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Unlike a lot of Science Communicators, Steph Compton didn’t start out with a website and gradually build a social media following. Instead, she developed a strong and engaging Instagram profile (steph.sci.access) and used it to entice people to sign up for her newsletter.
A third-year PhD student at Virginia Tech, Steph got on Instagram at the suggestion of Science Sam, a Canadian neuroscientist whom she had been communicating with. She wanted to make science information, particularly the science of nutrition, more accessible to people.
Communication + Passion = Success!
Unlike many other Instagram communicators, Steph has a teaching background: she currently teaches a health counseling course at Virginia Tech. Her comfort in relaying information both in the classroom and online, combined with the fact that she is, in her words, “super multi-passionate,” soon attracted followers.
“I definitely grew into my middle space where I can talk about science and I can bring it to the people and I can combine both of those things in a way that empowers people with the basics of the knowledge,” she says.
Although she appreciated the way that Instagram helped her build an audience, Steph wanted to be able to reach them off of the platform as well.
“I’ve definitely seen the value in building an audience that’s off of an app. What would happen if I were to lose Instagram because Instagram just stopped existing?”
She decided to build an email list and create a newsletter. By building an audience off the app, she could potentially build a business. She also wanted to give people information that was more in-depth than Instagram could sustain. Today, she has a newsletter as well as an email list for health educators or health professionals who are interested in accessibility.
“My accessibility guide for Instagram teaches you three different switches that you can use to make your Instagram a little bit more accessible without being a super burden. I also have my nutrition basics newsletter, which has really evolved into more of a general newsletter. I’ve combined the people who are just interested in getting a Q&A and newsletter with the people who are interested in the nutrition basics so I can cover both of those topics together.”
She uses a program called Flodesk, which incorporates information from Instagram and other platforms into newsletters, because it was more affordable for her than a website. Now, she is finally putting together a website at stephcomptonnutrition.com, giving her maximum exposure to potential followers and, possibly one day, clients.
Conclusion
“I definitely see this as a business,” she says. “Like I said earlier, I’m so multi-passionate that I enjoy teaching and even if I don’t end up teaching as my actual, I guess, ‘main job,’ I really want to still be able to do that online. I really want to bridge the gap between the people who are out living their lives and the science that I’ve come to know and love because I think that everyone is a scientist in their real life, regardless of whether or not they claim to be a scientist. We all experiment every day with everything that we do. And so I think that everyone deserves to know those basics and deserves to know that nutrition knowledge.”.
If you would like to connect with Steph Compton directly, you can reach her at steph.sci.access on Instagram and StephSciAccess on Twitter or via email. Don’t forget to also check out her new website!
If you have questions or feedback about this episode, please leave a comment below!
