would love to share content about your roles, areas of expertise, ongoing research, science activities, jobs, courses, and events!
You can connect with the following NCAS social media accounts:
We also regularly post news articles to our website.
General social media content tips
Keep it short: you need to grab people’s attention on social media. Keep posts short, clear and to the point.
Lead with key message: don’t leave the take-away message of your post until the end. Lead with what you want your audience to know.
Keep it simple: try to avoid using complex terminology. Keep posts accessible to engage as many different audiences as possible.
Guidance for using X
X is great for engaging with wider public as it is a popular social media platform, particularly within academic/research communities.
It also allows you to repost Tweets (Retweet) from other users, meaning you don’t have to always be posting your own content to keep your feed active.
Creating content
Content should be to the point, easy to read, and free from complex terminology. Content must also fit 250 character count.
Create a thread of tweets to breakdown and explain the research further in simpler terms.
People are more likely to engage with your tweet if visual assets are included e.g. pictures, diagrams, videos, gifs.
Tag relevant people and organisations in your posts and pictures to encourage engagement with your post.
Make it easy to track content using hashtags. Hashtags can be used within a sentence, or listed at the end of a post.
Comment/like/retweet other people’s posts, this means that your feed will remain active and you will build connections.
Guidance for using Instagram
Instagram is a picture and video sharing platform. It is good for engaging a younger audience and sharing a more ‘everyday’ look at your research/projects.
Creating content
Captions can be long or short, however they should still be to the point, easy to read, and free from complex terminology.
Tag relevant people and organisations in your posts and pictures to encourage engagement with your post.
Make it easy to track content using hashtags. Hashtags can be used within a sentence, or listed at the end of a post.
Staying safe online
Personal information, privacy settings and digital footprint
Trolls and online abuse
Scams
Safety and security across social media platforms
Top tips for taking smartphone photos and videos
Tips to get started with taking your own photos and videos using your smartphone, which can be shared on the NCAS social media accounts or one your own personal profiles.