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In today’s academic landscape, universities and funders now encourage PhD students to share their research beyond traditional journals. Many turn to blogging and social media platforms like Twitter to disseminate findings and engage broader audiences, but is this effort worthwhile? This article examines the evidence and practical implications for doctoral researchers.
Expanding reach through blogs and social media
Active online communication can dramatically increase the visibility of research. In one notable case, an academic who made her papers freely available in an open-access repository and promoted each via a blog post and Twitter saw immediate and substantial gains in readership (Terras, 2012). Before promotion, most of her papers had only one or two downloads despite being online for years. After blogging and tweeting, each paper averaged around 70 downloads within 24 hours, a leap of over thirty-fold in interest (Terras, 2012).
Over the course of a year, her actively promoted papers came to dominate her department’s download statistics. In fact, seven of the top ten most-downloaded papers that year involved her as an author, whereas colleagues’ unpromoted papers languished with far fewer readers (Terras, 2012).
The lesson is clear: if you tell people about your research, they are far more likely to find and read it. By leveraging social media and blogs, even niche academic work can reach hundreds of interested readers within days. Otherwise, it might remain unnoticed on a library shelf or behind a paywall.
Notably, making work open access was crucial to this success. When a paper was available freely (for example, via a university repository or preprint server), promotion on social platforms translated directly into downloads. A paper that had been the most-read article in a prestigious journal with 376 downloads became available to all and was publicised online. Once available to all and publicised online, the paper gained almost three times as many downloads (Terras, 2012).
Open access combined with social media creates a powerful synergy for reach. Readers can immediately access the research when they encounter it on Twitter or a blog. In contrast, sharing a paywalled link often fails to generate the same engagement. For PhD students, this highlights the importance of ensuring a public-facing version of your work is available before you broadcast it. Such access can be provided through open-access journals, institutional repositories, or authorised preprints.
Beyond raw download counts, online sharing also boosts other indicators of research engagement. Altmetrics are one example: these alternative metrics, which track online attention (such as tweets, blog mentions, and media coverage), capture the broader impact of research in real time.
A tweeted or blogged-about paper will typically show a higher Altmetric score. This reflects that the work is being discussed and circulated more widely than a paper with no online presence. These attention metrics do not replace traditional citations. However, they highlight immediate interest and knowledge diffusion across scholarly and public spheres (Haustein et al., 2014).
From downloads to citations: does social sharing improve impact?
While increased readership and online attention are evident, a key concern for PhD students is whether social media activity eventually translates into academic impact, particularly in the form of citations.
Early indications from case studies were optimistic yet inconclusive. Terras (2012) observed dramatic spikes in downloads after social media promotion. She speculated that this surge could, in time, lead to more citations – though she noted that citations take years to accumulate. A decade later, we now have more robust data to inform this question.
Studies on the link between social media promotion and citation counts have yielded mixed results. On one hand, a field-specific experiment in cardiovascular research suggested a positive effect. In that study, the researchers randomly assigned hundreds of newly published cardiology papers to receive promotion via a professional society’s Twitter account, while other papers received no special promotion (Ladeiras-Lopes et al., 2022). The tweeted papers accrued significantly higher citation counts over the next two years compared to the control group. This finding implies that under certain conditions social media exposure might accelerate scholarly uptake and citations. For example, an influential account that provides broad visibility and a free-access link to the article can increase discovery.
On the other hand, a larger and more generalisable controlled trial found no significant citation advantage from social media. In a recent three-year experiment spanning multiple journals and disciplines, a team of scientists with large Twitter followings (collectively over 200,000 followers) randomly selected some of their publications to actively tweet about, while leaving others as untweeted controls (Branch et al., 2024).
The outcome was telling. The tweeted papers garnered 2.6–3.9 times more downloads immediately after promotion, and they sustained an Altmetric score 81% higher than the controls over three years. However, their citation counts after the same period were no higher than those of the non-tweeted papers (Branch et al., 2024).
In other words, sharing a paper on Twitter greatly boosted its visibility and online buzz. However, it did not measurably increase how often that paper was cited in new research, at least within the first few years. This well-controlled study suggests that social media outreach alone is not a guaranteed shortcut to higher citation indices.
It is worth noting that the relationship between tweeting and citations is complex. Many papers that attract attention on social media are indeed high-quality or newsworthy studies. They likely would have been widely cited eventually, even without social media exposure.
