Category: Personal Academic Websites

Do you need an online presence yesterday? You may be wondering how can I improve my online presence as a professor, researcher, or scientist quick.

“I have a big talk coming up, it would be great to have my website up by then.”

“My tenure review packet is due next month. Any chance we could have the website up?”

“The book comes out in X month, my publisher needs my bio soon.”

“It would be great to have this done before our grant proposal is submitted.”

You may want to be intentional about your online presence if you need it for a

• Conference, talk, or event
• Book
• Job search
• Funding application or annual review
• Award
• Application
• Press release
• Board meeting

I’m not always able to help academics who come to me with a short turnaround. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t ways for you to have a stronger online presence now. You have agency in how you show up online.

What should I do 1st?

Google yourself. What’s can people find about you and your research now? What makes up your digital footprint?

Gather what they need from you. We’re you asked for specific materials such as your bio, headshot, or social media handle? If yes, these may be items to consider improving. This is more for an event, media appearance, or announcement.

Update your bio, it’s a living document, adaptable to your needs. If you’re unsure where to start with your online presence, I always recommend your bio. In this video, I share top tips for writing and revising your academic bio with my friend, presentation expert, Dr. Echo Rivera.

Here’s advice for writing your LinkedIn headline specifically.

Need new photos of you? It’s okay to ask for support. For instance, can your university provide a professional photographer for the event? If not, can they recommend someone local? You can seek approval for use of funds towards that or other things for your online presence. If you’re doing a media appearance or event, it’s okay to ask your host if there will be photos or video.

You can also ask a friend or family member to take photos of you. While selfie are a good option, a phone-camera savvy friend is ideal.

I did my 1st professional photo shoot this year. It was much more comfortable than I expected because I had a great team there to help me. You can hear all about it in an upcoming interview for The Social Academic with the photographer and makeup artist I’ll be recommending to my clients. I can’t wait to share our conversation with you. I’ll update this article when that interview goes live, so bookmark it if you’d find it useful.

Update your social media profile(s). Any small change makes a difference for how you communicate with people. While there’s a few tips in this article, here’s your how to guide for updating your social media profiles.

Try pinning an introduction post (or post about what you most want to share with people) to the top of your profile.

What can I use for my online presence

LinkedIn is great for academics. Here’s 32 reasons why. Updating your LinkedIn profile instantly improves what people can find about you online. These LinkedIn resources are here to help you.

Want section-by-section support? Sign up for my LinkedIn Profile for Professors and Researchers course.

If you have access to make updates yourself, your faculty profile is a great way to improve your online presence. For most academics, it can be a slow process to request an update be made. If you’re unsure how to make changes to your faculty profile, now is a great time to ask.

You could make a 1-page personal faculty website. Here’s what to include on yours.

As part of the Best Personal Academic Websites Contest, Brittany Trinh, Ian Li, and I put together this Setting Up Your Personal Academic Website event. The replay will help you set up your website today with Owlstown, a free website builder for academics. Plus, what to expect with other website hosts (like my favorite, WordPress.com).

If you need your website today, Owlstown is a great option for you.

If you don’t want a website, but you still want something for people to view online, consider a Google Doc, Word Doc view only, PDF or other media with a public share link. If you need something more visual, consider a Canva presentation.

Need a social media graphic? Canva is my favorite option. I’ve helps professors around the world feel comfortable using Canva for their social media. I even went to Cava Create last year in Los Angeles. This year’s event is coming up on April 10.

Social media graphic ideas:

• Introduce yourself
• Share your research
• Meet your team
• Share a paper or publication
• Talk or event info
• Invite people to your course (okay this one isn’t as timely, but still a fun idea, I had to share it with you)

You don’t need to work with me to have a stronger online presence now. Find resources on The Social Academic blog (try searching by category). There are interviews you may find helpful on the podcast and on YouTube. You’ve got this!

Work with me on your online presence

You don’t have to do it alone. I’m Jennifer van Alstyne. I help individual professors, research labs and groups communicate who you are and what you care about online. You can have your website designed for you. You can have set-up of their LinkedIn profile done for you. You don’t have to write your own bio (unless you want to). It’s okay to get support for your digital presence as a faculty or researcher.

Professors with a tight turnaround typically book a private 1-on-1 consultation with me on Zoom. That way we can work together in real time to make a difference for your online presence. Academics like having an expert to ask their questions. Most save significant time with ideas that just won’t work for their goals and needs. I’m happy to help you on a private consultation too.

Sure, there’s other ways we can work together on your website project, but sometimes you need a website “like yesterday.” Is that you? A quick website may be a good fit for you.

But if your schedule is a bit more flexible, let’s meet on a no pressure Zoom call about working together so we can customize a service that fit your lifestyle, needs, and goals. Find a time on this online calendar.

While I can’t promise I’m able to work with you when it comes to a quick turnaround, I promise to help you in the right direction (even when it isn’t working with me).