Facebook for the Library

Facebook is in my opinion the most addictive social media tool of all. Facebook helps me stay in touch with family and friends by posting pictures of my family, finding ideas for dinner, and saving the day by watching a silly video a friend posted. According to Statista, there are approximately 213 million Facebook active users in the United States and Canada. So, if there is so many users using Facebook, why shouldn't the public library be on Facebook also?

David Lee King (2011) gives practical tips on how to set up  a Facebook page for the library, and how to utilize Facebook as away to connect with the community. After setting up a Facebook account for the library, King recommends creating a Facebook team that will be in charge of posting events and posts, and monitoring the conversations on the page. A yearly social media plan should be established with goals. Some of the goals would be:

• How often will you update posts per day/week?
• How many fans do you want? 
• What type of content to post and who will be your focus audience?

When sharing various content, don't be afraid to share the Library's blogs, YouTube videos, or Flickr pictures on the Library's page. When friends share your content, they share with all their friends, and possibly will bring new friends to liking your Facebook page. They act like advocates "for the library by helping spread its message" (King, p.45). Another great point that King recommends when updating a status, a status should be read like something you say out loud. The status should be written as if you are having a conversation with someone.Also, ask questions to open up more conversations on the Library's page. As you begin to interact with your Friends on Facebook, you will begin to draw more advocates for the Library. 

King, D. L. (2011). Facebook for libraries. American Libraries, 42(5/6), 42-45. 

Statista: The Statistical Portal. (2015). Number of monthly active Facebook users in the United States and Canada as of 2nd quarter 2015 (in millions). Retrieved from, 

http://www.statista.com/statistics/247614/number-of-monthly-active-facebook-users-worldwide/

Wctechblog.com. Facebook [Image]. Retrieved from http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://wctechblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/140314-facebook-illustration-jsw-1007a_8e6c9f0c83f147f21eafd39eb07cc0d9.jpg&imgrefurl=http://wctechblog.com/?cat%3D41&h=1693&w=2500&tbnid=gbTKncwoXlXYVM:&docid=0E2NsKW6YhSbUM&ei=62UdVqmbMomLNqu9jqAD&tbm=isch&ved=0CIsBEDMoTzBPahUKEwjpvMajocDIAhWJhQ0KHaueAzQ