Comms planning should be done early on – not as an afterthought.
Effective communication is key to maximise your research’s reach and impact.
Define comms objectives that are SMART – Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Relevant, Timely.
Think carefully about who you want to reach and why – how will a certain audience help you meet your objectives?
Tailor your content, tone, format and channel to each audience.
Contact your funder’s comms team and/or research@reading.ac.uk for comms planning support.
Write a one-sentence summary that captures your publication’s central message in plain English.
Create a clear and accessible 150-word description of your main findings.
Remember to include title, journal, publisher, launch date and DOI/ISBN in all comms.
Use social media platforms to drive traffic to your publications. Use the DOI in posts so that mentions can be easily tracked.
Contact research@reading.ac.uk to share your publication through University channels.
Add the publication to your project website, University staff profile, LinkedIn, personal webpage and email signature.
Upload permitted versions to collaboration networks such as Academia.edu and ResearchGate – and tag with keywords.
Update ResearchFish or other funder reporting tools.
Edit relevant Wikipedia pages, inserting text and references to your research.
Pitch yourself as a guest expert on relevant academic and popular podcasts.
Share the DOI/ISBN and publisher’s link with colleagues, collaborators, researchers whose work you reference and others with an interest in your subject.
Tailor outreach to specific people who would benefit, using clear, jargon-free language to explain why the work matters to them.
Submit your work/publication for inclusion in conference presentations, seminars or panel discussions.
Submit your work/publication for awards, academic prizes or reading lists.
Organise a conference for major outputs – contact the University Events Team events@reading.ac.uk
Contact the University Press Office well in advance of publication to discuss the possibility of a press release – pressoffice@reading.ac.uk
Write a pitch to The Conversation that references your publication. Contact the Press Office for advice on pitching effectively.
Training available to University of Reading researchers through UoR Learn.
Use Altmetric Explorer to track mentions of your outputs on social media, policy documents and news sites, including sentiment analysis.
Track citations to your paper via Scopus, Web of Science, Dimensions, Open Alex and Google Scholar. If someone is citing you, they may be interested in your next paper and/ or collaborating.
Review engagement metrics (web traffic, downloads, shares, views) through Google Analytics, CentAUR, Kudos and publisher platforms.
Record qualitative feedback such as book reviews, email and personal feedback, and social media comments.
Promotion doesn’t end after publication – most academic outputs have long lives.
Encourage ongoing discussion: blog about your research, record a podcast, make a video or design an infographic.
Repost and refresh content around key dates (e.g. policy debates, anniversaries, topical news hooks).
Link back to your publication in future talks, interviews and articles.