Separating cause from correlation is challenging (Costas et al., 2015). The most current evidence indicates that while social media promotion consistently increases engagement metrics – immediate readership, discussion, and alternative impact indicators – it does not automatically convert into more scholarly citations in the short term (Branch et al., 2024).
The “audience” one reaches through Twitter or a blog post often includes practitioners, interdisciplinary scientists, and general public readers. These groups may value the work but are not in positions to cite it in academic publications. Meanwhile, those researchers who will cite your work – for example, specialists in your field – are likely to discover it through traditional means such as literature searches or conferences. They are not dependent on seeing a tweet.
Therefore, the lack of a citation boost should not be seen as a failure of science communication on social media. Rather, it indicates that the benefits of such communication lie in other dimensions of impact.
Building your academic profile and skills
Even if tweeting or blogging yields limited citation gains, PhD students can reap numerous other benefits from engaging online. One immediate advantage is the opportunity to improve communication skills. Writing blog posts about your research encourages you to distil complex ideas into accessible language. It also helps you identify the narrative or real-world significance of your work. This practice can make you a clearer thinker and writer.
In fact, academic writing coaches often recommend maintaining a regular blogging habit. It can make writing itself a routine, and allows you to experiment with your “voice” (Thomson, 2016). Writing short, informal blog posts or Twitter threads can help you break out of jargon. By forcing you to focus on what makes your research compelling, this practice can in turn improve how you write your thesis and journal articles.
Further, blogging can build confidence and resilience in writing. The informal format of a blog removes some pressure for perfection (Shinton, 2017). Doctoral researchers often struggle with perfectionism and writer’s block when facing formal academic writing.
By contrast, a blog post or social media update is a low-stakes publication. It allows you to share ideas and “publish” something quickly, and to receive feedback or engagement. This fosters a sense of accomplishment and keeps your writing muscles active even during longer research projects (Shinton, 2017). PhD students who blog regularly report that it helps them clarify their thoughts and maintain momentum in their work.
Another significant benefit is networking and visibility within the scholarly community. When you share insights or updates online, you are effectively opening a door for conversation with peers across the world. A blog can showcase your expertise and interests. Meanwhile, a Twitter presence can connect you with researchers, industry partners, or journalists who follow related topics. Over time, this can lead to new collaborations, mentoring relationships, or invitations to talks (Shinton, 2017).
For example, a well-timed Twitter thread summarising your new paper might catch the eye of a researcher in another country who is working on a similar problem. This could prompt them to reach out to you. Even if such contacts do not cite your work directly, they expand your professional circle. This network is an important asset for an early-career scientist.
Importantly, an online presence helps in creating your scholarly identity and reputation. A PhD student’s blog can serve as a portfolio of thoughtful commentary and accessible explanations of their research area. This can be valuable when applying for jobs or grants.
Hiring committees and potential collaborators often look beyond your publication list. Demonstrating that you can communicate to diverse audiences and actively promote your field’s knowledge can set you apart. Blog posts essentially provide evidence of your ability to think and write clearly about your science (Shinton, 2017). In some cases, a blog post that resonates widely might even lead to media coverage, which further raises your research profile.
Finally, engaging with social media and blogging aligns with the broader movement in academia toward public engagement and open science. Funders and universities in the UK and beyond encourage researchers to disseminate findings to the public and stakeholders. By blogging or tweeting, you contribute to the public understanding of science. You also help ensure that knowledge doesn’t stay siloed in academic circles.
For many PhD students, this aspect provides a sense of purpose. It reminds us that our research can have meaning and interest for people outside our specialist community. This wider impact, difficult to measure in citations alone, is increasingly recognised as a core component of a researcher’s role.
Making it work: tips for effective research sharing
If you decide to blog or tweet about your research, a strategic approach will help you get the most out of it. Here are some evidence-based tips for doctoral researchers to maximise the benefits of social media and blogging:
- Ensure open access availability: Whenever possible, make your paper freely available online (via an institutional repository, preprint, or open-access journal). Readers are far more likely to engage with and share research they can access immediately. Promotion works best when interested viewers can click through to the full content without barriers (Terras, 2012).
