Social media strategy and evaluation: how to do it and prove it

Social media has become a key player in science communication initiatives by organizations and individual scientists due to its broad reach, low overhead costs, media sharing capability and versatility. However, to fully capitalize on the potential and capabilities of social media, it's important to have a well thought out social media strategy that clearly outlines the target audience, communication goals, messaging, content and growth objectives. This should be coupled with rigorous, quantitative metrics evaluations that are performed on a regular basis. These evaluations should address social media performance, audience engagement, and community building strategies and should include user engagement surveys. Here, we will outline the steps needed to establish a rigorous social media presence and examine the key elements needed to compose a robust social media strategy. We will also examine potential metrics that can be used to speak to the efficacy and impact of different social media platforms (i.e. Facebook and Twitter) by focusing on the success of the IRIS EPO social media program. Individuals, programs and organizations can use this approach to improve their online communications, increase reach and engagement with the public and partner organizations, and provide quantitative metrics about broader impacts.