5 step process for promoting your research

Source: http://hub.ahc.umn.edu/communications/public-relations/promote-your-research

Promote your research

5 step process for promoting your research

Congratulations! You’ve just received confirmation from the journal
that the hard part is over; your work will be published soon. Now it’s
time to start spreading the word around your findings and analysis.

Here’s a five-step process outlining how you can help the AHC public relations team raise awareness around your research:

1. Contact your academic unit’s communicator. If your unit doesn’t have a dedicated communicator, feel free to reach out to us directly at health@umn.edu.
   
   Your
   communicator will get the communications ball rolling within your
   academic unit, determining how to use that unit’s existing internal and
   external communication vehicles to promote your research.
   
2. Your communicator will relay your publication information to
   the Academic Health Center Office of Communications so we can explore
   PR/media relations opportunities.
   
   A member of the AHC PR
   team will reach out to you to learn more about your publication,
   confirm the publication date and set up a time to conduct an interview
   to learn more about your work. We’ll also confirm the publication date
   with the journal and coordinate our work with both the journal and your
   research partners.
   
3. Outline your research to the AHC Public Relations team.
   
   A
   member of the AHC PR team will meet with you to learn more about your
   research, your results and how your work impacts the general public or
   any specific audiences you have in mind.
   
   At times, the AHC PR
   team might also want to feature your research in a video, a University
   Expert Alert or a post on the University’s Health Talk Blog or AHC web
   site. All items help promote your research findings.
   
4. Approve press materials and any content related to your research.
   Unlike
   with the press, you have the ability to review and approve any press
   materials created by the AHC PR team. Please remember the approval
   process is more about content accuracy than editorial suggestions. The AHC PR team knows the type of language, writing style and formatting the media prefers.
   
   After
   all materials are approved and publication dates/embargoes are
   confirmed with the journal, the AHC PR team will begin sending media
   materials and (at times) a copy of your publication to reporters they
   think might be interested.
   
5. Position yourself for media success.
   
   Most
   often, the media’s interest will depend on the subject and scale of the
   research. While all research our experts pursue is important, the media
   will latch onto what will be most digestible to their readers.
   
   Researcher
   availability can also play into media coverage. The PR team will
   schedule interviews around your schedule, but it helps if the team has
   interview slots to offer interested reporters.
   
   An important
   reminder: reporters rarely cover researcher more than a day after a
   publication. To support your efforts to publicize your research results,
   it’s critical that the PR team learn of upcoming research as soon as
   you’re told it has been accepted for publication. This helps us plan and
   ends up in the best outcomes.

Thanks for working with the AHC PR team. We look forward to helping promote your research publication.

Promote your research | Academic Health Center Resource Hub - University of Minnesota