Developing a Social Media Strategy to Amplify Scholarship and Practice

In 2017, a bold new idea was proposed to the Editorial Board of Advances in Neonatal Care to develop an Editorial role dedicated to outreach on social media. The landscape of social media had become a powerful tool that harnessed the attention of the public. Up and coming scientists were learning how to use the various platforms to engage the scientific community and open access to their work. The top social media platforms that year were Facebook, YouTube, and a newer platform called Twitter (now known as X) which became a critical source of news and information during the 2016 U.S. election.1 For good or ill, X (Twitter) offered new opportunities to directly engage with the public about new research, innovations, and emerging practices in the NICU. Scientists were using the platform to self-promote research that would otherwise have to wait until publication before it saw the light of day. Social media gave scholars something to do at conferences: Amplify the freshest study results, establish critical connections with potential collaborators, engage in vigorous, albeit public debate, and share ideas that would influence patient and family-centered care, and the delivery of that care within hospitals and health systems. The content in the journal was amplified and was able to influence NICU practices across the globe. Improved engagement with our followers also highlighted a generational divide in our readership. our newest project, Facebook took over. X (Twitter) was just the latest in the ever-changing media landscape now saturated with content from sites like TikTok, Instagram and SnapChat. YouTube and LinkedIn emerged with new ways to engage readers who now listened to their favorite podcasts to get their information. One has to wonder, who has time for it all? Yet, for some, there is comfort in the printed words published in Advances in Neonatal Care (ANC). A glossy page with a color photo of an infant resonates with the care we are so familiar with providing. Laying on the counter at the nurses’ station, or breakroom, or rolled up in your mailbox, something is still powerful about picking up a printed hard copy of the journal, even if it’s on a shelf in the bathroom, still waiting to be read the traditional way. For some readers, there may be great comfort in consuming news of the fast-paced changes in care through a familiar format, akin to turning the pages of a well-read library book. The future is uncertain, and technology is shifting every aspect of our lives. Generative artificial intelligence (AI) introduces a new level of social media and technology with the ability to suggest what you might be interested in reading before you know it yourself. Whether we embrace or reject these new technologies will influence how future scholars convey the leading edge of practice and care. Technology and social media are the present. At Advances in Neonatal Care, we have integrated social media through a variety of platforms including X (Twitter), Facebook, and LinkedIn. You can find us on these platforms by searching for “Advances in Neonatal Care”. Social media is used as a dynamic approach to communicate our mission and current care practices to improve outcomes for our tiniest patients and their families. The connections to fellow neonatal colleagues, access to update evidence-based practice and research, and guidelines for advocacy focused on vulnerable neonatal patients are broadened through the use of social media platforms.2 Readers, health care providers, researchers, are encouraged to engage with us on all of our platforms. Through engagement with our readers on social media we hope to develop opportunities for collaboration, innovation, and professional networking to motivate shifts in practice and public policy. Our social media platforms serve as a communication channel for raising awareness and advocacy for our neonates.2 Together our collective voice can influence policy to address the complex needs of our patients and improve outcomes for neonates and their families. ANC is changing to accommodate the variety of ways you enjoy reading our content. The journal has always been a vehicle to support all of your roles as professional healthcare providers, authors, and scientists. ANC continues to support your professional development, ignite your curiosity, and inspire you to continue to provide the best care to improve the outcomes for every neonate you care for now, and into the future.