a swot analysis for social media in libraries
TRANSCRIPT
The University of MaineDigitalCommons@UMaine
Library Staff Publications Fogler Library
9-2009
A SWOT Analysis for Social Media in LibrariesJoe Fernandez
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Repository CitationFernandez, Joe, "A SWOT Analysis for Social Media in Libraries" (2009). Library Staff Publications. 7.https://digitalcommons.library.umaine.edu/lib_staffpub/7
ASWOT
Analysisfor
Social Mediain Libraries
Joe
It's probably no secret tbat we live in an information-drivensociety in which people use information strategically forvarious purposes. Libraries are major informationproviders and facilitators. Moving from clay tablets to cardcatalogs and tben to digital catalogs, libraries have alwaysplayed a very important role in purveying information as asocial commodity. In an extension to this traditional role,librarians have become some of the earliest adopters ofsocial networking technologies in order to connect withtheir users. Although libraries have always connected peo-ple witb information, social media is beginning to play animportant role in marketing information to library usersand in branding the library as a community hub.
Social media gained global attention with its very effectiveuse in tbe political arena. The Obama presidential campaignwill be studied for years to come as a very successful socialmedia campaign. President Obama's campaign team basi-cally crowdsourced his campaign in ways never before seenin the world of politics. He reached out to a large audienceusing electronic tools that are easily available to anyone.
Similarly, although on a different scale, librarians havebeen quietly marketing their resources and services andconnecting with their users successfully using various formsof social media, in addition to their traditional communica-tion tools. Librarians have realized the marketing potentialof social media that sometimes bear frivolous-sounding
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names—Digg, StumbleUpon, Flickr, Twitter, Delicious,Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, Ning, and many others toonumerous to be listed here. Library social media enable two-way communication between librarians and users; the inputfrom users is crucial for libraries in making strategic deci-sions to provide optimum services to their clientele.
Librarians have the mojo to change people's lives inunimagined ways thanks to all the information and infor-mation tools at their disposal. In their mission to connectwith library users, librarians have adopted social mediatools as part of the Library 2.0 movement. Interestinglyenough, people, upon first encountering these tools, haven'talways taken them seriously, writing them off due to the per-ceived silliness or frivolity of their names. Sometimes theyhave resisted using them only to find later that these socialmedia tools are actually serious stuff. One of the greatestadvantages of marketing with social media is that users canbe anywhere to receive information-related news fromlibrarians. They don't need to physically be in the library.
Social media offers libraries and librarians the opportunityto be more proactive in tbeir outreach to their users. lust asbusinesses are using social media to develop customer loy-alty, libraries are using social media to develop user loyalty.Considering that this kind of marketing is a growing phe-nomenon among libraries, a SWOT analysis of social mediain libraries encourages librarians to take stock of their usageof social media, to guard against inappropriate applications,and to offer effective implementations. A SWOT analysis,presented in an orderly, methodical manner, will appeal tostakeholders hesitating about enabling the technology.
SWOT analyses are a staple of the business world. Theyenable business entities to understand their Strengths,Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. Such analysesdrive businesses to strategically chart their business direc-tion more effectively as they cultivate the customer loyaltythat is ultimately crucial to their bottom line.
In a somewhat similar manner, a SWOT analysis of socialmedia in libraries will give libraries the opportunity to usesuch media to develop a dynamic relationship betweenthemselves and their users; they have the potential to pro-duce more user-centered libraries that are constantly evolv-ing to maintain their relevancy as they compete with otheronline resources. Such an analysis will allow librarians totake stock of their strengths and weaknesses, internal fac-tors over which they have some leverage. It can be used tojustify the use of social media to library management. Theanalysis will also allow librarians to recognize the opportu-nities that are out there that they can take advantage of,make them aware of the threats tliat they might face whenthey get into the Web 2.0 realm, and help them respondaccordingly. This is a generalized SWOT analysis: You maywant to adapt it to your particular circumstances.
First consider what strengths social media offer.• Social media sites are usually freely available.• They are easy to set up and ready to use almost immediately.• Libraries can reach out to their clientele at large in the
shortest time and in the most efficient manner.• Users are able to contribute their own ideas about services
and resources for libraries to consider.• Social media allow librarians to think outside the box.• Site administrators have some control over the content of
their social media.
One of the greatest strengths of social media is the users'interaction with librarians. It is no longer a one-way flow ofinformation from librarians; both librarians and users areactively engaged in the process of knowledge management.This also allows librarians to be very creative. For example,they can add pictures or video clips taken in the library thathighlight the library's activities and resources; users will seethat libraries are run by real people for real people withinformation needs. Many libraries post informative videoclips on YouTube in very creative ways to reach their users.
Social networking applications such as Facebook andMySpace, for example, allow libraries to reach a wide rangeof library users because they are very common social toolsused by millions of people. It is important to bear in mindthat social tools such as Facebook and MySpace are usedquite extensively by library users. And if users find thelibrary's social media sites to be tastefully presented anduseful, they would most likely add them to their ownFacebook or MySpace so that they can do most of theirresearch from one place; this is a great incentive for librari-ans to ensure that their social networking applications meetthe needs of their users.
