October 2009

The other day an instructor of mine mentioned how at a recent conference “everyone agreed that facebook is really only useful for promoting events.” That made me really squirm. Why? Well, I don’t have the full story, but I suspect it went something like this:

1. Library staff here about this facebook thing
2. Library staff here businesses are really beginning to look into facebook
3. Library staff sets up facebook page. Maybe they add a few pictures, throw up a few events.
4. Library staff “promote” their facebook page (which of course means putting a link to facebook at the bottom left of their webpage right beside the zip code)
5. Library staff does not see immediate pay off/the only people who friend them are die hard library supporters.
6. Library staff decide facebook clearly does not work for them and stop updating (in actuality, they probably only updated a few times to begin with).

This implementation is all too common and usually fails miserably. As usual, the problem is not facebook. The problem is that people view these tools (yes, they are tools, not ends in themselves) as the solution, not a step to the solution. After all, no one blames a hammer when a house falls down. As I mentioned before, this returns to the idea of cargo cults; people don’t understand the underlying reasons of why something works. Here’s a great ignite video on cargo cults and why the don’t result in the goals people expect:

Library patrons live in the same world that we do. They see social media campaigns everywhere. Their McDonald’s cups tell them to become fans on facebook. So we need to realize that just because we build it, doesn’t mean they will come. Here then, are a few principles to guide a social media campaign.

First, be focus on being different, not tools

Seth Godin in his now famous book Purple Cow noted that in a world full of advertising and constant marketing, the only way to truly stand out is to be remarkable. The title refers to a thought experiment where Godin considers driving through the Midwest, surrounded by cows on a small highway. (Since I’m writing this in Wisconsin after having grown up in Kansas, this is an easy image to create) After awhile, all the cows will blend together and look alike. But if suddenly there were a purple cow in the middle of the field. Well, that we would notice.

The point here is not tools, but planning. First, we need to need to be different. We need to stand out in a world were books are a click away on Amazon. Only after there is a decision about what to emphasize and how the libraries need to be portrayed, then decide which tools will help get the job done. To once again use a fix-it  metaphor, no mechanic first decides he wants to use a 1/4 wrench and then looks for bolts to remove. He decides what needs to be fixed and then finds the best wrench.

Second, you don’t need to be big

I’ll admit that I’ve often chastised libraries for using technologies that only work with large scale populations (*cough* tagging *cough*), but there are ways to succeed even when one is small. Mashable created a fantastic look at several small businesses that created successful social media campaigns. Consider this a gallery of inspiration. Each of these businesses found a tool that worked particularly well and they devoted themselves to developing it in a focused and interesting manner.

Now it’s easy to criticize these and note that though they are small businesses, their market is still the world. That may be true, but one group specializes in selling Worm Composters now if that does not have a small worldwide market, I don’t know what does. However, the did a couple of things. First, they created multimedia promotions that were unique and personal. So they connected with people in a variety of ways. Secondly, they expanded their scope from marketing their products, to sharing gardening advice and tips. They didn’t focus just on themselves, they looked at what their customers/potential customers really wanted which, in this case, was a fantastic garden. This all brings to point three. . .

Third, Create a Niche and Focus on the Patrons

In my work in public libraries I’ve noticed there are two types of patrons. There are Generational Patrons which are the patrons that are committed to the library for the library’s sake. I call them generational because they probably (but not always) received their first library card when they were very little, visit the library regularly and make getting a library card one of the first things they do whenever they move to a new town. These are the people that will become a fan on facebook during a passive campaign.

Then there are Contingent Patrons. They come to the library because they need something. I’ll give an example to illustrate. One Saturday a middle-aged man walked into the library. He had a shirt the was grease-stained and walked around with the dazed, unsure look. I was at the circulation desk and asked if he needed anything. He said that someone told him he could get a manual for a 78 Buick truck here. I found there was one at the central branch, and asked if he had a card. Since he didn’t, I signed him up for a card, called the central branch to hold the book and he was on his way. Will he come back? I bet you the next time something breaks down, or he wants to build something, or his daughter needs to complete a project he’ll be back. Why? Because the libraries helped him solve a problem.

