By Kristy Padron
Original Message:
Does your library has a Facebook page? If so:
- How many of you are involved in updating / posting?
- How has it been received?
- What types of information do you post?
- How often do you post?
- Does the library have full control of the account or is it overseen by someone else at the college?
Replies:
How many of you are involved in updating / posting?
- Just 1 person (multiple responses).
- 1 person out of our staff of 3
- 2 people.
- Three of us (one librarian and two support staff).
- 3+: myself, technical assistant, educational resource specialist, and sometimes work study student.
- 3 out of our 4-person staff (the director, a library assistant and me). I do 99% of the postings.
How has it been received?
- Small but loyal fan base.
- We don’t have much of a following.
- Pretty well.
- Initially there was a good response, but the ongoing response has been pretty uneven.
- Little feedback or comments from “followers.”
- Interest and reception has been mixed. Facebook draws the most views and often for the offbeat/quirky things.
- So-so. Hard to get likes on the page.
- Facebook: well.
- Mostly positive, once people know about our Facebook page.
What types of information do you post?
- College events, anything remotely to library, academic events, learning, books, or fun stuff (any post with an animal will receive hundreds of views).
- New items in collection, new tutorial, etc.
- We post a lot of photos to Facebook with some information about hours or encouragement at exams.
- Mix of campus events, study/research pointers or resources, motivational quotes, library and reading-related humor/quotes/cartoons.
- Library information, shares from college’s main Facebook page, interesting library tidbits, inventions on this day, etc (STEM related).
- “Serious” posts about the library including the library hours, reminders to use the databases, to come see us, use group study rooms, etc. I try to post more “fun” items. I was once told that you should follow the 20/80 rule. 20% of your posts are about your business and 80% are “fluff”. Depending on the day, it might be more the 30/60 rule! Fun things may be a “Welcome Back” message, holiday greetings, a cute animal picture, a pin from Pinterest, something happening at a local museum, an interesting science or health article or picture, etc…I also re-tweet some items from other departments that I think might be helpful.
How often do you post?
- Daily (multiple responses).
- At least once a week.
- 1-2 times a week, depending on what is happening.
- I aim for every weekday fall and spring semesters, less frequently in summer.
- I use Hootsuite to schedule 1-2 posts to go out on Facebook and Twitter every day, but I also try to get on Hootsuite to see what might be of interest and re-tweet/post.
Does the library have full control of the account or is it overseen by someone else at the college?
- The library retains full control of the library Facebook page
- We have control, but we had to go through a “vetting” process to get approved to have a Facebook page by the college marketing department, and it is carefully watched!
- The library has full control of its Facebook account, and we clear nothing with elsewhere on campus. Over the summer, a new Technical and Online Services Librarian joined the staff. A coordinated social media effort will be one of her duties, and I look forward to how we continue under her guidance.
- We have full control, but the college is technically the main administrator.
- Full control; we had to get approval from technology committee to have it.
- We have full control. Our Facebook page is shared with our tutoring and learning center as they are also part of our Learning Commons. Someone from our Institutional Advancement office is also an Admin on our Facebook page, but they have no control over our content.
- I have full control of the account, but we’ll see how long that lasts. We are undergoing a reorganizing, and we may need to close the account or combine it with other areas of the college.