Many library users find pictures of the library quite attrac-tive and oftentimes useful. Librarians can upload a limitednumber of photos to Flickr, for example, without any charge.These pictures can be great marketing tools if they are eachcaptioned appropriately to reflect what tbe library has tooffer. A picture of the reference desk, for example, could becaptioned "Bring all your questions here." This is a great wayto promote library resources and services.
Libraries have also started posting messages (orTweeting) on Twitter, a microblogging service that allowsquick, short messages to be disseminated. [For an expandeddescription of libraries on Twitter, see "Twitter for Libraries(and Librarians)" by Sarah Milstein, ONLINE, March/April2009, pp. 34-35. —Ed.] Twitter has millions of users. It allowsusers to follow other Tweeters and re-Tweet (repeat) others'Tweets for the benefit of one's own library users. More andmore libraries are beginning to make their presence felt onthis microblogging social tool.
Librarians are also making their presence known on blogsin a big way. Blogs have been around for a decade, longerthan most other social media. Many libraries use blogs toshowcase their collections, workshops, and databases; they
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also use blogs to make announcements. Blog tools such asBlogger, lypepad. and WordPress are very versatile. It is alsopossible to add library-related audio, video, and visual clipsto these blogs, giving them greater user appeal.
Another of the strengths of social media is that librarianshave the option to screen user input if they are deemed tobe controversial or offensive.
WEAKHESSESOffsetting the strengths of social media in libraries are the
weaknesses.• Social media tools have design constraints.• Some social media have limitations on the amount of in-
formation you can input.• Libraries may be exposing themselves to criticism.• Some social media require downloading, which can be a
problem in some organizations.
Blogs often limit your choice of website design to theones offered by the providers. This, however, may not be amajor weakness because librarians almost always find cre-ative workarounds to these constraints. Flickr limits thenumber of pictures you can post to 200; beyond that num-ber a subscription is required. One way around this limita-tion is to replace older pictures with new pictures and stillremain within the assigned limit.
Twitter limits postings to 140 characters per post, butlibrarians tend to be very creative about how they Tweettheir information and still stay within the designated limit.
Although social media also opens libraries to possiblecriticism, librarians should instead consider constructivecriticism as an opportunity for them to improve their serv-ice. One factor librarians have to contend with, though, isthat it takes a while for social media sites to build a large fol-lowing among their target library users.
Thinking ahead, there may be opportunities in socialmedia that the library hasn't been effectively exploiting.• Social media are excellent opportunities for librarians to
market their services and collections to their clientele.• Such media enable libraries to reach a wide range of their
users and to attract new users.• Libraries have the opportunity to hear from their users
about the kind of services they want.
The return on investment (of time and skills) is buge.Lihrarians are reaching a huge audience of online userswho are considered Digital Natives as well as those who aredeemed to be Digital Immigrants. People who might not befamiliar with the library, possibly viewing it as old-fash-ioned, can become users once they see the library usingsocial media. Such media offer libraries greater outreachopportunities that were never available on such a scale inthe past. These tools provide libraries with the capability ofusing a variety of means to connect with their users.
THßEATSIt's not a totally rosy picture. To be objective, the analysis
must include potential threats.• Social media may be open to unsavory elements that can
sabotage social websites in many ways.• These sites are usually beyond the control of the librarians
who manage them.• Social media users can easily unsubscribe at the click of
a button.
The threats faced by library social media are sometimesbeyond the control of libraries. It is possible that youraccount, for example, can be hijacked and your socialmedia compromised. Pranksters could post inappropriatecomments that might slip through your filters. Theproviders can also change tbe rules of usage at any timewithout any warning, as Facebook recently did. Theproviders could make arbitrary changes to your website tosuit their marketing agendas.
These changes are offen in confiict with design prioritiesinherent in librarian-created websites; librarians can sud-denly be stuck with redesigned websites that are not whatlibrarians really want. Another point to bear in mind is thatlibrary social media that diverge from their original missionof connecting users with services and information will soonfind themselves becoming irrelevant and without any fol-lowers; users can unsubscribe from social media sites veryeasily at the click of a button. Keeping social media sites rel-evant and current is crucial in maintaining followers.
A big threat is that social media providers may decide tofold up for any number of reasons, and librarians may loseall that they had invested in their social media. Oftentimes,these media tools are bought by other companies that mayhave different usage rules and layout designs.
SOCIAL MEDIA WIH-WltiThe use of social media in libraries is one form of rela-
tionship marketing that has the potential to pay great divi-dends in the form of user loyalty; they create an atmospherein which library users are connected with librarians.Libraries are not just about tangible objects; they are alsoabout people. As such, cultivating user loyalty is just asimportant as building library collections.
The two-way communication afforded by social mediawill go a long way toward creating dynamic libraries that areconstandy evolving in tandem with tbeir users' changingneeds and expectations. Social media have the potential forinformation users and information providers to achieve awin-win relationship. A SWOT analysis will put this in per-spective for your library.
¡oe Fernandez ([email protected]) is the social sciences arul humanitieslibrarian at Raymond H. Fogler Library, University of Maine-Orono.
Comments? Email the editor ([email protected]).
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