Best Uses of Facebook for Libraries

Like blogs, Facebook can be used to share text, images, links, and videos. Links on Facebook often come with an automatic blurb about the link and an image from the source. In addition to this, most Facebook users have a high number of friends and pages they follow, meaning posts made or shared on Facebook will be seen amongst a high volume of other posts and information. As such Facebook tends to be less about creating original content and more about spreading news and engaging audiences with short and attention-grabbing posts.

Facebook can be used by libraries in the following ways:

• Advertise events.
• Create specific pages for events - a page that journalists and interested people can refer to for all information and updates on the event, for example the Library Lover's Day Facebook.
• Let people know about things happening in the library and the wider community - linking to other pages and sites with more extensive information. Moonee Valley Libaries use their Facebook page in this way.
• Notify followers of new books and acquisitions.
• Share relevant links, images, and videos.
• Reach a large audience on a regular basis - a lot of people will see status updates and things shared by the library's page. This audience is also likely to be of an adult age group, so content can be tailored to this specific user base.
• Gather feed back and suggestions via comments and "Likes".