Topic:  Using Social Media to Your Advantage

Thursday, May 19, Hoover Public Library

Next Meeting:  Thursday, July 21, 10 am in the Children's Programming Room of the Hoover Library.  Topic:  Employment Search Support, also:  Demonstration of advanced search tips on ReferenceUSA.  (Representative coming in special from out-of-town.  Please try to attend!!!!)

Attendees:
Shannon, Hoover
Joel, Hoover
Teresa, Southside
Ginny, Leeds
Kelly, Springville Road
Jon, Avondale
Maura, Trussville
Deidre, Bessemer
Michelle, Irondale

Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, Pinterest, GoodReads.com, NextDoor.com, Meetup.com - what are your favorites?  Which does your libraries utilize?

Joel talked about a session at ALA in San Francisco presented by NYPL about their usage of all things social media.  Fortunately, they have dedicated staff.  One of their main tips was to avoid simply using social media as an events calendar.  People will quickly learn not to pay attention if that is all you have to offer.  They suggested fostering intellectual curiosity.  For example, Hoover posted something about NASA's astronaut applications and their efforts to find qualified applicants.  Response was amazing.  Another example is that if your book group is reading a particular author's work and they are actually on social media, it behooves you to tag them.  When Joel posted that Hoover would be discussing Shanghai Girls by Lisa See, she responded that she would love to Skype with us if that was possible.  You never know about the response.  Another post about Cornell's Bird Call Library was re-posted and shared widely.  Sources for book-related posts abound through publishers, news agents, etc.  Being re-posted and shared is vital to getting your name brand out there as someone worthy of a person's screen time.

Other success stories come from other branches such as Pinson, whose very own "Socks the Library Cat" has a wonderful following.  Another library posted pics of their pet lizard "holding" a library card.  Photo ops make for great, quick posts.  Joel spoke of responses from around the world at all hours of the night and day.  Although he usually tries to respond in a timely fashion, responding to questions from social media is important and hopefully can be done during the workday.  He spoke on the use of both Facebook and Twitter.

He emphasized that if you are going to undertake anything other than Facebook, it is important to research and learn what is unique about each social media vehicle -- not just repost Facebook content to Snapchat, etc.  Unique audiences choose their platform for specific reasons and do not want to just see the same content over multiple platforms.  For example, Twitter is for short messages and posts under 140 characters.  SnapChat is for images, video, etc.

An up and coming app that Joel recommends is the List App created and promoted by actor/writer BJ Novak.  Evidently it is for lists of all kinds -- perfect for a library to use to promote materials.  As of now, they do not have a desktop application, but it is expected down the line.  (Pinterest is also useful for a visual display of books or pictures from programs.)

Jon spoke of posting Cornell Lab's annual backyard bird count.  Things like this are intellectually stimulating and create wide interest throughout the community.  Another networking opportunity came along for Joel when he posted his musical acts performing at the library and a new whole network of musicians became aware of the library's performing space and have contacted or come to the library in regards to future performances.  For those more popular focused groups, such as Hoover's "Game Night" followers, it was beneficial to create a separate FB group in order to channel talk about new games, schedule changes, etc.

Of course, all of this not only takes up staff time, but also takes time to grow an audience/following.  However, it can reach new audiences and that is critical for public libraries.  Kelly pointed out that she became aware of scheduling your FB posts ahead of time to help in time management.  Joel spoke on having to sometimes be hyper-vigilant of "inappropriate" posts or followers to the library's many outlets.  Self-policing is necessary in order to moderate your social media.  "You can't totally be in control of your social media narrative," stated Joel.  There may be inappropriate language and/or photos that may cause harm.

Michelle brought up that you can also purchase FB advertising that can target a specific message.  It is relatively cheap and effective.  You can create a niche for specific types of activities or performances and with FB advertising, you can look at the analytics in real-time.  You can choose up to 10 factors such as geography, age, sex, zip code, etc. with a minimum cost of $1/day.

Shannon spoke on other social media venues such as Ravelry.com for knitters and crocheters.  This network is perfect for those craft groups and/or reaching a specified audience.  Also, NextDoor.com can be useful in targeting just your neighborhood for social gathering or new services you wish to get to a targeted audience.  GoodReads.com was mentioned but it was also stated that since Amazon.com had bought the site, it was much less useful.

Please feel free to post your own experiences and uses of social media so that we can have an ongoing conversation on this topic.