Using Social Media to Promote Library Programs and MORE
Just over a year ago, I was offered a position as the Sullivan Free Library's 'Community Engagement Librarian.' This side job has proven to be the perfect opportunity for me to dig into the works of a small-town public library. I chose to take a social media course this semester because I knew it was an area that we needed to work on. As I have been studying other organizations and their social media presence, I have noticed areas we are lacking and found myself thinking a little more deeply about how our library can take advantage of social media. Right now our goal is to get people to visit the physical library and advertising on social media has been key in getting the word out about our programs. But there is so much more that I would like to see happen. Book talks, a place for advice and questions, and patron conversations are only the beginning of what I would like to see happening. I occasionally share new titles by creating posters on Canva, but a good book talk would motivate people to check things out. I use Canva to create posters for upcoming programs but found photos of the actual programs to be extremely effective, as the advice in How libraries are applying social media tells us. The one area I am really lacking in is Twitter (X). I am still relatively new at the platform and have found our Facebook and Instagram accounts effective for now. But I would like to check out 'Ask a Librarian' as mentioned in #Library: Using Social Media to Reach Your Audience. Just getting OUT THERE is my job (it is mentioned in the readings that it libraries need someone to do this)! Unfortunately, that time is right in the middle of my school day, and I am not sure how many of our small-town patrons would participate. But it leads me to wonder what I could do more.
Hi Natalie! I agree whole heartedly on liking to see more things happen at our local libraries! I think that the library used to be such a key gathering point for a lot of people before social media, kind of like the mall was. but after the easiness the internet has gave us for communication and the pandemic I think many have lost touch with just going somewhere to take in the environment and physically be with others. In an effort to mitigate this my town (Chili) built a stunning new community center about a year or two ago, it houses the library, a full two level gymnasium, multiple meeting rooms, and if I remember correctly a VA section. When I was younger chili was a pretty dead place, but it makes me excited to see so many young and old people taking advantage of the resources and spaces now provided. While I'm not sure the key to this is "spend money on a sparkling new building" I think people are finally starting to get back to their roots of socializing, and what better way to do it in a place of community that's free during these tough economic times.
ReplyDeleteI would love to see my library use social media in more ways. In late 2021 a small group of staff members did book talks for our Louisiana Young Readers Choice and Teen Readers Choice nominees, and that was really fun. Those were posted on YouTube, but I bet we could draw up a lot more support from patrons on TikTok by posting book talks there. Last I checked, our Twitter was fairly inactive. Until recently, I never realized how much forethought should go into social media use of organizations. Posting the right type of content where and when comes down to basically a science!
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