LoginSchedule demoLoginSchedule demoEveryone can benefit from establishing their voice online and having a digital professional brand — scientists included.
At its very core, science is a collaborative enterprise. In our field, we frequently speak about research groups, co-authors, and networking events at conferences.
Yet some scientists are still hesitant to use social media to build their digital professional brands.
I’m here to tell you why everyone needs to develop their digital professional brand though — even scientists.
The phrase “digital professional brand” may suggest images of corporate marketing professionals, but everyone can benefit from establishing their voice online — scientists included.
After all, digital platforms like social media are often where cutting-edge conversations and collaboration opportunities flourish.
You’ve accomplished a lot and built a successful career, so your stakeholders should see your achievements reflected online. Plus, you want others to view you as a source of trusted information.
Your work speaks for itself, of course, but being active on social media and participating in relevant conversations online allows you to reinforce your digital professional brand and expand your network.
Over the past two years of the pandemic, we’ve seen the value of that digital professional brand increase — rather than relying on in-person interactions to build our brand, we’ve all had to shift reputation building online. Even post-pandemic, digital tools like video calling and online collaboration aren’t going away.
Now, more than ever, your online brand works together with your offline brand.
Related: How can you get started with personal branding? And how can you support employees’ personal brands?This guide answers these questions and more.
There are two major activities involved in building your digital professional brand:
When you go to a conference or publish a new paper, one of the first things people will do to learn more about you is a Google search.
When they search, they should find a digital professional brand that paints an accurate, complete picture that you’re excited about. In fact, nearly half of U.S. adults Google someone before doing business with them.
Your LinkedIn profile is likely the number one result when someone enters your name and your company or university, so it makes sense to start there when building your brand.
Let’s go through an example using the following screenshots for the fictional John Smith:
On a very basic level, if you knew nothing else about the two profiles in the above photo, who would you rather speak to about a potential collaboration?
Many would pick the profile on the right because, at first glance, his profile communicates that he cares about his digital professional brand — and that he likely has the expertise to back it up.
Looking further at this fictional profile, we can see the great digital first impression established here.
A potential collaborator can look at the information contained in John’s complete profile and easily learn more about him. Without this complete profile information, it would be difficult to ascertain if his research aligns, and the potential collaborator may not bother reaching out at all.
This is what your brand is all about: to present yourself as the thought leader, expert, and experienced collaborator that you are**.**
There’s no “easy button” to building your digital professional brand, but LinkedIn is a great place to start.
Like the example discussed above, you’ll want to make sure your Linkedin profile is active, up-to-date, and does a good job showcasing all your accomplishments.
What to include in your profile:
What to do:
Related: Want to get the most out of LinkedIn? Here’s how to optimize your profile.
Get into a habit of sharing interesting and relevant information on your various social media accounts, especially LinkedIn.
Now that your Linkedin profile reflects your digital professional brand, the scientific community can better see what you and your research are all about!
Many scientists are active on Linkedin and Twitter, so that’s what the following tips will be based on, but Instagram and Tiktok are quickly becoming popular as well.
Where can scientists find content to share?
It may sound daunting to think about adding social media to your already full plate. But there are several good resources to find content to share with your personal network:
What if I want to create my own content?
You don’t have to share only articles to contribute to discussions – you can also post directly about your own work. This can include commiserating about an experiment that didn’t quite work, sharing cool pictures and videos from the lab, disseminating a recent paper, or participating in science communication activities.
Most importantly, though, social media is about conversations. It’s another venue to talk to each other, solve problems, and share techniques.
Here are some content ideas to help you get started:
Enjoy building your digital professional brand on social media, and go forth and build relationships with your future collaborators! The next great idea is only a conversation away.
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