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“Come and See Some Science!” – Getting the Public ‘Engaged’ With Your Event #PhDTips

31st May 2017
 | Guest Author

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You’ve spent weeks and weeks planning your science public engagement activity – but how do you get people to come? Getting the public excited about your event can be surprisingly difficult; something I didn’t fully appreciate when I took on the role as Head of Publicity for a major science festival this year! It was a steep learning curve – but you can benefit from my hard-earned insights.

DO sweat the small stuff

Tiny details might seem trivial, but they really do count and get picked up on – especially if your event is part of a larger brand. Some organisations spend thousands of pounds on the rights for a certain font, for example, so can get (understandably) upset if you don’t use it! ALWAYS check your spelling: it’s a sad truth that the one time you don’t, it will be the time you get that eminent Professor’s name wrong.  And do be consistent in your colour schemes; it looks so much more professional and helps to cement your message in your audience’s memories.

Tell everyone and anyone

Never put it past ANYONE to be interested in science! Tell everyone you know and use every opportunity to mention what you are involved in. Think outside the normal box of academia. For instance, I gave out more promotional leaflets at my local gym than in my university department. Other ideas: put an advert as part of your email signature, invite your friends on Facebook, tell your doctor at your next check –up, wear a promotional badge and ALWAYS carry a stack of leaflets on you. Remember that people always respond better to a personal invitation, so don’t forget to mention what part YOU are playing.

…but also be strategic!

One of the great powers of the Internet is the ability to search for and target specific groups. And Apps like Hootsuite make promotion using social media a doddle as they allow you to prepare and schedule Tweets/Facebook posts in advance. This means you can target peak browsing times (such as mid-morning coffee breaks and lunchtimes) without being chained to the computer. You can also prepare a basic template for your post, then tailor it multiple times for different groups. Get on Google and see what groups are in your area –Science teachers? Coding clubs? Astronomy societies? Horticulture meet-ups? Also target the social media channels of other local science-related festivals as their followers are likely to be interested in your event. Collect all the handles and hashtags you can in a spreadsheet, so you have them readily available.

Think beyond the main event

We are conditioned to respond to narratives and stories, so include the build-up to the event as part of your promotion. This can include merchandise arriving, confirmation of speakers, ‘sneak-peeks’ at the venue, etc. As an example, one of the most popular posts for the festival I worked on was a photograph of one of the prizes we were going to offer on the night! Anything quirky or unusual is likely to be remembered more than an ‘official’ looking advertisement.

Sometimes the old ways are best….

Social media IS powerful….but it can also be incredibly easy to ignore (think of your own browsing habits!). Sometimes nothing beats a good old-fashioned poster, especially if you place them where they will repeatedly be seen (think main entrances, bus stops, toilet doors, lifts, etc.). Just check you have permission to use any official noticeboards and have the courtesy to take them down once your event is over!

Quality not quantity

Getting in touch with broader media outlets – e.g. local/regional newspapers, TV and radio – can take considerably more time than social media/poster-ing/leaflets and there are only so many hours in a day. If there is any low-hanging fruit then go for it, but where more effort is needed, go for quality not quantity unless you can share the burden between others. Otherwise you can exhaust yourself trying to place ads in every local publication going, without really having an impact. A well timed ad in one of the most popular newspapers/radio shows could reach more people than a publication or show with only a handful of dedicated followers. If your institute has a publicity team, see if you can use their contacts for local journalists, radio shows, etc. to save you some research.  And if your event involves guest speakers, do agree in advance how much publicity work they are prepared to do; you don’t want to frustrate anyone by constantly asking if they can make it to yet another radio interview…

Above all – keep enthusiastic! Don’t let the stress get to you or you will never be able to ‘sell’ your event. If you sound interested and excited, everyone else is much more likely to be as well!

Caroline Wood is midway through a PhD studying parasitic weeds at the University of Sheffield. When she’s not agonising over her experiments, she loves to write and will cover most scientific topics if they stay still long enough.

In her spare time, she enjoys helping at public outreach events, hill walking and escapism at the cinema. She blogs at:

http://scienceasadestiny.blogspot.co.uk/