While reading literature on the use of Social Media in libraries, I have found that many articles deal with the individual librarian’s use/profile for promoting the library.¹ However, there is not a lot of discourse over a team approach to manage and curate the different Social Media accounts the library uses. I find this interesting as many of the professional I have talked to who work with library Social Media accounts are working in teams.
After hearing Michelle’s presentation last Tues., I started to think about what are the difficulties and challenges of not being the only person using a single profile. When it is just you uploading and creating content, it is easy to control the amount of content, the type of content, and the branding of the profile. However, in a team environment, it would be easy to send out mixed signals on branding, post similar content, and over post or under post throughout the week.
For libraries who have Social Media teams, all of the team members have to mindful of many things. These are just a few that I’ve collected:
- Make sure not to over post/oversaturate on the site
- Make sure not to post information that is being covered by another staff member
- Stick to the Branding already decided on for the Library
- The content is best suited for the Social Media Site that you are assigned to
I was mulling this over when a David Lee King, a blogger I follow, wrote a blog – found here – about the guidelines they implemented in his library for Social Media Teams.
The following is from the blog post:
Created by David King.² Found at http://www.davidleeking.com/social-media-guidelines-for-staff/. Used under a CC License.
While these are not all of the guidelines for David’s library, I thought these were very interesting to consider as a professional. We all have experience maintaining our own Social Media accounts. Often, librarians think that, since they are adept at maintaining their own personal accounts, it will be easy to jump into a Social Media team. But as these guidelines suggest, there is a different mind frame and set of rules for working within a Social Media team.
I’m curious if anybody has had experience working in a team for a Social Media profile. If so, what were the challenges? What were the differences between handling a profile individually and within a team?
For those without experience, thoughts? Ideas for how to approach using Social Media as a team?
Resources
- Vassilakaki & Garoufallou. “Library Facebook practices for creating and promoting a professional profile.” Program 49.3 (2015): 343-359.
- King, David Lee. “Social Media Guidelines for Staff.” Web log post.Davidleeking.com. 23 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Feb. 2016.
I think that this is a really interesting concept that libraries have to get their heads around. I have a friend who works for Sparkle Media (not a library I know!) but she does have to coordinate social media posts with her team. Basically 2 or 3 people are assigned to various clients and they are responsible for marketing their client’s products via social media. I think that the hardest part is reaching a consensus about what images, content, even hash tags, should be featured. Does it fits the client’s brand? Does it fit Sparkle Media’s brand or is it more the taste of the individual creating the post? I realize I have only asked questions, not answered yours and for that I am sorry.
This is a very interesting post! While I don’t have experience working as a social media team, I do have experience working on various social media platforms and accounts for the same company.
When I worked at the magazine publishing house, I was in charge of the social media for Canadian publications, but also US and Australian publications. It was challenging to switch back and forth between the accounts, since they were similar, but had key differences. For instance, we had a slightly different Style Guide for the US and Australian publications (did you know that in Australia, “veggies” are “vegies”? That always sounded so strange to me!). It’s easy to make mistakes unless you’re being careful!
I realize that I’m not addressing your question exactly, but I think it’s interesting how branding can be challenging in different ways. My best advice, then, whether or not you’re working as a team or working individually with different social media accounts, is to have detailed Style Guides or Policies to guide your actions.
I agree with everything that has been said.
There are group norms to consider in managing social media. What to do when the glass bedroom is occupied by all your peers?
Thanks Elizabeth. Dean
I suppose consistent branding is important when managing a social media platform. Also ensuring that the same content is not reposted over and over again but having interesting and relevant content planned out in advanced, and to be exhibited in engaging and dynamic ways. I can see how it can be a challenge and also a benefit to manage and post content as a team