5 prompts for your lab’s News feed

Need inspiration for the news feed on your website? Here are 5 prompts to get you started!

Maintaining a news feed on your website might sound like a lot of work, but creating posts can be quick and easy! And having a news feed on your website is one of the easiest ways to show the world that your lab is dynamic and productive!

A news feed can help you:

Showcase your team’s accomplishments (personal OR professional)
Present your lab culture and what it’s like to be part of your team
Share the work of your collaborators and colleagues, and
Drive traffic to your website, as it creates content for you to share on social media.

The benefits of an active news feed are many-fold, so we’re here to make creating posts as easy and inspiring as possible.

Get started with these prompts for your News feed

#1: Celebrate a win!

We all love good news! Tell us about a new paper, a much-needed mental health break, or a great Zoom event you attended. Posts don’t have to be long or complicated, just let us celebrate your wins with you.

#2: Talk about your team!

Have you added a new student? Or graduated an old one? Has a current student mastered a new skill? Or presented an exciting idea at lab meeting? These posts are great ways to showcase that science is a team effort and your lab is a supportive place to be.

#3: Share a perspective

Your lab is more than just your productivity! Share your perspective on a recent paper, a current event, or a hot topic in your field. Make sure to promote the post on social media so that you get more mileage out of the time it takes to create a post like this.

#4: Give a field update

Field season is one of the most exciting parts of being a scientist, so share the fun with others! How many animals did you trap? Plants did you count? Or data points did you collect? Share the details with a brief update and some of your favorite photos.

#5: Ask a question

Need help finding collaborators? Or naming a new spider species? Post an update to your news feed asking your audience for suggestions. And if you DO need help naming a new species, we’ll just go ahead and suggest “ImpactMediae”.

Has a nice ring, doesn’t it? 😉

Need help launching a news feed?

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About the author

Impact Media Lab is a small-but-mighty creative team that helps scientists develop strategies for impact. We believe science can lead to seismic shifts in how we understand the world, but it takes great media (and rigorous strategy) to make it happen.