The benefits of article promotion
The aim of promoting articles is to showcase different studies published in a journal and increase their visibility to various audiences including the wider scientific community, the general public and/or other interested parties, for example policy makers, practitioners or funders.
There are many reasons why article promotion can be beneficial:
- Disseminates scientific discovery beyond your research discipline
- Helps to improve the impact of a journal, including Altmetrics, for example
- Increases online traffic to articles and journal websites
- Helps authors build their own reputation outside of their immediate network
- Offers a valuable author service which may increase the likelihood that authors will resubmit
How BMC can help
Articles that may appeal to the media and, hence, audiences beyond those who directly read a journal may be suitable for article promotion by our in-house team. The Communications Team at BMC will decide on the best strategy for promoting these articles, for example:
- Media relations: A general press release may be disseminated widely to international outlets, or the article may be pitched directly to carefully selected and targeted media contacts
- The BMC blog network: Blogs give authors an opportunity to talk about their work with the wider research community in their own voice. Further information on the benefits of promoting research through blogging can be found here
- Social Media: Promotion via social media reaches a large audience and is a good way for journals and authors to engage with the community
Identifying articles suitable for promotion
Recognising the potential impact of research results beyond their discipline can support the growth of your journal and we therefore encourage you to suggest any manuscripts that may be suitable.
There are several factors to consider when evaluating an article for external promotion:
- Human interest: Topics affecting large sections of society, especially on common diseases and public health issues
- Uniqueness: Articles set apart from any research that came before them, e.g. is this a world first of some sort? Does the research reveal the smallest/greatest/oldest of something?
- Unexpected or surprising: Research that challenges assumptions, overturns current thinking on an issue, or is simply odd or shocking
- Topical/timely: High-profile topics that are already in the news tend to remain high on the news agenda, meaning that any related stories are also likely to gain media coverage
- Story of the research: Is there a story about the way the research was carried out? An unusual methodology may create news value in itself
- Multimedia: Compelling video, audio or great pictures can sometimes be media stories in themselves
To alert us to a manuscript which meets one or more of the qualities described above, you can add the ‘Editor’s highlight’ flag during peer review. Instructions for this process can be found here.
For any queries on article promotion, please get in touch with your journal contact.