Face to Facebook

Ah, Facebook. It's a magical place where you can post a photo of your new Snuggie, spy on the mean-girl clique from high school, and even read a news story about how your annoying ex-principal was arrested for shoplifting a rotisserie chicken (true story).

But schadenfreude and unlimited cat memes aren't the only things Facebook has to offer. Social-networking sites have plenty of practical uses – ones that libraries have embraced.

Figure 1. Screenshot of the Atlanta-
Fulton Public Library System's Facebook
page, https://www.facebook.com/afpls

In a recent South Carolina State Library survey of library staff members across the country, 86.6% of respondents said their libraries use social-networking sites (Rogers, 2012). Respondents also said they use Web. 2.0 tools primarily for the following activities:

• Promotion of "general library services" (87.6%), as well as marketing adult programs (72.1%) and children's programs (62.2%)
• Giving "quick updates" to patrons (75.3%)
• Widening their audience and drawing in new patrons (54.4%)
• Sending press releases (39.5%)

The most popular social-networking site was – you guessed it! – Facebook, with a whopping 88.8% of respondents saying their library has an account. Twitter came in a distant second, at 46.8%.

So, does all that social networking actually make an impact? Are librarians just wasting their time? They don't seem to think so. Those surveyed gave social networks a score of 3.7 out of 5 for "effectiveness toward achieving marketing campaign and/or promotion goals" (Rogers, 2012, p. 4).

Granted, I don't work at a library, but here's my 2 cents: Social networking is a fantastic tool for spreading the word about services, but don't go too crazy with it. Here are some tips I try to keep in mind when I'm posting on behalf of an organization or business:

• Don't be annoying. I tune out whenever someone I follow posts Facebook or Twitter updates every five minutes. Try to gauge what your audience can handle, and stick to that post frequency.
• Engage! If someone asks a question, respond and be helpful. They'll love it.
• Use a conversational tone. (Let's not reinforce any of those ridiculous negative stereotypes about librarians!)
• Use different types of media. Remember, you can post videos and photos on many social-networking sites in addition to the usual text updates.
• Think outside the box. Try posting a photo of something that's going on behind the scenes, or encourage patrons to participate in a fun activity like a contest or quiz.  

How does your library use social networking? Do the South Carolina State Library survey results ring true?

References

Rogers, C. R. (2012, February 29). Social media, libraries, and Web 2.0: How American libraries are using new tools for public relations and to attract new users – fourth annual survey November 2011. Retrieved from http://www.statelibrary.sc.gov/docs/pr/201202_com_social_media_survey_dec_2011.pdf