LYRASIS’ Marketing Content Manager, Jennifer Bielewski, recently attended two social networking conferences aimed to increase use and followers on social networking platforms. Both conferences, The Social Shake-up and Tweetsmarter, put huge emphasis on why we should be social and to be careful at which platform to use. LYRASIS currently uses Twitter, Facebook and our blog (LYRASISNow.org) to keep members and followers informed of the latest LYRASIS news, events and interesting topics pertaining to libraries, archives and museums. Our Twitter account seems to get more attention with more followers connecting each day by becoming followers and retweeting or favoriting our tweets. Though we do try to place the same information on all 3 social forums, we do use Twitter a tad more or retweet the same information often to make sure followers see the information a few times as a reminder there may be a call to action. Actions such as sign up for a free webinar, renewals or saving offers, announcements such as a new CEO, or a crucial Board vote, are all important things our followers and members need to know.
So why social network in the first place when we have our own listservs and websites? By using a tool such as Twitter, you can spread awareness to those who know you and your services to swell that reach and awareness to others. With awareness comes recognition and then change or action.
There are different stages of awareness: from a split second to everlasting with several stages in between. With LYRASIS, Twitter allows us to broadcast our value to members, new initiatives, and services that help members achieve their mission and serve their patrons and work with their collections with ease. The same holds true with Facebook, blog, listservs and websites but with Twitter, we can quickly express in 140 characters our plan of action, need and awareness, and point to our other engagement platforms.
From the Tweetsmarter webinar, best practices were provided by Twitter and HubSpot for social networking posts primarily with Twitter.
- Use images. Tweets with images stand out and tend to receive 55% more clicks and retweets. Need images? You can use Flickr Creative Commons, Unsplash.com for free stock images or canva.com to make quick social images.
- Share the company you keep. Who else shares your opinion or is your partner?
- Explain the process. If you have a new service or product, don’t assume your audience. knows what it is. Explain and amplify. A retweet of your post might be seen by someone who doesn’t know but the tweet may spark interest!
- Localize content
- Instruct. When you tweet use words like “click, sign up, read, vote, install now” etc. Retention of followers is more likely when they are engaged.
- Convey urgency. Give dates, times and deadlines when appropriate.
- Have a very strong focus for your tweet. Strong image, strong copy and action.
- Share reviews and ratings. If you have a favorable interaction, tweet about it.
- Ask questions to involved your followers. This gives you an idea of who may be following that may not retweet or favorite your tweet. This is another way to engage your follower and receive feedback.
As for LYRASIS, we too will practice what we learn and continue to share what we learn from these conferences and webinars. As for attending The Social Shake-up, Jennifer was able to hear and meet George Takei who has transformed himself into a guru of social networking. He has over 1.6 million followers on Twitter.