A Journey to Reach Users Where They Are: Facebook as a Digital Portal
to Your Library
Katie Bohnert, Marketing and Communications ManagerBethany Fiechter, Archivist for Manuscript and Digital CollectionsLaura Mulligan, Information Services Librarian
www.facebook.com/ballstatelibraries
Libraries on Facebook
• Facebooking for your library isn’t always easy!
• Challenges and pitfalls
• Instant gratification and long-term effects
• Honest, practical tips for success
2011 Facebook Facts• More than 800 million active users worldwide*
• More than 51 percent of the American population uses Facebook**
• The average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups, and events*
• More than 75 percent of users are outside of the United States*
• There are more than 350 million active users accessing Facebook with mobile devices*
*http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics**http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/2011/05/the_social_habit_2011.php
Facebook as a Marketing Tool
• History of the Ball State University Libraries’ Facebook page
• Making Facebook part of your “Marketing Suite”
• Facebook cannot replace your library’s web site
• Making your Facebook page work for you
Creating a Dialogue with Users• Posts and responses
• Links to library and non-library web content
• Photos of students and spaces in the library
• Videos and tutorials
• Apps
• Questions—gathering feedback
Making Use of “Insights”
October 13, 2010: 858 likes October 10, 2011: 2,317 likes 170% increase
• What are Insights?
• Where do you find Insights?
• How do you compile Insights?• Generate directly from Facebook• Create your own reports!
• ExpectationsBall State University Libraries
Facebook Statistics Annual Report
University Libraries Statistics
Monthly Weekly Daily0
1000
2000
3000
4000
5000
6000
7000
Active Users
Oct-10Oct-11
Monthly Active UsersOctober 13, 2010: 3,284 October 10, 2011: 6,328 89% increase Weekly Active UsersOctober 13, 2010: 1,398 October 10, 2011: 3,696 38% increase Daily Active UsersOctober 13, 2010: 379October 10, 2011: 1,432 26% increase
GenderFemale: 54%
Male: 43%
Top CountriesUnited States: 2,154
Turkey: 9South Korea: 8
Top Cities
Muncie: 1,207Indianapolis: 212
3%
71%
14%
6%
3% 3%
Age Range
13-1718-2425-3435-4445-5455+
University Libraries Statistics
Top External Referrerscms.bsu.edu: 7,579bsu.edu: 1,430google.com: 162bsu.libguides.com: 51libx.bsu.edu: 24
Top Total Tab ViewsWall: 1,055,250Information: 24,729Photographs: 1,011Events: 415WorldCat: 287
New Statistics to Follow
PlacesBracken Library: 442 likes / 2,166 check-insBall State University Libraries: 2,317 likes / 9 check-ins
People Are Talking About This It measures the activity of how a user is engaged with our Page and our postings. As of October 10, 2011 there were 61 people talking about Ball State University Libraries, an increase of 3.4%. Weekly Total Reach It provides administrators the number of people who have viewed any content associated with our Page (including those who have not liked our page). As of October 10, 2011, there have been 2,402 people connected to our Page.
Day-to-Day Maintenance • Challenges
• Consistent voice
• Round-the-clock maintenance and posting
Managing the Page
• Round up colleagues to form a Facebook committee!
• Drafting a Social Media Policy
• Routine assessment
• Planning for the future
Recommendations Link on your web site
Marketing URL
Commitment
Assessment
Support from above
Be able to answer the question “Why?”
Thank You!
Katie: [email protected]: [email protected]: [email protected]
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/ballstatelibraries