This is our niche! This is what we can do better than anyone else. However, we spend too much energy talking about books, reading, and different things on that. Once again, we focus on the tools, not the problem.

Kath Sierra summarizes this well here when she explains how if we want to be successful with our customers (patrons) we need to make them feel successful.

The focus is on what can be acheived. Sometimes it is simply entertainment or learning for its own sake (which is a type of entertainment) but there is an acheivement. We can highlight that so easily, but it may require abandoning a few sacred cows.

Fourth, Strategize

This last point is more of a summary, but it’s so important, it is worth repeating. After a social media idea and plan are developed, than it is time to think about the tools. Here’s a mashable look at some advanced marketing strategies. Some are easy for libraries (synching online and offline content) some are harder (creating contests and discounts), but everything is worth considering.

Next Post

Next post I’ll develop a quick marketing campaign. I’ll take a look at how to design and focus it. Which tools to use and how to set goals and determine success. Thanks for reading. As always, post a comment.

Photo credits: Tools: http://www.flickr.com/photos/docman/36125185/
chess: http://www.flickr.com/photos/pshan427/2331162310/

This is the last week I will be exploring web analytics. This week I will move away from looking at how our efforts can be tracked (i.e. how much our tweets/posts matter) and now I will show ways to find out how to track public perceptions of the library. With social media, it is very easy to have an understanding of how people feel about the library. You can see when they say something good, something bad, etc.

Why care? It’s every where and growing.

Seth Godin internet sage and leading voice on marketing in the digital realm has mixed curiosity and outrage when he observes the lack of participation in social media by non-profits. After all, it’s free, it has a growing impact and so on. Hey, it’s true. Why not follow what other people are saying about us.

Furthermore, many of these tools are important in gaining feedback from groups that may not use other electronic media. A recent study found that the mobile web (i.e. cell phones) is shrinking the digital divide. Services like Twitter are built around the idea and ease of things like text messaging and can give insight into users of these services. So why not try to follow the comments that users openly express on services like Twitter or Facebook. We have users planting big red flags all over the web telling us how we can make things better. All we need to do is listen.

Measurement 1: Follow mentions of the library on twitter

Measuring tweets is an easy and important first step in a social analytics program. Research from Penn State has found that 1 in 5 tweets mention specific brands. This is an incredibly rich source of comments and observations. A common misperception is that you need to follow a user to see their tweets. That’s not true. Tweets are pretty universal. Unless a user explicitly says that they want their tweets to be private, they are open to everyone. Of course librarians do not have time to follow and skim millions of tweets per day to see what people are saying. Fortunately, there are several tools that can track keywords for us.

The quickest and easiest is Twitter Search. This is a quick and easy keyword search that can be customized in a few ways. The best is a limit by location. I work at Memorial Library in Madison and there are, of course, a million libraries named Memorial library. Nonetheless, a limit reveals that people are talking about the Madison Memorial Library:

Not too bad. Nearly all twitter tools have some form of keyword tracking. Using hootsuite (my favorite twitter client) I have set up several keywords searches to give me real time mentions of libraries that I work in. The problem is that this cannot be limited by location, so I learn about what students all over the country are doing in college library:

These features are found in other popular clients like tweetdeck or seesmic, or there are many stand alone ways to track keywords.  So set one up to follow the name of your library. Spend 5 minutes a week skimming through the mentions and you’ll quickly gain invaluable insight into what services your patrons are using and what they may like or dislike.

Measurement 2: Facebook

This one is fairly obvious, so again I’ll focus on the why. A recent study has found that 50% of social media users connect to a brand. So all of those signs at Burger King that ask to be added as a friend on facebook. Well, apparently people respond.

A library facebook page is not going to be earth shattering. But, returning to Seth Godin, why not? It’s free, it’s accessible, it creates good will and can quickly spread information about new services. However, the important point here is to be active without being desperate. Keep a page, update frequently, do not become the only face a patron sees on their frontpage stream.

