Birds of feather flock together: A longitudinal study of a social media outreach effort

Abstract

Social media platforms are increasingly used by scientists for communicating with the public about their research and its outcomes. This tool has proved useful for scientists seeking to provide funders with far-reaching research impacts, to fulfill public outreach requirements, or to educate the public about important topics. However, scientists still struggle to reach new audience members who do not already have an affinity with their efforts. While the organic growth of audiences through social media provides an optimal environment for expanding initial audiences into more generalized crowds, little guidance exists for scientists about how much time is necessary for pushing their message or effort before it starts to reach ‘new’ followers. Using a small conservation-oriented social media effort, we studied changes in an audience across a three-year time span. Although we did observe a shift in initial audience attitudes, knowledge, and demographics, it was relatively small, and our audience already seemed to have an affinity for our topic of interest. As a result, we recommend that future social media efforts should carefully consider their goals and timelines before starting any campaign venture. We also suggest that future research investigate the temporal aspect of audience shifts in social media across a longer period.