SciComm with a Measurable Impact using Social Media

Social media tools have made it easier than ever before for a small group of thoughtful people to change the world. When properly utilized, these tools can inform the public about a wide variety of problems, proposed evidence-based solutions, and mobilize popular support for change. However, too often they are improperly utilized, resulting in shouting into the void, wasted effort, and frustration.

In this course, you'll learn how to use social media and blogs to make a difference in the real world. We'll discuss how to create measurable outcomes as part of your strategic communications plan, and how to measure them. We'll discuss how to identify key stakeholders and target audiences, and how to craft messages that reach them. And we'll discuss how to evaluate what went wrong-and how to adapt and try again.

Key Learning Objectives

• Contrast a social media output from a communications plan outcome
• Develop a communications plans and goals with measurable outcomes
• Identify key target audiences for your social media communications and build messages targeted at each audience
• Analyze unsuccessful communications strategies and adapt/revise them for future success
• Understand the advantages and disadvantages of various commonly used social media platforms

Who Should Register?

If you understand the basic mechanics of social media but want to learn how to craft messages to achieve your communications goals - in other words, to use social media to make a difference in the real world - this course is for you!

Instructor

David Shiffman

Dr. David Shiffman is an ocean conservation scientist who specializes in sharks. He runs a scientific and environmental communications consulting firm in Washington, DC, where his clients include US government agencies, environmental non-profits, and universities. Hs more than 60 peer-reviewed scientific journal articles have been cited over 2,500 times, and his public-facing articles have appeared in National Geographic, the Washington Post, Scientific American, globally syndicated op-eds, and a monthly column in SCUBA diving magazine. Follow him on social media @ WhySharksMatter