Correspondence Letter by Dixon et al Regarding Article, “A Randomized Trial of Social Media From Circulation”
Contrary to this randomized trial, our data show that social media can substantially boost journal article views. As article-level metrics (altmetrics) emerge as a key measure of academic success, it is important that journals develop engaging social media strategies to maintain their impact.
To the Editor: We read with interest the article by Fox et al1 showing no significant increase in Circulation journal article views after social media promotion. The researchers randomized 243 articles to promotion on the journal’s Facebook and Twitter accounts (n=121) or no promotion (n=122). Median 30 day article views were not significantly different between the groups (409 versus 392; P=0.8). As radiologists with an interest in online education, we recently tracked article views for a journal publication before and after promoting it on social media and would like to briefly present our findings. On October 21, 2014, we wrote a blog piece for the radiology Web site Radiopaedia.org (http://www.Radiopaedia.org; A.D. is a managing editor and F.G. is founder and editor of Radiopaedia.org), which summarized a PLoS ONE publication and provided clickable links to the journal article.2,3 The blog post was promoted on the Radiopaedia. org Facebook page (284 000 followers) and Twitter account (9000 followers), and metrics were tracked. The Facebook and Twitter posts reached 337 000 and 5279 people, respectively. The blog received 22 720 views, with 16 589 of those directly tracked from the social media posts. Clicks from the blog to the journal article totaled 2146 (click through rate, 9.4%). In the 7 months preceding the blog post, the PLoS ONE article received 3534 views. Within 7 days of blog publication, the article view count climbed by 3234 to 6768 (97% increase). During the first 3 weeks of November 2014, the article continued to receive boosted views, a mean of 32 per day compared with 18 per day previously. Why did Fox et al not detect a social media effect but we did? The fact that we promoted a single study relevant to radiologists is a substantial bias but one that emphasizes the importance of content choice in driving social media engagement. The average post on Circulation’s Facebook page during the week of November 9, 2014, to November 15, 2014, delivered 1.6 link clicks per 1000 followers compared with Radiopaedia.org’s 33.3 per 1000 followers. Engaged followers are the key to social media success.
Disclosures F. Gaillard is the CEO of Radiopaedia Australia Pty Ltd and an educational consultant for Medtronic Australia Pty Ltd. Dr Dixon and F. Gaillard are directors of Radiopedia Events Pty Ltd. Andrew Dixon, MBBS, FRANZCR Department of Radiology Alfred Hospital Melbourne, Australia Ryan T. Fitzgerald, MD Department of Radiology University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR Frank Gaillard, MBBS, FRANZCR Department of Radiology University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne, Australia
References 1. Fox CS, Bonaca MA, Ryan JJ, Massaro JM, Barry K, Loscalzo J. A randomized trial of social media from Circulation. Circulation. 2015;131:28–33. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.013509. 2. Dixon A. New “tell tail” MRI sign of Parkinson’s disease [blog post]. October 21, 2014. http://radiopaedia.org/blog/new-tell-tail-mri-sign-ofparkinsons-disease-1. Accessed November 20, 2014. 3. Schwarz ST, Afzal M, Morgan PS, Bajaj N, Gowland PA, Auer DP. The “swallow tail” appearance of the healthy nigrosome: a new accurate test of Parkinson’s disease: a case control and retrospective cross sectional MRI study at 3T. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e93814.
(Circulation. 2015;131:e393. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.014460.) © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc. Circulation is available at http://circ.ahajournals.org
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.014460
e393
Copyright of Circulation is the property of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
Contrary to this randomized trial, our data show that social media can substantially boost journal article views. As article-level metrics (altmetrics) emerge as a key measure of academic success, it is important that journals develop engaging social media strategies to maintain their impact.
To the Editor: We read with interest the article by Fox et al1 showing no significant increase in Circulation journal article views after social media promotion. The researchers randomized 243 articles to promotion on the journal’s Facebook and Twitter accounts (n=121) or no promotion (n=122). Median 30 day article views were not significantly different between the groups (409 versus 392; P=0.8). As radiologists with an interest in online education, we recently tracked article views for a journal publication before and after promoting it on social media and would like to briefly present our findings. On October 21, 2014, we wrote a blog piece for the radiology Web site Radiopaedia.org (http://www.Radiopaedia.org; A.D. is a managing editor and F.G. is founder and editor of Radiopaedia.org), which summarized a PLoS ONE publication and provided clickable links to the journal article.2,3 The blog post was promoted on the Radiopaedia. org Facebook page (284 000 followers) and Twitter account (9000 followers), and metrics were tracked. The Facebook and Twitter posts reached 337 000 and 5279 people, respectively. The blog received 22 720 views, with 16 589 of those directly tracked from the social media posts. Clicks from the blog to the journal article totaled 2146 (click through rate, 9.4%). In the 7 months preceding the blog post, the PLoS ONE article received 3534 views. Within 7 days of blog publication, the article view count climbed by 3234 to 6768 (97% increase). During the first 3 weeks of November 2014, the article continued to receive boosted views, a mean of 32 per day compared with 18 per day previously. Why did Fox et al not detect a social media effect but we did? The fact that we promoted a single study relevant to radiologists is a substantial bias but one that emphasizes the importance of content choice in driving social media engagement. The average post on Circulation’s Facebook page during the week of November 9, 2014, to November 15, 2014, delivered 1.6 link clicks per 1000 followers compared with Radiopaedia.org’s 33.3 per 1000 followers. Engaged followers are the key to social media success.
Disclosures F. Gaillard is the CEO of Radiopaedia Australia Pty Ltd and an educational consultant for Medtronic Australia Pty Ltd. Dr Dixon and F. Gaillard are directors of Radiopedia Events Pty Ltd. Andrew Dixon, MBBS, FRANZCR Department of Radiology Alfred Hospital Melbourne, Australia Ryan T. Fitzgerald, MD Department of Radiology University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Little Rock, AR Frank Gaillard, MBBS, FRANZCR Department of Radiology University of Melbourne, Royal Melbourne Hospital Melbourne, Australia
References 1. Fox CS, Bonaca MA, Ryan JJ, Massaro JM, Barry K, Loscalzo J. A randomized trial of social media from Circulation. Circulation. 2015;131:28–33. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.013509. 2. Dixon A. New “tell tail” MRI sign of Parkinson’s disease [blog post]. October 21, 2014. http://radiopaedia.org/blog/new-tell-tail-mri-sign-ofparkinsons-disease-1. Accessed November 20, 2014. 3. Schwarz ST, Afzal M, Morgan PS, Bajaj N, Gowland PA, Auer DP. The “swallow tail” appearance of the healthy nigrosome: a new accurate test of Parkinson’s disease: a case control and retrospective cross sectional MRI study at 3T. PLoS ONE. 2014;9:e93814.
(Circulation. 2015;131:e393. DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.014460.) © 2015 American Heart Association, Inc. Circulation is available at http://circ.ahajournals.org
DOI: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.114.014460
e393
Copyright of Circulation is the property of Lippincott Williams & Wilkins and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use.
