1.
How to make yourself
more visible in science
SAHLGRENSKA ACADEMY CAREER AND NETWORK DEVELOPMENT PLATFORM
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista

2.
About me
PhD Student in Neuroscience @GU
Research: Neuroscience of eating behaviour,
obesity, & anxiety
• 2016: Instagram
• 2017: Blog, Twitter
• 2020: experimenting with TikTok
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista

3.
My personal motivation
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
1. Sharing my passion with family
and friends
2. Being the guidance I would have
liked to have as a first generation
academic
3. Show how science works
4. Science for everyone!
5. Help end the stigma around
mental- and eating disorders by
educating
6. Networking

4.
Things I probably wouldn’t have
experienced without social media
• supportive network with
valuable contacts
• interviews
• invited talks
• guest blogs
• moderation of youtube videos
by the German tv channel MDR
• currently blogging for Tidningen
Curie from the Swedish research
council
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista

5.
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
“SciComm is remaining trial and error
with a pinch of intuition for me.”

6.
Why should scientists be on
social media?
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
3.6 billion
people worldwide have
used social media in 2020
statista.com
• Fighting misinformation with
information
• If you want to reach the public: be
where they spend their time!
• Science is hidden behind paywalls
and inaccessible language
• Scientists are the experts in their
fields and can get in direct contact
with public

7.
Why should scientists be on
social media?
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
What people think a
scientist looks like
What scientists actually
look like
Ballerina

8.
Benefits of being on social media
as a scientist
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista

9.
Benefits of being on social media
as a scientist
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
 Increased visibility for journalists, potential collaborators,
future employers, …

10.
Where do I start?
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
Do you want to stay
between scientists?
… or do you also want to
communicate to the lay audience?

11.
The right platform
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
Linkedin,
Researchgate
Blog/Website,
Twitter
Facebook, Instagram,
TikTok, Youtube

12.
Define your target audience and
main media formats
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
LinkedIn Twitter Facebook Instagram TikTok
Media
formats
Text, Images,
Videos, Links,
Stories
Text, images,
videos, gifs,
fleets
Text, images,
videos,
stories
Images,
videos (15 sec
– 15 min),
stories
Not good for
sharing links
Video (15-
60sec)
Required
effort
Low Low Low-
Intermediate
Intermediate-
High
Intermediate-
high

13.
Branding
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
• starts with a strong bio and username
• can include logo, font, or color palette
• can be specific kind of content
• can be a certain way of writing
• helps other people to recognize and remember you and your
content easier (especially when you are consistent across platforms)
ThePHYSiCiSt

14.
Website and blog
Website:
• About
• CV
• Publications
• Research and teaching
• Outreach, Talks, Interviews
• Links to other platforms, contact
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
Blog:
• Texts for scientists or lay
audience
• Learn search engine optimization
• Include tags in posts
• Use a catchy title + image
• Share on social media
• Follow other science bloggers and
engage
• Newsletter e.g. Mailchimp
wordpress.com, wordpress.org,
squarespace.com, wix.com, blogger, …

15.
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
Twitter requires low effort.
Twitter Networking 101
• Have a strong bio
• Check out relevant hashtags
• Speakers often include twitter handle
• Engage with tweets (reply, retweet, like)

16.
Share your research, talk about
your experiences
• Share useful tips
• Links to interesting papers
(summary?)
• The same with own papers
• Exchange your experiences
with other researchers
• Follow accounts that tweet
papers in your field
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista

17.
Example: Instagram post
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
• Appears in the feed
• Allows up to 10 images or videos which can help
tell your story
• Tag location, include up to 30 hashtags, tag up to
20 people
• Allows a caption of up to 2200 characters
• Can be tricked by continuing with the text in the
comments 
• First phrase should be catchy or show what the
audience can expect from the post

18.
Examples: Instagram
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista

19.
Example: Stories / Fleets
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
• Images or 15 sec videos, disappear after 24h

20.
Example: Vertical video format
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
•15-60 seconds on TikTok
•15-30 seconds on Instagram Reels
•1 min to 15 min on IGtv
•Leave a lot of room for creativity
•Professional vs. entertaining
Video: @martaoverchuk on instagram

21.
“But I have no time”
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista

22.
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
Finding time for social media
• For low effort: twitter and linkedin
• Time on public transport, incubation times, waiting at the doctors
office, …
• Schedule a fixed time-frame every week to catch up on social media
(or to plan own content!)
• Don’t force yourself to post! Quality > quantity
• Use planning tools like Tweetdeck or Facebook creator studio
• Create content that you can share on several platforms

23.
General tips
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
• Keep it short and concise, but don’t dumb it down
• Bring in a little bit of your personality, be yourself
• Be open to criticism
• Be accessible
• Post regularly and at times your followers are most active
• Don’t be afraid of using emojis and gifs!
• Only tag people if the post is relevant for them – don’t spam!
• The more useful your content the more likely it is being shared

24.
• Using relevant hashtags in your posts helps people find and interact
with you
• Instagram: combination of up to 30 “bigger” and “smaller” hashtags
• Twitter, TikTok, Facebook, Linkedin: less is more, be specific with the
hashtags
Using #Hashtags efficiently
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
#RStats #OpenAccess #Neuroscience #PhDChat #PhDlife
#academictwitter #sciencetwitter #ScienceTikTok #WomeninSTEM
#biochat #scicomm #forskom #lifescience #epigenetics #neuroscience

25.
Statistics help you find out what
works
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
likes comments saves
how often
profile was
visited
reach
interactions
website clicks
profileclicks
new followers
How often post has
been viewed

26.
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
Follow the unspoken ‘code of
honour’
• state your references (on social media, too!)
• state the limitations of the studies and facts you
are sharing
• when sharing your own opinion, make sure it is
clearly identifiable as such
Be transparent.

27.
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
Helpful resources
Twitter for scientists https://bit.ly/2MoJRWY
#Sciencefluencer – Communicating science at eye level https://bit.ly/2MlpBoQ
How to utilize social media for science communication https://bit.ly/3pflcTc
Which role should scientists play in science communication? https://bit.ly/3iI9Fcn
Increasing your online visibility https://bit.ly/3sMDPjz
Tool to create Infographics Canva.com, over, numerous other apps
Source for license free images pixabay
Tool for creating science figures (easy) Biorender.com
Tool for sharing several links in one Linktree, linkinbio
Link shortener websites bit.ly

28.
Use your platform wisely.
Stina Börchers, M.Sc. | biologista.org @stinabiologista @stina.biologista
… and have fun 

29.
Connect with me:
@stinabiologista
Stina Börchers
@stina.biologista
Stina Börchers
PhD Student and Science communicator
Sahlgrenska Academy, University of Gothenburg
stina.borchers@gu.se
biologista.org
Time for
questions!