Best Practices & Policies

Social Networking

• I’m not a social networking expert.

• I’m not very social by nature. :-)

• I teach a few dedicated workshops on blogging, Facebook, and Web 2.0 technologies.

Disclaimer

A Definition

•Online Social Networking is a community of people sharing their thoughts, photos, and interests online.

Marketing Plain and simple

Our Library Rocks!

•Hang posters

•Mail paper newsletters

•Submit newspaper articles

•Hand out bookmarks

•Pass out magnets

•Hand out flyers about events

• Issue library cards

•Create Websites

•Start Friends groups

•Visit community organizations

•Rely on word of mouth

•We do a lot of advertising!

How do libraries traditionally publicize?

Does any one method work for everyone? No.

The same will be true with digital publicity.

What type of benefits to the library? Why join in?

• It’s another (completely different) way to publicize the library...

• It’s free...

• It’s fast and pretty easy!

Benefits for the library

Understanding social networking

•Social networking isn’t for everyone.

•That’s ok!

•But don’t let your personal feelings about social networking keep your library from taking advantage of these valuable marketing tools.

• If someone offered your library free weekly ad space in a hand-delivered newsletter that would reach a modest percent of your users, would you turn it down?

•Probably not.

What a marketing tool!

Why not join?

Social networking isn’t going to solve fundamental problems with the library. It’s only a marketing tool.

Popular Services

Facebook (Social Networks)

•Half-billion users

•Half of whom log in on any given day

•Offers specific pages for libraries

•Notifications & statistics

•Great marketing tool to reach people who log in every day or two

Blogger (Blogging)

•Part Website, part communication tool

•Offers more permanency than Twitter or FB or a traditional Website

•Great for archiving and retrieving previously posted information

•Allows people to subscribe by RSS or receive updates via email

Twitter (Microblogging)

•Smaller user base

•Attracts mobile users

•Attracts more frequent users

•Higher maintenance

•But allows for easy, informal communication

•Don’t create a Twitter account and expect to rarely update it

MailChimp(Email Newsletters)

•Free

•Low frequently

•Emailed to patrons

Flickr (Photo Sharing)

•Host photos online

•Current photos

•Historical photos (archive, digital library)

•Visual interest

• Increase traffic

Finding the right tool for your audience matters

• Age matters (but not as much as you’d think!)• Personality matters• Your community matters• Availability of Internet service really matters • Physical technology matters

Who are you NOT reaching with traditional publicity?

•Tell me again.

•Why should libraries care?

Sharing is big business

•Facebook’s estimated profit: $1,000,000,000.00.

•...from selling ad space.

•People are putting a lot of themselves out there.

•And they are spending a LOT of time online.

Sites most frequented

http://www.google.com/adplanner/static/top1000/

Active Users

500 Million!

Half of Facebook’s users log in on any given day.

Effectively using social networking

Best Practices

•Why do you want to join a social network?

•Who are you trying to reach?

•How will you engage your patrons?

•Who will do the work?

•How will you decide if the time is well-spent?

Before you begin

Branding

Fact: Librarians love statistics!

Good news!

Social networking sites are filled with stats.

(Free!)Detailed Statistics

Tweetstats How people are accessing the tweets.

Facebook Insights Check out Thursdays!

How is this quick and easy?

Tell me again...

It’s all about Web 2.0

•Online social networking sites use powerful Web 2.0 technology.

• In the world of Web 2.0, data you publish is free to travel from the original site to other accounts you manage.

Publish it once, syndicate it to multiple sites.

Twitter to Facebook Notice the #fb hashtag?

Facebook Badges

•Your library’s Facebook updates can be easily added to your Website or blog with a badge.

•The badge can be generated in just a few clicks from the Facebook page’s “edit page” settings.

Policies

•Have one. Or more.

•Work off of your existing policies pertaining to acceptable behavior.

•Consider your bulletin board policy for your Facebook public posting policy.

•Credit: @Lichen NHLA Spring 2011 Conference

Policy

•Be human.

•Don’t fake it.

•Don’t promise what you can’t deliver.

•Be nice.

•Be honest.

•Credit: @Leslie (Twitter NHLA 2011)

Procedures

•Don’t be boring. Balance information with entertainment and community.

•This is too much for one person to do on their own.

•Reevaluate after three to six months.

•Credit: @Leslie NHLA Spring 2011 Conference

Embrace the social life!

• http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics

• http://www.flickr.com/photos/keenepubliclibrary

• http://mashable.com/2011/03/20/tumblr-pros-cons-business/

• http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-08-02-networking02_ST_N.htm

• https://twitter.com/#!/manchlibrary/statuses/66490984141303808

• http://techcrunch.com/2010/06/22/facebook-revenues/

• @Leslie : NHLA Spring 2011 Conference

• @Lichen : NHLA Spring 2011 Conference

References