May 23, 2013

You are here: Home / Opinion / Alison Circle: Bubble Room / Social Media Strategy from WPL

Social Media Strategy from WPL

By on June 11, 2011

social media1 150x150 Social Media Strategy from WPLSocial Media Strategy. Do you have one? This is a question I’ve been talking about quite a bit in this space.

My pal, Lisa Fuller, over at Worthington Public Libraries, wrote me to tell me their strategy. She generously offered to allow me to share it with you. Find it here.

The strategy nicely covers:

  • Strategy:  increase awareness and use of library services, materials and programs
  • Key Messages: unique services; quality information; engaging; community resource
  • Voice: personal, not institutional
  • Guidelines: encourage interaction and response
  • Integration: all communication channels are connected
  • Evaluation: measure, measure, measure!

Social media strategies can be as individual as you are. The important thing is to have one. You need to understand why you are posting in this space, who is posting and how to keep a consistent voice and style. If multiple staff are posting and they are doing it differently — while staff may enjoy it, you are confusing your public.

I understand that some libraries may find this controversial, but the public likes knowing what to expect and want a consistent brand experience. It isn’t about our individualism or staff expressing themselves. It’s important to remember that our public come to our social media sites not from other libraires, but from Lady Gaga or Justin Bieber or Disney or Levi’s or the local deli. They see our sites in that context.

If you have a strategy and are willing to share, post here or email it to me and I’ll post. Thanks!

printfriendly Social Media Strategy from WPLemail Social Media Strategy from WPLtwitter Social Media Strategy from WPLfacebook Social Media Strategy from WPLgoogle plus Social Media Strategy from WPLtumblr Social Media Strategy from WPLreddit Social Media Strategy from WPLshare save 171 16 Social Media Strategy from WPL
Filed Under: Alison Circle: Bubble Room
Featured Articles
Alison Circle About Alison Circle

Alison Circle is director of marketing communications for Columbus Metropolitan Library. Previously she was an Account Director at Jack Morton Worldwide, a global branding agency, and her primary client was Target Stores. Prior to that she was the National Marketing Director for Minnesota Public Radio and "A Prairie Home Companion with Garrison Keillor." She has advanced degrees in English and Fine Arts, and is a recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts grant.

Comments

  1. Susan says:
    June 14, 2011 at 11:49 am

    At Lawrence Public Library, we have drafted a shared set of Social Media Principles:

    OUR PURPOSE – Why do we do social media? What is our goal?

    - To inform and engage our community
    - To listen to and respond to our customers
    - To promote our services, programs, and collections
    - To position ourselves as a knowledge leader and essential destination

    OUR STRATEGY – How will we work toward our goals?

    - Promote our events, collections, and services
    - Start conversations with our users by asking questions and gathering opinions
    - Participate in conversations happening in the community
    - Actively listen to what customers are saying and respond appropriately
    - Build relationships and partnerships by passing along content of others

    OUR CONTENT – What will we say?

    - News & events (LPL, Lawrence, book-related)
    - Information about collections, services, new features, etc.
    - Original content (i.e. reviews, recommendations, etc.)
    - Pass along relevant content of others (link to local blogs, retweet, etc.)
    - Cross promote our own social media channels (i.e. Tweet about new blog post, etc)
    - Responses to questions and comments

    OUR TONE – How will we say it?

    - We will be honest and authentic, not snarky or sarcastic
    - We will be respectful to all commenters, positive and negative
    - We will say please and thank you
    - We will not post anything on social media that we would not say at a service desk

  2. Brian Greene says:
    July 27, 2011 at 10:13 am

    Thanks Alison for sharing Lisa’s WPL social media strategy doc. I also appreciate Susan’s response form Lawrence PL. These both provide short but substantive resources for libraries which I plan to cite for a presentation @ our state fall conference in Cheyenne, Wyoming.

    David Lee King did a similar review @ CIL in March of this year. I’m also finding Laura Solomon’s ALA edition, “Doing Social Media So it Matters” very helpful.
    http://www.alastore.ala.org/detail.aspx?ID=2903

    Along the same lines, ALA LLAMA SASS hosted a session in New Orleans on June 27 that I also found helpful. It was called SocialNOTWorking, Managing Social Networking in a Productive and Positive Workplace. It was done by Lynette Schimpf of Orange County Library System in Orlando and Brian Matthews, University of California, Santa Barbara.

    Thanks all.

  3. internet marketing mexico says:
    October 30, 2011 at 12:08 am

    Appreciating the dedication you put into your blog and detailed information you present. It’s good to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed material. Fantastic read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m adding your RSS feeds to my Google account.