If you are interested in greater exposure for your research, I recommend that you create a Twitter account with a recognizable, professional picture and a link to the page where you list your research. You can just use the picture from your research page, if you have one there. (The picture isn’t even essential; your affiliation and the link to your research website will do.)
I recommend this even if you have no intention of using Twitter. I recommend this even if you think Twitter is a waste of time.
Here is why: People who want to popularize research are on Twitter. Other researchers are on Twitter. When someone mentions your research on Twitter, then they often will “tag” you IF you have a recognizable Twitter profile. That tag means that curious people can click over to your profile, then EASILY follow the link to your research page and learn about the rest of your research.
There are good reasons not to be active on Twitter. I’m listening to Cal Newport’s book Deep Work, and he makes the case that social media gets an outsize influence because we don’t have good metrics of productive impact. So we spend time chasing short-run retweets and likes rather than serious impact from concentrated, uninterrupted work. All good.
But in this case, the cost is low and fixed, probably ten minutes of your time. Again, this isn’t an argument to be active on Twitter. Just make it easy for the people who ARE on Twitter to find your work.
Here’s mine:
In January and February of this year, about 10,000 people have visited my profile page. Some (probably small) fraction of those clicked through to read more about my work.
What do you think? Why am I wrong?
David Evans' personal blog 
[…] enough, especially if you are not able to pay for open access publication. (David Evans’ post on why every academic should have a Twitter profile is what convinced me every researcher should have a personal […]
[…] Uneasy about social media? Start with baby steps and simply create a Twitter profile. You can do it in less than five minutes by uploading a picture, inserting a short biography that describes your expertise, and pasting in your website address (more on that in the next section). Creating a basic profile like this offers a landing page to allow other users to see your expertise and link to your work – even if you do not become an everyday user. Even David Evans says every academic should have a Twitter profile. […]