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September 29, 2021
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Best practices for social media use during academic conferences

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Proper social media etiquette and engagement during academic conferences can broaden one’s network and lead to opportunities and collaborations, according to a speaker at the Women in Medicine Summit.

“There really is a formula to doing it well,” Tricia Pendergrast, a third-year medical student at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine and co-founder of GetMePPEChicago, said during her presentation.

Graphic represents the theme of the article
Pendergrast T. Maximizing your social media engagement at academic conferences. Presented at: Women in Medicine Summit; Sept. 24-25, 2021 (virtual meeting).

Proper social media etiquette begins with how a bio is structured, Pendergrast said. She recommended that health care professionals use their legal name as the username or Twitter handle. The bio should also include their specialty, special projects, interests and affiliations, as well as a link to their professional page, and it should end with a fun fact. In addition, a headshot, which does not necessarily have to be professional, should accompany the bio.

With regards to structuring posts, health care professionals should include several basic elements, Pendergrast said. These elements include a body of text without tags — with relevant tags entered below the text — and a form of media such as a photo, video or article.

Pendergrast stressed that individuals can build and improve on social media engagement at conferences by employing the NODES of social media engagement: Networking, Open Discussion, live Engagement and Self-promotion.

Networking

While networking is an integral part of academic conferences, social media engagement is a valuable alternative if a busy conference schedule keeps presenters from meeting with conference attendees, Pendergrast said. Especially now that many conferences are being held virtually due to the pandemic, networking through social media can help forge connections.

An individual looking to network with a conference presenter or another attendee should follow that person on social media first. Then, Pendergrast said a connection can be made through a carefully constructed direct message that:

Begins with a proper salutation, followed by an introduction.

Makes a conference connection. Pendergrast provided an example: “It looks like we were both attending the Women in Medicine Summit this year. I attended your plenary session yesterday and really enjoyed it.”

Makes one definitive ask, such as a request to connect or learn more about their career.

Ends with contact information.

Open discussion

The open discussion element of social media engagement involves communicating content from a conference to those who could not attend while providing a forum for discussion on the topic. Posts on conference presentations can be crafted in numerous forms. An engaging post may involve a meaningful quote, key takeaway or facts and figures.

Live engagement

Live tweeting is another way that conference attendees can share content to those who could not attend. This involves creating a thread of tweets posted throughout a presentation featuring interesting, on-the-spot information with followers, Pendergrast said. On a forum such as Twitter, discussions or additions to a post should be added in chronological order in a thread so that viewers can easily access the information.

For those interested in live tweeting at a conference, Pendergrast suggested assembling a team of volunteers to maximize coverage. When using volunteers, rehearsals and planning should occur prior to the conference. Some posts can even be constructed ahead of time if the presentation slides are available before the conference. Screenshots or photos of the presentation are usually acceptable, Pendergrast said. However, she recommended reaching out to the presenter or conference coordinator to request permission.

Live-tweeting posts should tag the conference account and include any conference hashtags. Also, posts can involve more informal content or editorializations to keep the coverage light and engaging.

Self-promotion

Conferences are a good place for self-promotion because “you have a captive audience of people who are interested in the same things that you are,” and other attendees generally are looking for new connections, Pendergrast said. She suggested using a conference hashtag to share a new paper, book chapter, blog post or other accomplishments.

“You have to be willing to self-promote and put yourself out there,” she said.

Media break

While social media is a great resource for forging new connections, it can also impact mental health. Pendergrast told Healio Primary Care that a media break “is a fantastic idea.” To maintain a social media presence while on break, she recommended updating the name of the social page to notify followers of the media break so they do not send messages during that time. When returning from a break, she suggested posting a message with the announcement and information on how the time was spent during the break, then asking followers, “What did I miss?”