No Comment: how to calculate silent stats (Facebook pages, groups)

Social Media is public relations by another name. Like ads on the Internet, the TV, and the radio "social media" is just another conduit to get one's message "out there." With one caveat...the audience can talk back, and not just through letters to the station or newspaper, but through snarky comments, "like" buttons and more often than not...silence.  But silence is not necessarily an absence of acknowledgement, notice.

Check your Facebook page stats, review your retweets, check and see if anyone is listening, engaging? Facebook has added a feature that allows administrators to see how many people have “viewed” their post, vs. clicked it. I can tell you from experience, many more people may read a short post than click a link. My stats tell me a post received 650 views to eight clicks- so,  I know I am reaching approximately 20% of my readers.

It is disconcerting to receive no feedback, and assume your social media efforts are in vain…. But don’t despair in many cases, as I have shown, posts do make impressions even  if not inspiring comments.

Read More

Facebook is a not bulletin board, it's a "bathroom door"

It's too bad libraries have graffiti resistant bathroom doors now, they're so much cheaper than a focus group.

All kidding aside, anonymous or semi-anonymous outlets for thoughts and ideas are a good thing.

Library Facebook pages are great places to interact with patrons, but to also reach people who are not yet patrons.

Here are some examples of libraries have and can use Facebook Pages to reach their patrons:

Install a JSTOR app that  allows patrons to search your library's JSTOR account directly though Facebook.

San Francisco PL has created a Widgetbox to allow users to search their OPAC through Facebook, and other libraries are following suit.

Ask you patrons opinion about policies, books, heck one library even used social media to design their  library space.

Cleveland Public Library asked:" Not interested in your office basketball pool? Cheer for your favorite books instead, and a chance to win a Kindle Fire http://ow.ly/9tWIN"

Willard Library has a tab that allows customers to sign up for genre-specific news feed

 And Nyack Library uses Library Thing to showcase books and allow customers to comment titles.

Social media can be used to make money. Or to be polite, generate revenue. Monetizing content is easy, and profitable if you have an audience. Libraries have a ready audience, they just need to be invited to "support" the library. 

For example, a library could host a listing of free ebooks from Pinterest.  Curious how this idea is monetized? Click here.

Milwaukee Public Library  turned social media usage on its head, and well....their marketing makes one think, or rather read.

Read More