Social networking, libraries, and you!

he age of social media is in full swing. With it comes a flood of dynamic, current, and engaging content, available all the time. Expectations of entities has risen in kind. The public expects to be able to access an organization’s up-to-date website, receive updates about events in real time, and connect with employees or representatives instantly. Libraries are by no means exempt from these expectations. In fact, it is to the advantage of libraries to employ social media. The term “social media” means using a variety of mediums to connect to people. In this case, the new media that reach people are platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Tumblr, Instagram, Pinterest, Blogger, and Youtube. Youtube usually doesn’t make this list of well-known social media, but it deserves to be. A huge amount of the content created for institutions and accessed by users are videos. Youtube deserves to make the big kids list of social media that libraries should incorporate in their use of social media. Want to recommend and share book reviews? There's an app for that via Goodreads. Other popular social media applications include Flickr, Vine, Snapchat, LinkedIn, Google Plus, and Vimeo.

eople are online, using social media to connect with family, friends, political parties, religious groups, news outlets, and public institutions. So if people use your library, why not allow them to connect to your library in a powerful, meaningful way? The benefits of using social media are huge for libraries. Making connections through social media is by far the best way to inform, empower, and excite your patrons. By having users follow the library on social media platforms, patrons will feel connected to an engaging community without setting foot in the library building. Events put on at the library are more likely to have good turnouts if they are promoted on social media. Social media disseminates information to a wider range of people. Posts or tweets essentially put the paper flyer of yesterday on all the screens of tomorrow. 

he internet is open for business 24/7, 365 days a year. Libraries, especially academic and public libraries, are poised to establish a permanent presence online. Beyond the walls of the physical library will emerge a new library, a 21st century entity with a strong, reliable online presence that will initially supplement the physical library. I believe that in time, we will come to enjoy the “library of the future” in which the communication to and from users will be instantaneous, electronic, and wireless. Social media can take us there.

So you may already use social media, have personal social media accounts, or even run your library’s Facebook page or Twitter account. Creating an official library account on a social media platform is the easier part. Managing accounts and making the most of social media to promote your library requires more effort. What are the best practices? How do I know my efforts on social media on behalf of the library are effective?

 irst, “official” accounts should be just that. Posts should be professional, relevant, and timely. Don’t combine personal and professional accounts. Remember that once something is posted, even if it is removed immediately, the information is still out there on the Internet. Think before you click. It may be a good move to write up a social media policy specifically for the library, especially if you work in a school or public library.

Secondly, there are many ways to ensure your efforts online pay off. Incorporating a news feed on the library’s main website is one way to keep visitors to the website informed of your tweets without ever going to Twitter or Facebook to follow you. Many libraries include a Twitter or Facebook feed on their homepages. Click here to see an example. Click here to learn how to create a Twitter feed on your website, here for Facebook. You can even add a Youtube channel to your webpage. Learn how here.

y and large, social media platforms understand that the people and institutions behind their pages are hungry for “big data” (King, 2015). Even though libraries and other non-profits aren’t trying to sell anything other than their services, the benefits of marketing metrics are enormous. Analytic features are built right in to Facebook and Twitter. Want to know how many people visited your page in the last month? How many new people are following you on Twitter? In order to make the most of your library’s presence on social media, learn how to access this treasure trove of information, gathered for you, for free, by the very platforms themselves. 

So what should you be keeping track of and why? The general idea behind social media metrics is to gather information that helps you make the most of your activity. The best way to achieve this is to monitor the activity, audience, engagement, and referral metrics (King, 2015). Knowing who is visiting your pages, opening your links, liking your posts, and when will help you tailor your online presence to best fit your library's patrons. The applications and platforms may be easy to create and access, but there is real strategy at play with any successful online presence. Be sure to gather data and adjust accordingly. Set goals for the library online. Developing a following takes time and dedication. Who is your audience? What applications do they already use? Which application or platform is appropriate for different posts/events/etc?

Here's a great example of tailoring a library's social media outreach to its patronage, from King, 2015, in regards to college freshman:

• Set up social media channels that your new fresh- men use. Are they on Facebook? Then you need to be there. Are they using Snapchat or Instagram? Think about setting up shop there.

*Create timely, useful content. For example, does your university have a freshman-experience class with homework assignments and due dates? Post information that helps the students turn the assignments in on time. Post hints, tips, and tricks to help students successfully complete assignments. Ask what they need, and then make sure to post responses. 

*Be quirky. Freshmen are still teenagers, and they tend to enjoy random, quirky things. So be a bit random and quirky once in a while. Share weird facts—about the university or the area surrounding the university. Share pop entertainment news. Answer any question: invite weird ones, and then answer them.

Know what's out there. Browse. Ask. Explore. Trial and error. Tinker. Tailor. Perfect. Win!

Looking for a guide to social media from a trusted source? The American Library Association has a book for you.

Ready to join a social media platform? Click on any social media icon to begin.

   

 Items of interest about social media and libraries:

*Youtube Video:  Q&A: The Librarian Way - Social Media

*Professional resource webpage: ALA’s Webinar: “Use of Social Media in the Library”

References:

King, David Lee. "Analytics, Goals, and Strategy for Social Media." Library Technology Reports 51.1 (2015): 26-32. Academic Search Premier [EBSCO]. Web. 19 Apr. 2016.