A copy of the Social Media: Always Worth the Time presentation given at a Young Adult Librarians Workshop in Tunkhannock, PA on November 19,2010. Presentation by Mandy Boyle. More info and contact at MandyBoyle.com

1. "Social Media: Always Worth the Time"
Made by Mandy Boyle. This presentation is free to share. Enjoy!

2. In 1993, the internet was...
"headless, anarchic, million-limbed" and
"spreading like bread mold." - Bruce Sterling

3. Today, the internet is...

A driving force in our lives.

Work

Share

Play

Create

Learn

4. The Internet and Social Media

The web has become increasingly social.

People spend more time on social networks than they do on
email.

According to TechCrunch in March 2008, there are more
than 3 million tweets sent per day.

There are 500 million users on Facebook as of 2010. Those
users come from more than 170 countries.

Social bookmarking sites, like Digg.com, are some of the
most widely trafficked destinations on the web.

5. So where does that leave libraries?

6. Challenges for Libraries in
Social Media

Aimless postings

Discretion

Privacy settings

Limited time

Limited personnel

7. Libraries Have a Unique Opportunity

Now is the perfect time to be social.

It's easy.

It's not time-consuming.

It's cheap (and in most cases, free).

It's where the community is.

8. How can libraries use social media?

9. 4 Reasons to Be on Social Media
1.) Communication
2.) Respond to Feedback
3.) Marketing and Advertising
4.) Understand Users
71% of you have never used social media to
address a patron's question, concern, or
problem.

10. 10 Steps to Using Social Media
1.) Learn how to monitor your brand.
2.) Learn from your brand community.
3.) Have a game plan.
4.) Promote, promote, promote.
5.) Allow open, yet governed access for employees
6.) Stay relevant and be helpful.
7.) Give the community room to grow.
8.) Know you're not alone.
9.) Go where your users are.
10.) Be the change.

11. In the survey, most of you responded that you
only have a few minutes a day to work with social
media.

12. Manage Your Social Media in 20
Minutes a Day

Minutes 1 through 5: Log In and Moderate

Minutes 5 through 10: Facebook

Minutes 10 through 15: Twitter

Minutes 15 through 20: Blogs and Communities

13. Minutes 1 through 5

Log into your social media accounts.

Moderate any new connections.

Check direct messages/replies and respond.

Scan the feeds and follow what others are
saying.
TIP: Use Hootsuite.com to manage multiple
social media accounts and to schedule updates
in advance.

14. Minutes 5 through 10

Facebook

Check in on birthdays on the home page.

Respond to any comments on your wall.

Post a status message daily, something engaging or
interesting.

Comment on a few status messages or updates.

Share at least 3 interesting updates that you find.

If you belong to groups or fan pages, leave a new
comment or two.

15. Minutes 10 through 15

Twitter

Follow the feed. Observe and respond.

Converse with at least one person.

Use or create a hashtag.

Make at least 3 or 4 tweets, something interesting
or engaging.

Share at least 3 valuable resources/links/sites

16. Minutes 15 through 20

Blogs and Communities

Read new posts
− TIP: Manage multiple feeds in Google Reader.

Comment
− TIP: Keep responses insightful.

Share
− TIP: Share a great post on social media sites or social
bookmarking sites.

17. It's all about sharing and cross promotion!
Work together with
other librarians and community figures
to gain more exposure.

18. Minutes 15 through 20
• If you manage a blog:
– Encourage teen postings
• e.g. Book reviews
– Promote events and volunteer opportunities
– Try to update 1x per week, more if you can
– Interview teen volunteers
• e.g. Favorite book, Favorite author, etc.

19. Social Media Best Practices

Be active: brand yourself / your library

Be open: permit comments/ feedback / tagging

Be social: show teens that you are there;
interact, respond

Be polite and aware: privacy has changed

20. But how can I reach teens?

21. Teens and Social Media

According to the Pew Research Center:

73% of online teens and an equal number of young
adults use social network sites, mainly Facebook.

Only 8% of online teens 12-17 say they ever use
Twitter.

Wireless connectivity amongst teens is on the rise.

22. Teens and Social Media

Survey of local teens

Usage of social media

Preferences on communication

Desired topics of discussion/engagement

23. Survey Results

79% would read an email newsletter if the
library offered it.
They want to see:
− Book reviews
− Events
− Volunteer opportunities
− Recent acquisitions
− Local authors
− Lifestyle articles

24. Survey Results

64% would interact with the library on social
media.
They want to see:
− Open hours
− Events and programs
− New teen books
− Daily quotes
− Volunteer opportunities
− Author of the week
− Featured series

25. Survey Results

80% do not want text messages

100% use Facebook frequently.

38% prefer to get notifications about events.

92% prefer to get notifications about events via
email.

26. Survey Results

An OCLC study finds that teens and college students
consider search engines a better “lifestyle fit” for their
information needs.

While more than 50% described search engines as
a perfect information source, just 17% described
libraries this way.

In the survey that was distributed to local teens,
everyone goes to Google when they need to research.

27. You Don't Have to Compete with
Search Engines

Show what else you have to offer.
– More personalized research experience.
– REAL, reliable feedback.

Engage your teens.

Use social media as the conversation starter.

Keep the communication open and moving!

28. Now what?

29. Measuring Success

Success is not the same for every library.

Success is not the same for every platform.

Before changing your social media strategy,
determine how you'll measure success:

Followers?

Interactions?

Increased traffic to library website?

30. Questions About Social Media

What about security?

Can you link other pages to a library's Facebook page?

How can I use social media effectively to get information
about my library out there, especially to teens?

Didn't Myspace lose its popularity?

What's Foursquare?

Can people hack into my email?

Will I get viruses and spam?

Who owns the data?

31. More Questions?
Thank you!
Find me:
facebook.com/mandyboyle
linkedin.com/in/mandyboyle
@mandyboyle
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