Team:SDU-Denmark/Social Media
Social Media
Abstract
We´ve been active on several social media platforms throughout our iGEM project, and you can read more about it right here on this page!
Our engagement on social media
Being present on social media has been a priority of ours. This is due to our objective regarding engaging the public and spreading awareness of iGEM and synthetic biology.
According to a Danish study on the Dane’s usage of media, the average Dane spends most of their media time watching television, while 11% of their media time is spent on social media[1]. However, in 2020, 60% of all Danes used the internet daily or almost daily to check their social media, according to the same study, which shows that social media impacts and influences Danes' lives. This is one of the reasons why we have chosen to be present on social media.
We have profiles on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and TikTok - however, we have been most active on Instagram, followed by TikTok. Our team was not present on Tiktok when we started our project earlier this year. We felt the need to reach out to a new target group and, with this, spread awareness of iGEM, PsiloAid, and synthetic biology to a new audience. TikTok is a relatively new media form in Denmark and yet it is still on the list of the words that were googled the most by Danes in 2020, related to media [1].
We have around 770 followers on Instagram. We use Instagram to get in contact with other iGEM teams, among other things. We have, for instance, initiated conversations with other teams who are focusing on depression as a subject for their iGEM projects, which started our collaboration with the iGEM Moscow Team and our partnership with iGEM NCKU-Tainan.
We have also used our Instagram account to bring smiles to our followers faces with a Meme Monday, where we share some of our favourite memes from other creators and some of our own regarding iGEM or science.
Furthermore, we have introduced Results of the Week (ROTW), where we each Friday present the previous week's results across the entire project. The use of ROTW means that our followers can follow along in all parts of the project. As another part of ROTW, we included our own little challenge, the Mount Everest Challenge. The challenge consisted of keeping track of how many times we walk up the stairs to our laboratory. Finally, we made it as a team and completed the challenge in week 40, where we reached the summit! That is 2 whole weeks before the wiki freeze!
Mount Everest
| Week | Steps pr. week | Total steps |
|---|---|---|
| 29 | 6250 | 6250 |
| 30 | 5450 | 11700 |
| 31 | 2400 | 14100 |
| 32 | 5500 | 19600 |
| 33 | 3700 | 23300 |
| 34 | 4200 | 27500 |
| 35 | 4850 | 32350 |
| 36 | 3400 | 35750 |
| 37 | 4800 | 40550 |
| 38 | 10250 | 50800 |
| 39 | 5450 | 56250 |
| 40 | 5250 | 61500 |
We have tried to engage our followers with our content on Instagram by asking questions in the story function or a regular post. An example of this is in connection with our logo reveal as seen below:
We used the concept of Takeover Tuesday, where the different groups of our team brought the followers along on a day with the group and ask questions.
TikTok
As mentioned earlier, we created a profile on TikTok. We used the profile to show the fun things we have done as a team. We gained around 90 followers in only a few months and even had some videos go viral with several thousands views. By doing this, we have had the opportunity to spread awareness to a target group that we do not reach on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
References
[1] Danmarks Radio. Medieudviklingen 2020. København C: DR Medieforskning; 2020.
Media
