Social media has the potential to increase community engagement with new and existing library patrons. Join us to learn how libraries can effectively use social media tools, even with limited staff and time. Learn how to identify the appropriate social media platforms to market library services and events, and how to integrate best social media practices in your library's marketing plan. We’ll help you build a foundation for your social media strategy and provide practical ideas and tactics for immediate use in your library.

This webinar is part one in a series hosted in collaboration with TechSoup.

Presented by: Amy Hitchner, Collaborative Programming Coordinator, Colorado State Library; and Jessica Bacon, Executive Editor and Founder, The 5 Minute Librarian

Tweet: #socialmedialibs

Access Recording

• View Webinar Recording (You will be prompted to login to our free Course Catalog.)

Webinar Attachments

• View slides (pdf)
  
• View chat (xls)
• View captions (txt)
  
• Webinar Series Learner Guide (pdf) Use alone or with others to extend your learning.

Related Resources and Links

• TechSoup and TechSoup for Libraries
• Final report of the Social Media and Libraries Survey
  
• Part 2 in the series, Social Media Analytics: What to Measure and Why
• Part 3 in the series, Going Deeper with Social Media
• Social Media Policy Examples
  
• Connect with others in Facebook group: Libraries & Social Media
• TechSoup's Social Media Starter Kit
• Image Resources, collected by WebJunction
• WebJunction's Social Library series, highlighting libraries we follow on Facebook
• Geek the Library on Facebook, maintained by WebJunction
  
• Pew Research Center:
  • Which social media platforms are most popular, 1/11/17
  • News Use Across Social Media Platforms 2017, 9/7/17

Resources shared by Amy

• Blogs & Articles
  • How to get your word out the “right way”
  • Creating compelling visual content for social media
  • 12 common image formatting mistakes
  • Smashing Magazine (blog)
  • Ad/Lib (blog)
• Learning & Training
  • TechSoup webinars
  • Library Marketing & Communications Conference
  • Wyoming State Library Training Calendar, also updated monthly on WebJunction
  • ACRL Library Marketing and Outreach Interesting Group (Facebook group)
  • ALA PR Talk (mailing list)
• Images
  • Nobacks.com Free stock images with no backgrounds
  • Vecteezy Free vector art
  • Noun Project Free icons
  • Free high-resolution images
    • Pixabay
    • Unsplash
    • Public Domain Archive
    • Wikimedia Commons
    • 2017 Social Media Image Sizes Cheat Sheet
• Design Tools
  • Canva
  • Piktochart
  • GIMP

Resources shared by Jessica

• Worksheet: Understanding Facebook Activities, by Jessica Bacon
• Experts to Follow
  • Mari Smith, the Queen of Facebook
  • Social Media Examiner
    • Podcast: Social Media Marketing
    • Live Video Show: Social Media Marketing Talk
  • Social Media Today and free webinars
  • Libraries & Social Media (Facebook Group)
• Great Content Generators
  • The Shareable Clique (Facebook Group)
  • Goodreads
  • Bookstr
  • Goodwill Librarian
  • Epic Reads
  • Awesome Librarians
  • Grammarly
  • For Reading Addicts
  • Book Riot
• Bacon, Jessica. 8 Free Ways to Boost Your Library’s Facebook Reach. May 29, 2015
• Bacon, Jessica. 15 Viral Content Ideas for Your Library’s FB Page!. July 24, 2015
  
• Connell, Adam. Hootsuite Vs Buffer. July 12, 2016
• Constine, Josh. How Facebook News Feed Works. September 6, 2016
• Ellering, Nathan. How Often to Post on Social Media? July 3, 2017
• Gray, Ian Anderson. 7 Reasons NOT to use Hootsuite. March 15, 2017
• Greenwood, Shannon, Perrin, Andrew, and Maeve Duggan. Social Media Update 2016. November 11, 2016
• How to Link Your Facebook Groups and Pages. May 10, 2017
  
• Hutchinson, Andrew. 3 Reasons Why Facebook Groups May Offer New Opportunities for Brands. July 18, 2017
• Jin, Kang-Xing. Our First Communities Summit and New Tools for Group Admins. Facebook Newsroom. June 22, 2017
• Lee, Kevan. The Complete Guide to Getting Started with Facebook Ads. January 9, 2017
  
• Smith, Mari. How to Maximize Your Facebook Reach. March 20, 2017
• Stewart, James B. Facebook Has 50 Minutes of Your Time Each Day. It Wants More. May 5, 2016.
  
• The Top 20 Valuable Facebook Statistics. March 2017, updated September 2017
• Wallaroo Media. Facebook Algorithm Change History. October 12, 2017

Additional links shared in Chat:

• Literary Holidays to Celebrate All Year Long (from 5 Minute Librarian)
  
• Alternatives to Hootsuite for all platforms with Free License
• Icons for Everything - the Noun Project
• Canva for nonprofits
• And many library social media pages. Check them out in the attached chat!