Last month, I attended a panel discussion hosted by the Rutgers Communicators Network titled Social Media – Industry and Platform Trends for Owned and Paid Content. You can check out a recording of the event below:
While some of the discussion may not be directly applicable for units with limited or nonexistent budgets for social media advertising, here are some of my broader takeaways for social media at the Libraries:
- Developing a voice and building relationships. Ultimately, social media needs to be social. Developing a friendly and authentic voice can help us seem more approachable and available, and allow us to cultivate a sense of community around our accounts. Attending to this may, in the long run, prove more effective for our strategy than the successful implementation of any given campaign. We might even get a research question or two out of it!
- Leveraging influencers. While there may not be many opportunities for us to develop formalized, paid partnerships with influencers such as those discussed in the panel (see here for an example of one of Mary Chayko’s students advertising for a hair product), we should still think about creatively leveraging user-generated content in our approach to social media. We also have a unique resource—namely, expertise—at our disposal. Is there a way for us to position our librarians and their research as influencers in the broader academic community on social media?
- Understanding your audience and goals. As with any form of communication, understanding your audience is a key to success. Who are you trying to reach, and where are they likely to hang out online? What are the actions you ultimately want them to take? What would return on social media investment look like for your unit? Identifying the answers to these questions can help make your effort worthwhile.
- Benchmarking. You may be interested in reading RivalIQ’s 2018 Social Media Industry Benchmark Report, which was discussed during the event. It has some useful information on best practices and trends in social media for higher education.
Do you have your own ideas for how we can improve social media at the Libraries? Feel free to reach out and let me know.
