Facebook vs. Twitter : The epic battle of self-promotion


Facebook or Twitter: Which one is better for a library's promotion and networking? 

We have all had a lot of experience with facebook and twitter. They are the way that we communicate across countries, develop relationships, maintain relationships, and sometimes even for self promotion. Look at me and all the great things I am doing! Now why not do this for your library? Many people have had this idea- this is a look at how successful these two social media networks are for promoting libraries. 

Facebook; 
When I did my initial search for school library pages I had to scroll past many Library organizations, non-profits, and educational resources before I was able to find any effective school library pages. These are the Library pages that I found: 


On this Facebook page for Green Forest High School's Library, you can tell that the Media Specialist uses this page to advertise the success of the students and the promotion of programs that are successful in their library. For example, the "Top Ten Reader" program celebrates the students who have ranked among the top ten readers of the school. This is displayed in an instagram type post with a picture of the student with the books they have read to reach this status and a small blurb that gives the viewer a description of the picture with background information. These types of posts celebrate the great things happening within their library and allows for community engagement through comments and sharing capabilities. 

Stats: 
People talking about it- 1
People checked in here- 1 
Total page likes- 421 people


Many of the posts were shared at least once and had a few comments by members of the Green Forest Community!


On this Facebook page for Wade Hampton High School's Library, the media specialist uses the page for promotion, announcements, and sharing of articles and resources. There are announcements such as when books are due back to the library at the end of the year, an announcement about a "College Essay Writing Workshop" available for Juniors, promotion of library events, and pictures of the collection and programs happening at the school currently. I think that this Facebook page is a bit more successful in variety of content, but it could use some more celebration of activities and programs like the Green Forest page. I think that when used effectively Facebook can easily a great place to promote your library. 

Stats: 
People talking about it- 1
People checked in here- 15 
Total page likes- 124 people
This is a display to encourage reading during the Prom season.




















Twitter: 
When I looked over the edtech leaders twitter profiles I noticed/ realized that twitter is more of a sharing space and individual promotion space. Unlike with Facebook, Twitter focuses on the individual and their opinions or insights. I think some of the edtech leaders were very productive with balancing their opinions, research, resources, and library experience. 

The Daring Librarian @GwenthJones
Gwenth (The Daring Librarian) in my opinion does a very good job of balancing posts on opinion, promoting links and resources, and library experience. As you scroll through her profile, you will find a link to her personal blog (subject- gamification), shared videos that she is using to promote the return of overdue books in her library, a tweet in which she is participating in a hashtag conversation (#edchat), and pictures of frequent visitors in her library. I think this page is very well balanced and shows how great twitter can be for self-promotion, networking, and professional development. 
                                                    Stats:
28.6k Tweets
3,482 Following
31.7k Followers
6,645 Likes
7 Lists








I really think that both of these social media platforms are really what the user makes of them. When I think of getting professional sources and where to go to begin my search for professional development- I would go to Twitter. I think it has the capability to be more widely seen and spread for better communication. While Facebook focuses on self-promotion and what you are doing currently. Facebook pages are something you often would have to promote and search for on Facebook, but with Twitter (because of hashtags and retweeting) you have more availablity to be connected and seen in many different ways. 

I have only ever used Twitter as a professional- being I got a twitter to be able to follow some of my favorite authors that I met at a conference and be able to create dialogue with them. Twitter lends more towards collaboration and sharing while Facebook is more about connection. Both are very easy to use, but you must evaluate your reasons and purpose behind using them to be able to get the most out of it. 

Comments

  1. UnknownJune 8, 2017 at 11:46 AM

    Kaitlyn,
    I also felt like The Daring Librarian's twitter account was my favorite of the ones we were to look at for this assignment. I found her tweets to be informative as well as fun. Her page itself was very eye-catching and colorful and I found myself drawn in. I think this is a great example of Twitter being used in a very effective way.

    ReplyDelete
  2. UnknownJune 10, 2017 at 1:58 PM

    I like your comment about Twitter lending itself more to collaboration and sharing. You are so correct! Twitter is an excellent place to find information to use in the library and in the classroom. It is a great way for new librarians to network with professionals who have great insight and ideas about the latest trends in education and technology.

    ReplyDelete
  3. M. CapelloJuly 2, 2017 at 11:27 AM

    I enjoyed your analysis of Facebook and Twitter. I agree that both sites are what you make of them. I have found that Twitter is a much more useful tool. I like that the posts are short and I can easily skim the tweets to find something useful. When I get on Facebook, it is like I enter another dimension where time speeds accelerates. I waste so much time on Facebook, therefore I rarely use it.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Kanie De LeonJuly 3, 2017 at 11:20 AM

    I never though to look at facebook and twitter in this way. I liked how you laid out what each would be best for. I do agree that facebook would be better for self promotion, especially in libraries that focus on their surrounding communities.

    ReplyDelete

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