delivering your messages in today’s online environment american library association, pr forum...
TRANSCRIPT
Delivering Your Messages in Today’s Online Environment
American Library Association, PR Forum
Kevin T. Kirkpatrick
Executive Vice President
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Agenda
• How is the Internet (and social media, specifically) changing the way we communicate with one another?
• How are libraries using the Internet and social media?
• Where do you start?
Credit: xkcd.com
Impact of Social Media
• Changing the way we communicate with each other, and how we connect with organizations we care about
– Social networking has surpassed email as the most popular activity online.
• It’s huge, and growing fast
– Facebook >200 Million monthly active users
– Twitter >6 million users, growing at 1382%
Pros/Cons of Social Media
Benefits Challenges
• Incredibly cost effective versus traditional means of communication
• Faster, more timely• Ability to customize audiences
and content• Easy to update, revise• Can be more environmentally
sustainable (e.g., reduced printing costs)
• Creating relationships!
• Can be overwhelming• Growing fast, but still not
dominant• Some audiences not yet
engaged (degree of disproportionality)
• Requires commitment (e.g., updating, responding)
• Sacrifices certain degree of control over content
Types of Social Media
• Communicate (blogs, podcasts, video, photo)
• Connect (social networks, texting, instant messaging, microblogs)
• Collaborate (Wikis, consumer-generated media, ratings, social news)
• Collect (tagging, social bookmarking, search)
• Customize (RSS, widgets, virtual worlds)
The Basic Idea
• Groups based on affinities and expertise
• Profiles serve as identities, share info about you
• Connections build the networks – friends, family, co-workers, partners
• Sharing via opinions, information, interests, stories, photos, videos
Your Website
Putting a “Face” on Your Library
Job postings
Schedule changes
Announcing events
Connecting to other resources
Promoting Holdings
Starting discussions
“Tweeting” Your Library
Wave of the Not-so-distant Future …
First Things First: Your Website
• Update the content (frequently!)• Refresh the look and feel of the site• Tell stories/communicate impact• Add photos, photo essays• Increase opportunities for interactivity
(take action, email list, tell-a-friend, etc.)• Add contact information
Tell-a-friend
Then, When You’re Ready…
• Join the conversation– Appropriately
– Carefully
– Transparently
• Try one thing right away– Update your website
– Add “tell-a-friend”
– Create a Twitter account
– Start a Facebook page
Ask Yourself
• What’s your unique value?• Why would people want to talk
about you?• Where are your audiences? Are they
already doing something? Saying something?
• What can you offer to the world? How can you be a resource?
Keep in Mind
• Social media works best as a two-way conversation
• Great for customer service; less so for PR• Need to stay on top of it