Social Media and Library Outreach Share Resources, Highlight Services, and Build Support John L. Amundsen, Communications Specialist ALA Office for Literacy and Outreach Services

What is Social Media? Kaplan and Haenlein define social media as: "a group of Internet-based applications that build on the ideological multi faceted and technological foundations of Web 2.0, and that allow the creation and exchange of user-generated content.“ Kaplan, Andreas M.; Michael Haenlein (2010) "Users of the world, unite! The challenges and opportunities of Social Media". Business Horizons 53(1): 59–68

Come again? Social media – in OUR context - refers to online applications where users can create and share content on Web applications, including: Facebook Twitter Delicious Pinterest Foursquare …and many, many more

Why bother? Social media is: – Everywhere. Chances are that many of your local businesses, institutions, and patrons use it every day. – Easy. You and your friends probably already use it daily. – Cost effective. Most platforms are free. – Quick. You don’t have to spend a lot of time on it to be effective.

Is it relevant to libraries? People LOVE their libraries – the kind of online marketing goodwill businesses envy! As such, people will want to engage with their libraries online, creating an opportunity for you to: – Highlight services – Share resources – Communicate value – Build support

Cool, Let’s Get Started! …Wait. Before you start, be sure to check with your administration for the following: – Library messaging – Policies and guidelines – Existing accounts

Think strategically. A social media plan is still a marketing plan. Before moving forward, consider: -Goals -Timeframe -Stakeholders -Message framework for: -Your event AND your library -Tactics (i.e., tools)

Goals What do you want to accomplish with your social media effort? Make reasonable goals: – Increase attendance at bookmobile stops – Increase awareness of outreach sevices – Drive participation in library initiatives

Tactics Identify what social media platform(s) you wish to use – link between them Identify potiential partners – link to them Incentivize! Give them a compelling reason to interact (giveaways, etc.)

Tools of the Trade: Facebook Now over 1 billion users Disseminate news and information Facebook Pages Easy to make a page Easy to link to partners Easy to link to Twitter Track activity through Insights

Tools of the trade: Facebook

Tools of the Trade: Twitter The original “Microblog” Good for quick, concise messages Disseminate news and information Linkable with Facebook Use #hashtags to keep track of the conversation

Tools of the Trade: Twitter

Tools of the Trade: YouTube Share your videos on your YouTube Channel Encourage your fans to make their own videos

Tools of the Trade: YouTube

Tools of the Trade: Delicious Social Bookmarking Share, tag, and annotate Web resources

Tools of the Trade: Delicious

Tools of the Trade: Pinterest Social photo sharing/bookmarking Similar to Delicious, but for images Good for developing themed collections

Tools of the Trade: Pinterest

Bringing it all together: HootSuite Schedule your posts in advance for Facebook, Twitter, Google+, LinkedIn, and others Free (premium service available for cost)

Bringing it all together: HootSuite

Cross-Promote! Always have your social media accounts reference each other and point towards your Web site – Do this creatively through contests, special offers, etc. Make sure the Web site you're pointing people towards has good and relevant information

Evaluate your results Reflect on your lessons learned: what worked? What didn't work? Don't be afraid to ask your fans and followers: – What did they like? – What would they like to see in the future?

Recommended Reading Ars Technica: Mashable – ReadWriteWeb – Beth Kanter’s Blog - Social Media Examiner – Nonprofit Tech 2.0 – HubSpot blog – Social Times – All Facebook – Steve Rubel’s Twitter feed –

Let’s hear from you! How have/will you used social media to promote your services?

Thank you!