1. Exploring the challenges and rewards of your library joining the conversation

2. Why Social Media?
Think of the marketing potential that is inexpensive, anyone can do, and how effective it is.

3. Libraries using social media find out how their patrons really use their library and can respond to negative feedback.
Marketing this way is fun and creative.
Is there a way for them to contribute? If you are reaching out via RSS feeds, a blog, a video blog (“vlog”), etc., show them how to access this information.
It is not enough to simply offer it, but offering how to access as well adds value.

4. The How of Social Media
If you are launching a social media program, have a meeting with your staff.
Encourage participation.
Express desire to share everyone’s ideas with a larger audience.

5. Try a free photo captioning service where they can submit local photos with captions.
Invite patrons to create positive promotional videos about your library and post them online.
Allow users to repost booklists, book reviews, photos, or videos on their own sites.
Post your content on Flickr and YouTube where it is easy to find and share.
Remember, social media is not a one-way street. It is a two-way conversation. There are lots of ways to join in.

6. What is RSS?
RSS stands for "Really Simple Syndication". It is a way to easily distribute a list of headlines, update notices, and content to a wide number of people.
Links to RSS feeds can be found on sites by looking for this icon:

7. So, you are already engaging in conversations, why not ask people for some feedback?

8. Stay on top of what people are saying about you and make sure to respond to let people know you are listening and willing to join the conversation.

9. The New York Public Library is the largest public library in the world on Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr, and Flickr.
It has even produced a series of hit viral videos and has its own iTunes store.

10. The average Facebook user has 130 friends and is connected to 80 community pages, groups, and events.

11. Approximately 250 million users, or half of the total number of Facebook users, log on to Facebook at least once a day.
Facebook is intended to connect friends, family, and business associates. It is the largest of the networking sites.
Facebook users create a profile page that networks information about themselves to their “Friends”.
You can use your Facebook status updates, voting tools and “Like” pages to ask for feedback on library issues.
Connect your Facebook page to your blog, Twitter, YouTube and other social media accounts.

12. “Tweets” can be up to 140 characters long and with each message just being a sentence or two, a carefully crafted post can convey a good deal of information without taking a lot of time to read or write.

13. Twitter gets more than 300,000 new users every day.
There are more than 600 million searches on Twitter every day.
80% of Twitter usage is on mobile devices.
The use of “following”, hashtags and retweets are effective ways of getting noticed and getting into the conversation, or “trending” topics.

14. With more than 100 million video downloads per day, YouTube is too big a marketing opportunity to overlook. You can create short promotional videos and post them to YouTube and other video-sharing sites.

15. YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world
YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world. Second only to Google, which owns YouTube.
YouTube videos can be 15 minutes long and 2 GB.
Uses short videos to share information about what’s going on in the library
Book clubs
Story time
Tutorials on ebooks, databases or how-to’s
Book reviews, interviews and guest speakers

16. WordPress is the super easy and fast way to start a blog
WordPress is the super easy and fast way to start a blog. All you need is an address.
It allows you to connect your blog directly to your Facebook and Twitter account.
Users are also able to embed videos from YouTube and upload photos from Flickr.
WordPress categorizes your site so that others can find it.

17. Tumblr offers email publishing as an easy way to post from your desktop or mobile phone.
Tumblr makes it easy to share anything you find or create. Post text, photos, quotes, links, dialogues, audio, video, slideshows, and more.
Keep your patrons up to date with seamless news feed syndication.

19. Mobile apps
This tool grants users access to portable and mobile information about your library, its catalogue and its services.
For example, the Ottawa Public Library offers a multi-platform app that allows patrons to:
search for items and use a geo-locator to find the closest location
manage their account, renew items, place holds and view what they have checked out
check out recent arrivals and read what others are saying

20. Social Bookmarking
The primary use of social bookmarking web sites is to store your bookmarks online. The most popular sites include:

21. Social Media Policy
In order to ensure a great experience using social media, it is important to write some policies about how it is going to be used.

22. Use a disclaimer: Include a disclaimer on your personal blog and other social sites in which you state your opinions are yours alone and not your employer’s.
“The opinions expressed on this web site are my own and do not necessarily reflect those of… “

23. Don’t share secrets
Be yourself
Respect copyright
Avoid online fights
Post accurate information
Consult the employee manual
Use good judgment
Provide value
Accept responsibility
Don’t make your social media policy lengthy and filled with too many rules.

24. Questions?

25. Ruth Berry rberry@orilliapubliclibrary.ca 705.325.2552
twitter.com/librerry

26. Thank you
for attending.