Social Media: A Valuable Tool for Libraries

"Social Media: Always Worth the Time"

Made by Mandy Boyle. This presentation is free to share. Enjoy!

In 1993, the internet was...

"headless, anarchic, million-limbed" and "spreading like bread mold." - Bruce Sterling

Today, the internet is...

A driving force in our lives. Work Share Play Create Learn

The Internet and Social Media

The web has become increasingly social. People spend more time on social networks than they do on

email.

According to TechCrunch in March 2008, there are more than 3 million tweets sent per day.

There are 500 million users on Facebook as of 2010. Those users come from more than 170 countries.

Social bookmarking sites, like Digg.com, are some of the most widely trafficked destinations on the web.

So where does that leave libraries?

Challenges for Libraries in Social Media

Aimless postings Discretion Privacy settings Limited time Limited personnel

Libraries Have a Unique Opportunity

Now is the perfect time to be social. It's easy. It's not time-consuming. It's cheap (and in most cases, free). It's where the community is.

How can libraries use social media?

4 Reasons to Be on Social Media

1.) Communication

2.) Respond to Feedback

3.) Marketing and Advertising

4.) Understand Users

71% of you have never used social media to address a patron's question, concern, or

problem.

10 Steps to Using Social Media

1.) Learn how to monitor your brand. 2.) Learn from your brand community.3.) Have a game plan. 4.) Promote, promote, promote.5.) Allow open, yet governed access for employees6.) Stay relevant and be helpful. 7.) Give the community room to grow.8.) Know you're not alone. 9.) Go where your users are. 10.) Be the change.

In the survey, most of you responded that you only have a few minutes a day to work with social media.

Manage Your Social Media in 20 Minutes a Day

Minutes 1 through 5: Log In and Moderate Minutes 5 through 10: Facebook Minutes 10 through 15: Twitter Minutes 15 through 20: Blogs and Communities

Minutes 1 through 5

Log into your social media accounts. Moderate any new connections. Check direct messages/replies and respond. Scan the feeds and follow what others are

saying.

TIP: Use Hootsuite.com to manage multiple social media accounts and to schedule updates in advance.

Minutes 5 through 10 Facebook

Check in on birthdays on the home page. Respond to any comments on your wall. Post a status message daily, something engaging or

interesting. Comment on a few status messages or updates. Share at least 3 interesting updates that you find. If you belong to groups or fan pages, leave a new

comment or two.

Minutes 10 through 15

Twitter Follow the feed. Observe and respond. Converse with at least one person. Use or create a hashtag. Make at least 3 or 4 tweets, something interesting

or engaging. Share at least 3 valuable resources/links/sites

Minutes 15 through 20

Blogs and Communities Read new posts

TIP: Manage multiple feeds in Google Reader.

Comment TIP: Keep responses insightful.

Share TIP: Share a great post on social media sites or social

bookmarking sites.

It's all about sharing and cross promotion!

Work together with other librarians and community figures

to gain more exposure.

Minutes 15 through 20

• If you manage a blog:

– Encourage teen postings• e.g. Book reviews

– Promote events and volunteer opportunities

– Try to update 1x per week, more if you can

– Interview teen volunteers • e.g. Favorite book, Favorite author, etc.

Social Media Best Practices

Be active: brand yourself / your library Be open: permit comments/ feedback / tagging Be social: show teens that you are there;

interact, respond Be polite and aware: privacy has changed

But how can I reach teens?

Teens and Social Media

According to the Pew Research Center: 73% of online teens and an equal number of young

adults use social network sites, mainly Facebook. Only 8% of online teens 12-17 say they ever use

Twitter. Wireless connectivity amongst teens is on the rise.

Teens and Social Media

Survey of local teens Usage of social media Preferences on communication Desired topics of discussion/engagement

Survey Results

79% would read an email newsletter if the library offered it.

They want to see: Book reviews Events Volunteer opportunities Recent acquisitions Local authors Lifestyle articles

Survey Results

64% would interact with the library on social media.

They want to see: Open hours Events and programs New teen books Daily quotes Volunteer opportunities Author of the week Featured series

Survey Results

80% do not want text messages 100% use Facebook frequently. 38% prefer to get notifications about events. 92% prefer to get notifications about events via

email.

Survey Results

An OCLC study finds that teens and college students consider search engines a better “lifestyle fit” for their information needs. While more than 50% described search engines as

a perfect information source, just 17% described libraries this way.

In the survey that was distributed to local teens, everyone goes to Google when they need to research.

You Don't Have to Compete with Search Engines

Show what else you have to offer.

– More personalized research experience.

– REAL, reliable feedback. Engage your teens. Use social media as the conversation starter. Keep the communication open and moving!

Now what?

Measuring Success

Success is not the same for every library. Success is not the same for every platform. Before changing your social media strategy,

determine how you'll measure success: Followers? Interactions? Increased traffic to library website?

Questions About Social Media

What about security? Can you link other pages to a library's Facebook page? How can I use social media effectively to get information

about my library out there, especially to teens? Didn't Myspace lose its popularity? What's Foursquare? Can people hack into my email? Will I get viruses and spam? Who owns the data?

More Questions?

Thank you!

Find me:

facebook.com/mandyboyle

linkedin.com/in/mandyboyle

@mandyboyleFeel free to share this presentation!