CASUAL CONVERSATIONS ON FACEBOOK

WHAT IS SOCIAL MEDIA

M E R R I A M W E B S T E R D E F I N E S S O C I A L M E D I A A S F O R M S O F E L E C T R O N I C C O M M U N I C A T I O N ( A S W E B S I T E S F O R S O C I A L N E T W O R K I N G A N D M I C R O B L O G G I N G ) T H R O U G H W H I C H U S E R S C R E A T E O N L I N E C O M M U N I T I E S T O S H A R E I N F O R M A T I O N , I D E A S , P E R S O N A L M E S S A G E S , A N D O T H E R C O N T E N T ( A S V I D E O S )

HOW LIBRARIES USE SOCIAL MEDIA

1. To Promote programs and book groups

2. To advertise upcoming new books, Dvds or other material

3. To highlight items in our collections

4. To let patrons know what services the library has to offer, such as computer classes, workshops, ESL classes, homework help

5. To provoke discussions

6. To engage users – Compliments and complaints about the library

LIBRARIES USE OF FACEBOOK CONTD.

7. To showcase staff or special projects

8. To allow parents to have a visual of kids during programs (Pictures posted after each program)

How have some of you used Facebook at your libraries?

HOW DO I CLAIM A FACEBOOK PAGE?

Defining Basic FacebookTerms

http://www.facebook.com/help/?ref=contextual

Already Existing – (Round Mountain)

New Page – (Battle Mountain Public Library)

FACEBOOK DO’S AND DON’TS

Do make content easy to understand

Don’t use library jargon (No Alphabet soup Ex. ILL, ISBN, C.A.L.L.)

Do use positive statement

Don’t use negative language (Ex. Of course the website is still down vs We are doing everything we can to try and fix the problem. Thank you for your patience.)

Do remember less is more. No addresses, logos or area codes – If they are on your page, they will know where you are located.

FACEBOOK DO’S AND DON’TS CONTD.

Don’t be long winded – Short and to the point works best

Do include date, day, time in all postings

Don’t use “tomorrow,” “next week,” “today” – The posts may not be read the same day as it is posted

Do use brightly colored large fonts to catch the users attention

• Don’t crowd your flyers – Remember that you only have a millisecond to grab their attention

FINAL FACEBOOK DON’TS

Don’t include personal political opinions

Always address complaints as they will not go away, only get worse (Message the patron privately)

Avoid excessive punctuation (Ex. Multiple exclamation points, @ for at)

Don’t use passive voice (Ex. Now, you don’t have to wait as long for your requests vs we’re getting materials into your hands faster)

Don’t delete old posts

Don’t use any child’s full name when posting pictures

BEST WAYS TO MARKET YOUR LIBRARY USING FACEBOOK

1. Use pictures from programs and events

2. Get personal – Highlight staff at your library and make sure you include your voice when posting. Let users know that there is a real person behind this page

3. Run contests or post quizzes

4. “Like” other companies Facebook pages

5. Use Facebook bookmarks and give to your patrons asking them to “like“ your page

6. Develop a style guide for consistent content

7. Create multiple pages for diverse user groups, Ex. African-Amer, LGBT, Hispanic Amer., Teens

8.Three B’s – Be Bold, Bright and Brief

OTHER RESOURCES FOR FACEBOOK

1. Shortstack- Design Facebook Apps and Contests

2. LVCCLD Virtual Library (702) 507-6300, ask@lvccld.org

3. Facebook Faq’s

4. SocialMedia Examiner - Helps businesses master social media marketing with Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn to find leads, increase sales and improve branding.

5. The How to Guide for Nonprofits : Social Media for Social Good by Heather Mansfield

6. Presenters Scott (clonans@lvccld.org) and Rona (johnsonr@lvccld,org)

OTHER SOCIAL MEDIA THAT YOU CAN USE

1. Twitter - Is an online social networking service and micro blogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based messages of up to 140 characters, known as "tweets".

2. Google+ - Aims to make sharing on the web more like sharing in real life. Check out Circles, Events and Hangouts

3. Pintrest - A pinboard -style social photo sharing website that allows users to create and manage theme-based image collections such as events, interests and hobbies

4. GoodReads – Discover and share your love of books with your friends.

5. List of Social Networking Websites -http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_social_networking_websites