Measurement 3: Do patrons feel like they matter

I’ve mentioned the MyStarbuck Idea Initiative before, but it’s worth repeating. Starbucks began a campaign where any customer can submit an idea. And the catch? Starbucks implements the idea and lets other users comment, discuss and analyze the idea. It’s a brainstorming sessions, survey, and focus group rolled into one. Simple ideas can emerge from this, things like adding back a particular scone.

The thing that is different is that this campaign and one by dell, is that they both listen and act. And by acting they are showing customers that their opinions do matter. So for libraries, the question is do patrons see their comments acted on? Is there a feedback loop in place that shows response. As one writer noted: listening without acting is worthless.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/matthewfield/2306001896

The measurement and analysis of social media is still very young and far more difficult than previous examples. First, the encounters often happen through third pary systems (for example, through twitter or facebook) so measurements like bounce rate and conversion don’t make as much sense (nor are they really accessible).

More importantly, the currency is different. Web analytics and optimization are built around many individual encounters. Primarily how many single visitors react to our web page. Social media is built around connections and relationships. It’s not just how one relates to many individuals, but how one fits into the environment.

Relationships and Connections have an impact

The return on investment (ROI) is more complicated. (And, of course, for libraries the investment is less in dollars than it is in personnel.) However, there are many examples of how social media can have real returns. For example, Dell computers found that the generated $3 million in sales through Twitter. Another study found that engagement over the social web correlated to higher sales. In fact, the groups with the highest levels of engagement found an average increase of  18% over 12 months while groups with low levels of engagement found an average decline of 6%. (A pdf report of the study, which is excellent, can be found here).

Despite all of the evidence of value added, the vast majority, 84%, of social media programs do not measure the return on their programs. Not only is it hard to do, but many seem to feel it is against the spirit of the community to rank and measure engagement.

Well, fortunately we are libraries and we cannot increase profits. So consider the measurement of social media to be an exercise in strengthening our connection to patrons. After all, if people enjoy and connect to certain actions more than others shouldn’t we try to increase our efforts in those areas? So, enough intro, onto the analytics.

Measuring Participation

One of the easiest ways to analyze social media programs is to measure how our participation is accepted and used by the community. In twitter, this is often measured by two things: how many people follow our links and how often our tweets are retweeted.

There are a couple tools that can help follow these. To find statistics on links, the easiest tools are just the standard url shorteners. The most common, bit.ly, has accounts that will give statistics on how many people have clicked on the link that you’ve posted as well as how many people in total have viewed the link (for example if another users posts the shortened url).

This has two advantages, first, it helps give an idea of how “interesting” the links we post are to other users. Maybe patrons snooze over links to local election results, but love the link we post on job searching tools online. Second, we can see how links to our pages are being viewed. For example, we may see that many people have followed a link to a library program. Of course, this only measure those who follow a link through a bit.ly shortener, but they are one of the largest in the industry, so this is a minimal disadvantage.

Another way to track stats is with ow.ly. This is my favorite since it is both a twitter client (called hootsuite), a url shortener and a stats tracker in one. Here for example are my stats for the last thirty days(click for full image):

Ok, so I’ve been a little lazy the last few days. However, it is interesting to see what kinds of links my followers enjoy. Here’s a look at the top clicks:

So I can tell that many of the people following me must be librarians (no surprise there). However, they also are the type of librarians that like comics.

This is fairly low level stuff, but it’s worth considering what your patrons like.

Another tool, one that I haven’t really used, is called postrank. It combines with google analytics to measure things like blog posts and how they can take on a new life in Twitter, Reddit, FriendFeed, or other social media.

However, beyond measuring how individual posts fare. Hootsuite, along with other tools, give you the ability to track mentions of your twitter name or the ability to follow keywords. This is less important for measuring your individual participation, but can help measure discussion of the library.

Next Week

This took longer than I thought. As I mentioned, this is a new area so it is very exciting and full of many different groups trying out different strategies. Next week I’ll discuss how to go beyond tracking and analyzing library participation and show tools to measure the discussion of libraries and how to follow the buzz about different library programs over twitter.