Peter Godwin

University of Bedfordshire

“It’s all about social media, stupid!”

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/plentyofants/203275559

Peter GodwinUniversity of Bedfordshire

Has Library 2.0 fulfilled its promise?Can the hours put

into Library blogs, wikis, twitter, Facebook and flickr been worth the time and effort?

How does a late starter know which social media to use?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/stephenpoff/3091258409/

Web 2.0 in librariesEarly adoptersOver enthusiasmMe

EBSCO survey of use of social media in European libraries, 2010

Web 2.0 to social media

Social Media are here to stay

Their implications are still not fully understood

Is it all worthwhile?

Special staff?CostsScaleProactivity

http://www.flickr.com/photos/edwick/3265386303/

Time for a policy ?

Just because you can doesn’t mean you should

Why use social media?

Swot analysisStrengthsFree, quick to set upExcellent potential

for outreachUser contributionsAllow interaction

OpportunitiesROI (of time and

skills) could be hugeReaching non-users

WeaknessesDesign constraintsBut what is ROI?

ThreatsSabotageNot under our

control

Clever outreach or costly diversion? Facebook at Rutgers University,2007-9Initial purpose –

“Library news,Libraryhappenings.

New resources and services that will make your coursework easier and let you find the info you want faster. Find answers to any questions you have about the libraries.”

Conclusions – Facebook results worthwhile but unpredictable. Goals were poorly defined.

Lessons learnt –

Use two measurable goals :

1.Recruit incoming students to their Facebook group page, and post items aimed at their interests.

2.Build up relationships with student workers in the Student Union newspaper.

How do you decide which to choose ?

It’s all about PURPOSEYou need clear goals or you can’t choose or

measure.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/desiitaly/2201907500/

Start from baseline

Examples of usages

Marketing and PRBranding where

none beforeInformation

discovery and access

Information literacyVirtual referenceNews and current

awareness

Can the experience of the business sector help?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/greggoconnell/206900508/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/quitelucid/76790892/

ROIReturn on

Investment

Return on Influence?

Or should it be ROE Return on Engagement?

AVE (Advertising Value Equivalent)“There is no official or industry-accepted

way of measuring, in terms of financial return, how much a piece of media coverage is worth” (Will Scougal)

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hhoyer/3219911918

Georgia AquariumSpecial offer for

admission prices advertised via Twitter, Facebook and MySpace brought in $42,000 worth of sales and could be tracked via a specially created URL.

Internet Advertising Bureau Social Media Ad Metrics Definitions Provide framework for

gauging effectiveness across social media sites, blogs and widgets and social media applications.

“We tend to overvalue the things we can measure and to undervalue the things we cannot”

Six company user forums tracked where technical support and

customer questions are answered by other users. This may be an

improvement over a help desk. By the end of 3 years the ROI was

nearly 100% ($2 back for every $1 spent).

N.Petouhoff in a Forrester Social Media ROI report

Sentiment analysis“Perhaps we shouldn’t

measure social ROI in the first place….The core reason is because they are about people, not money”

(Falls, J. (2008) Perhaps social media measurement shouldn’t matter. Social Media Explorer, 19 May.)

Some common analytical tools

Twitter Analyzer Twittercounter TweetStats Twendz

Facebook page stats Google Analytics HootSuite My Buzz Monitor

Bit.ly

http://www.flickr.com/photos/topgold/4059663939/

Whose job is it?Blur between

professional and private

You are the organisation

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dbarronoss/515823267/

Whose job is it?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/ucumari/3353885150/in/photostream/

“There are no social media experts. Anyone who tells you that – they are lying to you.”

Shannon Ritter, Penn State

University

EDUCAUSEConference

13 Oct 2010

Final thoughts about social mediaThey are additional to traditional deliveryThey are a long term solutionThey help build communities and can

encourage conversation around your information resources

Users could actually be helping you to create library resources

Ignore them at your peril !

“Social media measurement is like driving a modern car. You may have a dashboard with all the lights, toggles, gauges, and metrics, but remember, the most important piece of data to have in front of you is the GPS screen. The GPS screen indicates where you want to go (your objective), where you are now, and how to get there.”

(Owyang, J.(2008) Social media measurement : Dashboard vs. GPS. Web Strategist, 16 Oct.

Mobiles –the ultimate portable computer