facebook for libraries

Facebook for LibrariesA Best Practices Guide

Start Here

Why: Why are we doing this?Who: Who are we trying to reach?

Who will do the work? What: What’s our strategy?

Once these questions are answered, it’s time to choose the platform.

Facebook

Facebook at a Glance

More than 600 million users Nearly half of those users log in every day One of the most-trafficked sites in the world Each user is connected to an average of 130

other users People spend over 700 billion minutes per month Average user creates 90 pieces of content per

month More than 30 billion pieces of content shared

each month About 70% of Facebook users are outside the US 200 million active users access via mobile

devices

The Elements of Facebook

The Home Page▪ News Feed – personalized feed of friends’ updates▪ Application and messaging controls: Wall posts, Pokes,

Status Updates, private messages, Chat The Profile▪ Information user has chosen to share▪ Interests, education, work background, etc.

Applications▪ Photos▪ Events▪ Videos▪ Groups▪ Pages

The Home Page

The Profile

Applications

What Users Can Do

Create personal profiles Add other users as friends Exchange messages Send automatic notifications when

they update their profile Join common interest groups Enjoy applications Create and share media

What Organizations Can Do Create organization profiles Create and promote events Communicate with users Connect with other organizations Update profiles and send notifications Send messages to organization “likers”

Users must opt-in to your page by clicking “Like” Track interactions Feature discussions Create and share media

The Difference: Profile vs. Page

Profiles are focused more on the individual.

Pages are focused on organizations or communities.

Libraries should utilize the Facebook page.

Facebook & Libraries

Facebook & Libraries

Most librarians first joined Facebook when it was limited to colleges and universities.

Experiment in engagement “Be where the students were” Considered to be low cost, minimal

effort

Facebook & Libraries

Strengths and Weaknesses Ruth Sara Connell, Libraries and the

Academy▪ Academic Libraries, Facebook and MySpace, and

Student Outreach: A Survey of Student Opinion, 2009

Most respondents indicated they would be accepting of library contact

Concerns about privacy Recommended librarians proceed with

caution when implementing social networking profiles

Facebook & Libraries

Things have changed Active users have grown by more than

4000% Millions of business websites Facebook users get personalized content Facebook encourages users to change

expectations on what should (and shouldn’t) be on Facebook.

Redefining relationships, shift to user-resource interactions rather than student-t0-student

Shifting Spaces

Libraries are becoming more social, both physically and virtually.

Overlap between physical space and virtual space, as well as academic spaces and social spaces

A Case Study

Do you Facebook? Networking with students online by Brian S. Mathews. C&RL News, May 2006

Outreach via Facebook to engineering students at Georgia Tech

Answering patron questions▪ Which software was available? ▪ How to renew items online▪ Recent building changes▪ Information about library spaces

Facebook Page Creation

What You Need to Know First You need to have an account on Facebook to create a

Facebook Page

Your Facebook page will be tied to your personal profile as the admin of your Facebook page; however, only you and Facebook know the connection exists.

You can have an unlimited number of fans (Facebook users who “Like” your page).

Facebook Pages are public—anyone can find and view your page whether they are logged into Facebook or not.

All content posted on your Facebook page gets indexed on Google.

What You Need to Know First You can target your posts by location and language.

You can add applications to your page, including your own custom content—video, rich text, graphics, opt-in box and more.

You can add additional admins (highly recommended).

All admins have equal rights to administer your page, including adding and removing other admins (choose with care!).

Select your page title and category carefully as they cannot be changed once set.

Many patrons are using Facebook as a primary source for library news.

Facebook Pages

The place to house all pertinent information about your library Overview of library Website & contact info Press releases Blog RSS Videos Twitter Updates News and status Community interactions Events

Facebook Pages

http://www.facebook.com/pages/create.php

Now what? I have a Facebook page.

Utilizing Your Facebook Page

Reach new audiences Engage with users more effectively Enhance services by allowing greater

interaction and feedback Three C’s

▪ Community▪ Collaboration▪ Communication

Community

Connect with patrons and constituents

Participate in discussions Start conversations Share opinions (advocacy)

Approach with caution

Collaboration

Not just with other librarians. Your community too!

▪ Research and academic projects▪ Fundraisers▪ Surveys & polls▪ Source quotations/feedback▪ Events

Communication

Free Marketing Starting and sharing conversations Answering patron questions Breaking down barriers to

information Serving as an interactive resource LISTEN!

Growing Your Facebook Page “Like” other local organizations “Like” interests common with your patrons Link to the Facebook page on your

library’s website Link to the Facebook page in email

newsletters Cross promote on other platforms, such as

Twitter, blogs, etc. Share on your personal profile and

“Suggest” Hand out business cards with your

Facebook page URL on it Custom URL – how to get one

Library Related Applications

CiteMe Books iRead BookShare Catalog searches: COPAC, Worldcat Electronic resources: JSTOR LibGuides Internal catalog searches

Advanced Use of Facebook

Stay up-to-date on domain-specific research

Learn about changes to publishers’ content

Leverage social plugins to tap into a user’s likes and dislikes to offer up personalized content Eg. The Open Library Environment

project

Sources

Davis, Hilary. 2011. “Reconsidering Facebook.” In the Library with the Lead Pipe blog posting January 26, 2011: http://www.inthelibrarywiththeleadpipe.org/2011/reconsidering-facebook/ (last accessed on March 16, 2011).

"Factsheet." Facebook. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. <http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?factsheet#!/press/info.php?statistics>.

Karesten Wenzlaff. Echologist.com: The Science of Making Social Networks Resonate. Web. 17 March 2011. <http://www.karsten-wenzlaff.de/category/echologist/>.

King, David Lee. DavidLeeKing.com. Web. 15 Mar. 2011. <http://www.davidleeking.com>.

Smith, Mari. "Facebook 101 Business Guide." Social Media Examiner: Your Guide to the Social Media Jungle. 10 Aug. 2010. Web. 17 Mar. 2011. <http://www.socialmediaexaminer.com/facebook-101-business-guide/>.

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