A Journey to Reach Users Where
They Are: Facebook as a Digital Portal
to Your Library
Katie Bohnert, Marketing and Communications Manager
Bethany Fiechter, Archivist for Manuscript and Digital Collections
Laura Mulligan, Information Services Librarian
www.facebook.com/ballstatelibraries
Libraries on Facebook
• Facebooking for your library
isn’t always easy!
• Challenges and pitfalls
• Instant gratification and
long-term effects
• Honest, practical tips for
success
2011 Facebook Facts
• More than 800 million active users worldwide*
• More than 51 percent of the American population uses Facebook**
• The average user is connected to 80 community pages, groups, and
events*
• More than 75 percent of users are outside of the United States*
• There are more than 350 million active users accessing Facebook
with mobile devices*
*http://www.facebook.com/press/info.php?statistics
**http://www.edisonresearch.com/home/archives/2011/05/the_social_habit_2011.php
Facebook as a Marketing Tool
• History of the Ball State University Libraries’ Facebook page
• Making Facebook part of your “Marketing Suite”
• Facebook cannot replace your library’s web site
• Making your Facebook page work for you
Creating a Dialogue with Users
• Posts and responses
• Links to library and nonlibrary web content
• Photos of students and
spaces in the library
• Videos and tutorials
• Apps
• Questions—gathering
feedback
Making Use of “Insights”
• What are Insights?
• Where do you find Insights?
• How do you compile Insights?
• Generate directly from Facebook
• Create your own reports!
• Expectations
Ball State University Libraries
Facebook Statistics Annual Report
October 13, 2010: 858 likes
October 10, 2011: 2,317 likes
170% increase
University Libraries Statistics
Active Users
Age Range
7000
3% 3% 3%
6000
13-17
6%
5000
18-24
4000
Oct-10
3000
14%
25-34
Oct-11
35-44
2000
71%
1000
45-54
55+
0
Monthly
Weekly
Monthly Active Users
October 13, 2010: 3,284
October 10, 2011: 6,328
89% increase
Weekly Active Users
October 13, 2010: 1,398
October 10, 2011: 3,696
38% increase
Daily Active Users
October 13, 2010: 379
October 10, 2011: 1,432
26% increase
Daily
Gender
Female: 54%
Male: 43%
Top Countries
United States: 2,154
Turkey: 9
South Korea: 8
Top Cities
Muncie: 1,207
Indianapolis: 212
University Libraries Statistics
Top Total Tab Views
Wall: 1,055,250
Information: 24,729
Photographs: 1,011
Events: 415
WorldCat: 287
New Statistics to Follow
Places
Bracken Library: 442 likes / 2,166 check-ins
Ball State University Libraries: 2,317 likes / 9 check-ins
People Are Talking About This
Top External Referrers
cms.bsu.edu: 7,579
bsu.edu: 1,430
google.com: 162
bsu.libguides.com: 51
libx.bsu.edu: 24
It measures the activity of how a user is engaged with our Page and our
postings. As of October 10, 2011 there were 61 people talking about
Ball State University Libraries, an increase of 3.4%.
Weekly Total Reach
It provides administrators the number of people who have viewed any
content associated with our Page (including those who have not liked
our page). As of October 10, 2011, there have been 2,402 people
connected to our Page.
Day-to-Day Maintenance
• Challenges
• Consistent voice
• Round-the-clock maintenance and posting
Managing the Page
• Round up colleagues to form a Facebook committee!
• Drafting a Social Media Policy
• Routine assessment
• Planning for the future
Recommendations
 Link on your web site
 Marketing URL
 Commitment
 Assessment
 Support from above
 Be able to answer the question “Why?”
Thank You!
Katie: kbohnert@bsu.edu
Bethany: bcfiechter@bsu.edu
Laura: lmulligan@bsu.edu
Like us on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/ballstatelibraries