Social media has become as commonplace as the telephone in today’s world, with nearly four billion people connecting to their accounts regularly throughout the week. Most people use this medium to keep up with friends and family and socialize. But businesses have quickly realized the potential to capture an untapped market of consumers, and humanitarian and research organizations are beginning to use these otherwise unconventional platforms to aid in their marketing and fundraising efforts to increase awareness of their campaign.

The rise of digital research publications and social media platforms in science has opened new avenues in the field of academic research. By using programs that are specifically designed for networking professionally, like LinkedIn, researchers can engage with other experts to enhance and promote their work before and after publication.

Statistics Show Social Media is the Way to Go

Consumer spending in e-commerce industries and online charitable donations has skyrocketed over the past decade. The e-commerce industry is projected to reach nearly five trillion dollars by the end of 2021, and those were pre-COVID-19 statistics. The post-COVID-19 world has gotten used to and more comfortable with online shopping, including grocery delivery options, so this number is likely to increase exponentially with more research and analysis.

Much of these purchases are made because of ads or recommendations the consumer sees on their social media feeds. Charitable organizations, nonprofit institutions, and research stakeholders have strategically turned social media usage into part of their marketing campaigns to target donations. Online fundraising through Facebook’s new donation tool is now so popular that nearly 1 in 5 users have donated and nearly 90 percent of those donors say they are willing to do so again. Nonprofits cite Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube as a major source of their funding over the last few years, and these same forums are used as platforms to reach a wide audience and increase recognition of their cause.

Still, some institutions and scholars are not comfortable using social media platforms designed for conversational and casual purposes as ways to promote their official academic research. This was a problem that needed to be solved, and the creators of the LinkedIn platform did so with their version of a networking program for career professionals.

Using LinkedIn to Promote Your Work

Because it’s a professional forum rather than an opportunity to connect casually, LinkedIn has fewer followers than platforms like Facebook and Instagram. But what it lacks in numbers, it makes up for in quality of users.

Over 675 million professionals use LinkedIn every month, and these numbers are on the rise as more career-minded individuals learn the benefits of using the program in their networking. These are global users, with 27% being from America, making it the fifth most popular platform in the country for those who engage in social media, even more popular than Twitter or Snapchat.

When it comes to the quality of professionals, more than 50% of LinkedIn users have college educations and are interested in engaging and networking with people on the platform who can provide mutually beneficial communication.

80 percent of people on LinkedIn are professionals who make the business decisions, including which organizations to donate to and support.

When you reach out to other professionals on LinkedIn and promote your academic research, you’re connecting with 12 percent of the entire world’s population. It’s a largely untapped field, and since LinkedIn is taken more seriously than other social media forums, the potential to reach serious investors or those who can enhance your research is more likely.

Quick and Easy Ways to Use LinkedIn

LinkedIn is designed for busy professionals, which makes it easy and streamlined to use. Without taking a lot of time from your schedule, you can quickly create a profile and begin your academic research promotion. Keep these tips in mind as you do:

●      Make sure your profile is set up to be findable consistently. Use keywords, link your profile to your academic webpage and blog, and keep the same brand and wording.

●      Summarize your intent clearly. With your academic research, this would be similar to an elevator pitch that clarifies exactly what you’re doing succinctly.

●      Engage with your contacts. No one likes to feel that they’re being used and discarded for donations. Be personable but professional. Participate in group chats, support other professionals, and don’t “ghost” and only show up when you need something. It’s networking, but it works similarly to social conventions and norms of in-person relationships.

With these tips and your professionalism demonstrated clearly, using LinkedIn can be a strong way to promote your academic research successfully.

Network With Experts on Impactio

Another professional way to increase your academic research campaign is to use Impactio as a networking site. Impactio is an all-in-one platform designed for scholars to create and publish their research, but it does so much more, too.

Impactio lets researchers keep track of their academic impact by providing citation and publication analytics reports.

With Impactio, you can set up an academic profile for other users around the globe to find and connect with you. Link your LinkedIn profile and your other professional mediums, see who is in the Impactio network that you’d like to connect with, and safely do so as you create, promote, and publish your academic research.