- Time your communication: Don’t post at midnight or on Friday evening and expect a huge response. Aim to share new blog posts or paper links during peak engagement times – for example, late morning to afternoon on weekdays. Research dissemination tends to get more traction mid-week during working hours when your academic peers and the public are most active online (Terras, 2012).
- Provide context and tell a story: Simply posting a link to your paper isn’t enough. Take a moment to frame why your findings matter or share a curious anecdote related to the research. Drawing readers in with a human story or a clear take-home message from the study can significantly increase interest. In her experiment, Terras accompanied each paper with a blog narrative about the “story behind the research”, which helped catch readers’ attention (Terras, 2012). A brief Twitter thread highlighting key insights or a compelling figure can similarly hook your audience.
- Engage genuinely with your audience: Social media is not a one-way broadcast channel. Regularly interact with others in your field online – comment on colleagues’ posts, answer questions, and share useful resources beyond your own work. Building an authentic digital presence takes time, but it pays off. When you finally share your own publications, you’ll have an established network that is interested in what you have to say. It took one researcher about three years of active, friendly Twitter engagement to grow a substantial following. That network now amplifies her work (Terras, 2012). Remember that people are more inclined to read and share your research if they recognise you as a valued member of the community. They will tune out if you only appear to self-promote.
By following these practices, PhD students can avoid the common pitfalls of academic social media. For example, they will not end up “tweeting into a void” or coming across as purely self-serving. Instead, they can cultivate a meaningful online presence that enhances their research visibility.
Wrapping up: broadening impact beyond citations
Is blogging or tweeting about your research worth it for PhD students? The evidence and experiences suggest that the answer is a resounding yes – provided your goals extend beyond simply boosting citation counts.
For doctoral researchers, developing communication skills and expanding one’s network are valuable outcomes in themselves, enriching the PhD experience irrespective of citation counts. Notably, the impact of engaging audiences beyond academia should not be underestimated. The people who discover your work through a blog or tweet may be scientists in other fields or interested non-specialists. Such readers represent a broader form of knowledge dissemination that is valuable in its own right (Rosewater, 2023). Sharing research online is about making knowledge accessible to those outside the ivory tower, not solely about driving up citation metrics.
Ultimately, if you want people to find and read your research, you should build up a digital presence in your field and use it to promote your work when you have something interesting to share (Terras, 2012). By doing so in a thoughtful way, PhD students can amplify the impact of their research, foster valuable connections, and contribute to a more open and interactive scientific community.
References and further reading
- Branch, T. A., Côté, I. M., David, S. R., Drew, J. A., LaRue, M., Márquez, M. C., … & Steen, D. A. (2024). Controlled experiment finds no detectable citation bump from Twitter promotion. PLOS ONE, 19(3), e0292201.
- Costas, R., Zahedi, Z., & Wouters, P. (2015). Do “altmetrics” correlate with citations? Extensive comparison of altmetric indicators with citations from a multidisciplinary perspective. Journal of the Association for Information Science and Technology, 66(10), 2003–2019.
- Ladeiras-Lopes, R., Vidal-Pérez, R., Santos-Ferreira, D., Alexander, M., Baciu, L., Clarke, S., … & Lüscher, T. F. (2022). Twitter promotion is associated with higher citation rates of cardiovascular articles: The ESC Journals randomized study. European Heart Journal, 43(19), 1794–1798.
- Rosewater, L. (2023). Even if tweets don’t increase citations, does it matter? Pitch Science [Blog]. Available at: https://www.pitchscience.com.au/blog/tweets-dont-increase-citations-does-it-matter (Accessed 22 Nov 2025).
- Shinton, S. (2017). The benefits of blogging for PhD students. Teaching Matters [Blog], University of Edinburgh. Available at: https://blogs.ed.ac.uk/teaching-matters/the-benefits-of-blogging-for-phd-students/ (Accessed 20 Nov 2025).
- Terras, M. (2012). The verdict: Is blogging or tweeting about research papers worth it? LSE Impact of Social Sciences Blog [Blog], London School of Economics. Available at: https://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/2012/04/19/blog-tweeting-papers-worth-it/ (Accessed 20 Nov 2025).
- Thomson, P. (2016). Seven reasons why blogging can make you a better academic writer. Times Higher Education. Available at: https://www.timeshighereducation.com/blog/seven-reasons-why-blogging-can-make-you-better-academic-writer (Accessed 20 Nov 2025).