If you read the title and thought, do I even need to become an expert on research promotion, the answer is, YES! The number of academic and research articles published worldwide has seen a sharp increase over the past few years. According to the UNESCO Science Report, the annual output of scientific publications surged by 21% between 2015 and 2019.1 This annual number continues to grow sharply every year, with 5.14 million academic articles published in 2022 alone, a 2% rise from the previous year.2 While this growth in research output is a positive sign of the increasing interest and investment in scientific research, it has also led to a situation where many articles without research promotion do not receive the attention they deserve. Even those published in leading international journals are sometimes overshadowed by other high-profile studies if you don’t know how to promote your research article in a way that captures the readers’ interest, leading to missed opportunities.
Why invest in research promotion?
After all the hard work they put into getting accepted by a high-impact journal, many researchers are just relieved to have their papers published. However, just getting published in no longer enough; you need to know how to promote your research article effectively. As research output swells each year, research promotion has become crucial not just to help increase the visibility but also the impact of your work. It helps ensure that your research paper is more widely read, which can consequently help you garner more citations over time. Research promotion also helps researchers establish themselves as experts in their field, which can lead to new opportunities for collaboration and growth.
Strategies and tips for effective research promotion
Fortunately, today researchers have limitless possibilities for research promotion online. In this article we share tips on how to promote your research articles to a wider audience and open up new opportunities that can advance your research career.
Optimize your research article to make it discoverable
One of the first steps in your research promotion journey is to ensure that your work is easily found and read by an interested audience, beyond the researcher community.
- Employ relevant keywords: Conduct a thorough keyword research to identify commonly used terms in your field and specific topic. Incorporate these keywords naturally throughout your research article to improve its search engine ranking.
- Create an engaging title: One of the first things in your paper that’s visible to readers is your article title. So put in time to make your research paper title accurate, concise, captivating, and has the relevant keywords to enhance its discoverability on online search engines.
- Write an informative abstract: Apart from the research paper title, the abstract is often the first section readers encounter. So create a clear, comprehensive summary of key findings and highlight your work’s significance and impact to get potential readers to delve deeper.
Leverage online platforms for research promotion
Digitalization has revolutionized the way research is disseminated, so make sure to take advantage of the internet to promote your research.
- Establish an online presence: Register for an ORCID (Open Researcher and Contributor ID) that acts as a unique identifier that ensures your published work is attributed correctly. Use this to create a professional website or personal research blog to showcase your work and provide updates on your latest findings. This will help establish your expertise and attract a wider audience.
- Engage on social networks: Reap the research promotion opportunities offered by platforms like Twitter, LinkedIn, and ResearchGate. Use summaries, visual representations, and simple language to share your research on social networks, actively engage with your peers, and get the attention of policymakers and key stakeholders in your field of research.
Collaborate with other researchers across the globe
A great tip for those wondering how to promote your research article is research collaboration, which can be a powerful tool for research promotion.
- Seek chances to co-author papers: Find ways to collaborate with other researchers by opening doors for co-authorship or potential future engagements. Partnering with researchers working on related topics is a great research promotion tactic that can increase the impact and visibility of your work.
- Try guest blogging or invited talks: It’s important to find new avenues to share your work, so search for opportunities to contribute guest blog posts to reputable websites or get asked to talk and present your work at conferences and seminars. Leveraging these platforms will help you showcase your expertise and promote your research to a broader audience.
Engage with the research community and build your professional network
Actively participating in the research community can significantly improve the visibility and impact of your work and contribution to your field. This takes some work but can prove to be valuable options for research promotion.
- Attend conferences and workshops: Join research conferences and industry events, which can provide invaluable networking and research promotion Attract attention to your work through presentations, scientific posters, lay summaries, or conference papers highlighting key aspects and takeaways from your own research.
- Join online discussion forums: Engage in online forums and discussion groups related to your research topic and your field. Share your experiences and insights, answer questions and offer guidance, and establish yourself as a helpful, knowledgeable member of the global research community.
- Organize training events in institutes: If you have this opportunity, but don’t know how to promote research in universities, then this is for you. Speak to the institute’s leadership to help set up seminars, training, or even brown bag events to take your research promotion efforts to the next level.
Timing is key for effective research promotion
All your hard work and efforts toward successful research promotion will be wasted if you don’t act at the right time in the publication journey.
- Pre-publication research promotion: A little known tip on how to promote your research article is to begin early. Share your work as a preprint, generate interest and get feedback on your work even before you get published to generate a buzz, which can result in a wider readership upon final publication.
- Leverage publication announcements: Once your research article is published, share this news across various channels both online and offline. Add an update with the article link on your website, social media platforms, newsletters, and with your research team and other collaborators to get the maximum visibility, reach and readership.
Unfortunately, many researchers take research promotions lightly and do not invest in creating a well-defined strategy to push their work to wider audiences. By following the comprehensive research promotion strategies listed above, researchers will know how to promote your research article to get more people to read their work and garner maximum impact. Just remember, planning ahead makes your research promotion more successful and strengthens the research recall for your audience.
References
- Race Against Time for Smarter Development, UNESCO Science Report 2021. Available at https://www.unesco.org/reports/science/2021/sites/default/files/medias/files/2022/01/Facts%20and%20figures%20from%20the%20UNESCO%20Science%20Report%202021.pdf
- Number of Academic Papers Published Per Year. Wordsrated, June 2023. Available online at https://wordsrated.com/number-of-academic-papers-published-per-year/
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