Katelyn Patterson

5 Steps to Marketing Library Services using Social Media

@RadicaLibrarianmadmlibrarian.wordpress.com

Pros and Cons of using social media

Social media provides a direct connection to the community.

We simply must have a presence on social media.

What do you use?

Pinterest

Facebook

Google+

LibraryThing

Goodreads TwitterYoutube

InstagramTumblr

SnapChatLinkedIn

Vine

Flickr

Yik Yak

What do your patrons use?

eMarketer.com reports that Facebook accounted for 81% of all shares among US internet users in 2014 4th Quarter.

So just focusing on Facebook should cover our bases, right?

WRONG!

Step 1: Decide on Social Media Platform

Pew Research Center Social Media Update of 2014 shows us that:● While FB is the biggest site, its growth has become stagnant

while others are still growing.● FB is the platform for reaching seniors.● 18-29 is still the highest social media users across all platforms.● Instagram showed the biggest growth among 18-29 between

2013 and 2014.

Where are the Millennials?

What does this tell us?

Certain demographics are in certain places.

To put it in marketing terms,

put the right product in the right place.

Step 2: Planning

SWOT (strengths, weakness, opportunities, and threats) analysis, write mission statements, goals, and objectives.● Keeps things realistic and on task.● Refer back to it to make sure your plan

is achieving mission and goals.● Create goals- # of posts a week, # of

followers in 6 months

Social Media Policy

● State publicly the mission, goals and objectives. ● Gives standards: Factually correct information,

no opinion, trusted sources.● Takedown Policy: How will you handle comments

or posts from the public that are off topic, threatening, or offensive? More on this later…

● But REMEMBER… A good social media policy shouldn’t be restrictive.

● The policy is for the public and your employees.

Social Media Policy Examples

Here are some examples of good library social media policies:

Harris County Public LibrarySocial Media Governance Policy DatabaseInfopeople has an archived webinar on social media policiesNational Archives Facebook Comment and Posting PolicySocial Media Policy for YALSA Appointees

A word about privacy...

ALA advises: Any demographic data gathering should be limited to what a library can legally (and by its own privacy policy) gather from a reference interview. Good example of social media and privacy policies:Multnomah County Library's Statement on privacy and confidentiality of library records

Step 3: Resource allocation

No such thing as a free lunch!

Individual? Team? You have to decide what is best for you.

Social Media Team

● Assures a wide variety of views are represented● Spreads workload● Accommodates schedule: Create a weekly

schedule. Individuals in charge will post 2-4 times a day, monitor all platforms, answer questions, etc.

● Be mindful of different voices when posting

Step 4: Create Content● Decide on the types of content:

o Readers Advisory, Library events, Current Events, Collection, Reference

o Decide what content fits on which platform and remember those demographics!

● Make it interactive: create polls, ask for feedback● Offer more than just library generated content… but make

sure it is trustworthy information.● Schedule posts for prime time for each platform: Dot Design

has created a great infographic with the best day and times for each major platform. Or you could use your own analytics.

Step 5: Measure Success● Quantitative: # of likes, # of retweets, # of

mentionso Use bitly to create short links. This

tracks how many times your link has been clicked.

● Qualitative: Can be more difficult. o Software available to automatically analyze content.

Positive, negative, neutral. o SproutSocial and HootSuite and SumAll : Social Media

Management tools. Free and paid membership options.

Facebook Insights

● Has a lot of info… possibly more than you need. I suggest watching a tutorial like this one to navigate through it all.

● Allows you to watch other FB pages stats.● Shows best day/time of day to post● Reach compromised by algorithm ● David Lee King suggests this can be a good

thing! It encourages us to create good content and engage with our community to keep our content visible.

Other platforms

● Twitter● LinkedIn● Google+● YouTube● Pinterest● Instagram and Vine analytics through

Simply Measured for free

What to track

● Decide on a time period. Week, month, Quarter.● Create a report with the following:

o # of your posts on each platformo # of followerso engagement- how many likes, shares,

following links you are posting (bitly)

Negativity & Trolls● Gladly accept constructive criticism.● If it isn’t off topic, threatening, or offensive, don’t delete

and…● Respond quickly. ● The Librarian’s Nitty-Gritty Guide to Social Media gives us a

great example of a negative Twitter exchange:

@AnnoyedPatron: Hey @PublicLibrary, you need more computers! They are always full!

@PublicLibrary: The public computers DO get a lot of use! Try calling Mary at 555-5555 to reserve one before you head

to the library!

HEB on twitter (@HEB) does a great job with negativity.

Finally...

Some of my favorite ways libraries are using some social media platforms.

Pinterest● Highlight items in your collection by posting pictures on

Pinterest and including a link to items in the catalog which drives traffic to your website.

● Share early literacy crafts and activities for parents.● For internal purposes: collecting programming, display

ideas, etc.● Built in focus group: PRNews suggests that if you want to

target a certain interest group of your patrons (knitters, gamers) for programming or library display, visit Pinterest pages to see their interests for ideas.

Goodreads

● Organize book clubs ● Create reading lists● Social aspects such as asking patrons to vote on

titles

Youtube

APL is using YouTube for early literacy by putting up LiteratureLive puppet show series and Storytime Connection, a video series for parents on early literacy skills.

Ferguson Library Social Media

The most recent example of a library’s excellent usage of social media is the Ferguson Municipal Public Library.

Through social media they ● kept their community informed● raised over $350,000 and ● got several thousand books donated to

create a special civil rights collection.● Used these funds to hire the

first crowdfunded children’s librarian and recarpet the library

Further Reading...● The Librarian’s Nitty-Gritty Guide to Social Media by Laura

Solomon● Marketing and Social Media: A Guide for Libraries,

Archives, and Museums by Christi Koontz and Lorri Mon● Marketing Your Library: Tips and Tools that Work. Edited by

Carol Smallwood, Vera Gubnitskaia, and Kerol Harrod● Using Social Media in Libraries: Best Practices. Edited by

Charles Harmon and Michael Messina● Managing Your Library’s Social Media Channels by David

Lee King

Thank you!

Katelyn Patterson@RadicaLibrarian

madmlibrarian.wordpress.com