Reflections from the <i>Annals of Surgical Oncology</i> social media committee: the impact of promoting surgical science online

Abstract

Background. The Annals of Surgical Oncology (ASO) launched a Social Media Committee in 2022 to strategically promote surgical science, boost journal impact, and raise awareness of cutting-edge research. This study investigated the impact of the ASO Social Media Committee on journal visibility, publication engagement, and article-level metrics. Methods. Manuscripts accepted by ASO and promoted on Twitter/X between 21 September 2020 and 20 September 2023 were evaluated for differences in article and social media metrics. Pearson correlations evaluated the relationship between normalized article downloads and normalized likes, retweets/reposts, and quote tweets/quotes. Group comparisons of social media engagement by article type were performed. Results. In the 18 months before the formation of the ASO Social Media Committee, 1023 manuscripts were published, and 1023 were published in the 18 months afterward. The median Altmetric scores for articles published before (3.0;IQR, 0-7.0) and afterward (2.0;IQR, 0-7.0) were similar (p = 0.480). In contrast, the normalized median number of downloads per article was significantly greater after the Social Media Committee was formed (0.85 downloads per article [IQR, 0.55-1.48] vs 1.37 [IQR, 0.93-2.51];p < 0.001). Positive correlations were noted for normalized downloads with likes (r = 0.14;p < 0.001), retweets/reposts (r = 0.08;p < 0.001), and quote tweets/quotes (r = 0.16;p < 0.001). No difference in social media engagement by article type was observed. Conclusion. More downloads were noted for ASO articles posted by the Social Media Committee after normalization. An organized effort to promote surgical science likely improves article exposure. Future efforts should seek to expand article promotion to additional social media and networking platforms with a more international, multi-lingual approach.