Social networks at the service of science

More than 50 teaching researchers and professionals participated in the workshop"How to take advantage of social networks to communicate your science", held on Wednesday at the University of Navarra. The workshop offered tools and strategies for academic staff to enhance their digital presence and connect with new audiences through platforms such as Bluesky, LinkedIn and TikTok.

Organized by the Scientific Culture and Innovation Unit of the University, with the sponsorship the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT) - Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities, it counted with the participation of three referents in the field of Digital Communication and science: José Luis Orihuela, professor and expert in new media; Miren Agirregomezkorta, specialist in the use of AI for marketing and brand development staff; and Luis Zurano, science journalist at the Universitat Politècnica de València and specialized in the creation of scientific content in TikTok.

The session opened with an introduction to Bluesky, an emerging social network based on a decentralized protocol . José Luis Orihuela explained how this platform is consolidating itself as a new space for the academic community after the changes in X. "Bluesky offers an environment free of advertising and with greater control over the algorithm. It provides a new environment for more qualitative conversations," he said. In addition to explaining this social network , he stressed the importance of having a well-designed digital strategy: "It's not about being on all the networks, but about choosing where we can contribute the most value".

Next, Miren Agirregomezkorta discussed the potential of LinkedIn for researchers, from creating a staff brand to publishing high-impact content. "90% of my current work comes from LinkedIn. It's not just a digital CV, it's a tool for visibility, influence and connection with colleagues and society," he said. During his discussion paper, he offered attendees guidelines, recommendations and some "tricks" on how to enhance their professional profile through this social network .

The closing was in position of Luis Zurano, who offered a dynamic session about TikTok as a channel for scientific knowledge dissemination . He stressed the importance of generating close, direct and clearly structured content: "Hook, development and closing in less than a minute. If you don't capture in the first three seconds, the video gets lost in the scroll," he said. To achieve the "video par excellence, we must bear in mind that TikTok does not reward technical perfection, but authenticity, usefulness and emotional connection", summarized Zurano.

In addition to acquiring technical knowledge in these three social networks and seeing examples of how science can reach more and diverse audiences through them, participants had the opportunity to put what they had learned into internship by auditing their own accounts.

The collaborative environment and the variety of approaches of the attendees showed the growing interest of the staff researcher to update their communication skills in the digital environment. The UCC+I of the University of Navarra is committed to continue promoting this subject of training initiatives that promote a more open, accessible and connected science with the challenges of the present.