In the beginning of the article, Experts Weigh Pros and Cons of Social Media, Ordonez writes about ways that social media can help journalists. Many of these reasons can also be applied to libraries and their patrons. For example, social media can create communication between patrons and librarians through comments on blogs or Facebook. Social media can also be a great way to market your library brand. At the library I work at, the staff is currently working on creating a brand and marketing it to the university community. There has been a lot of discussion of using social media because it is a platform that resonates with the student population.
Ordonez also mentions that social media lets journalists, "stay updated on new developments". This can also be applied to libraries because the use of social media can keep patrons up-to-date on library events and news. Many libraries use blogs to advertise library news and Twitter to spread library news to tech savvy patrons. The last point that really coincides with libraries is the use of multiple platforms to get your message out. Possibly some patrons use Facebook, but don't read blogs, or maybe only some patrons have a Twitter account. By maintaining a variety of social media accounts, you can get the word out to a wider audience.
But with all these accounts and updates, it could become time consuming and confusing. Do the pros outweigh the cons? If you can get the word out to a population that doesn't frequent the library or a student who is too intimidated to step into the library, isn't it all worth it?
Ordonez, S. (2010, August 16). MediaShift . Experts Weigh Pros and Cons of Social Media | PBS. PBS: Public Broadcasting Service. Retrieved February 03, 2012, from http://www.pbs.org/mediashift/2010/08/experts-weigh-pros-and-cons-of-social-media228.html
"By maintaining a variety of social media accounts, you can get the word out to a wider audience." (Jess)
ReplyDeleteYes! I think the pros of multiple platforms can definitely outweigh the cons of time needed if the information can reach and attract more people.
I know this is how I plan to let our school community know what the library can offer! Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn and a blog will reach most students, their parents and interested faculty. We still have plenty of "technology resistant" types at my school though (a few still refuse to check their school e-mail accounts!), and they are harder to "win over". When they have to communicate something to the faculty (like a field trip to the Foreign Office on the theme of immigration and commerce) I can slip a little library marketing plug in by suggesting a few useful information sites like "transparency International" or
http://www.nytimes.com/ref/world/20070622_CAPEVERDE_GRAPHIC.html
I'll use the same -or preferred- format they used to get their announcement out, even if it's a note in their faculty mailbox or a slip of paper I pass to them personally.
Is that too "in your face"? Possibly, but some of those colleagues are just technology scared, and if they see how neat a website is, they may still use it or come to the physical library with their students to get more!
Jess: In your post, you mention that the use of a variety of social media could become "time-consuming and confusing". I work in financial services and have heard that it can be time-consuming. Some financial institutions (and not necessarily the Bank of America size either) have numerous employees devoted just to marketing with social media; it seems that this is the future of marketing. As the article "New Media Old Media" points out, different "segments" seem to gravitate to different social media options. If the goal is to reach as many people as possible, using all of the media types may be necessary. Libraries may not have the marketing budgets or available personnel to accomplish as much outreach as the "for-profit" sector, but I agree with your point that it may be important for them to implement as much as possible.
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