Keywords
Academic Libraries, Engagement, EWOM, Patron–Library Relationships, Social Media Listening
Description
The ubiquitous presence of social media has changed the way libraries communicate with their patrons. Academic libraries usually employ social media to provide instant feedback to queries and promote library services to students and faculty. However, using these tools solely for such purposes means not fully utilizing their potential. Properly applied, social media can help build and maintain positive relationships between libraries and communities they serve. Social media experts (e.g.: Quesenberry, 2021) argue that in order to build these relationships, an organization should take a “bottom up” approach to social media by engaging with patrons through social media listening and monitoring, content creation, community management, and engagement. Using this approach, the study examines how five academic libraries in Atlantic Canada employ social media to build long-term positive relationships with students and their parents, faculty, and staff. It also examines how electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) influences these relationships, since social media can either engage or alienate patrons. The authors also devise a set of recommendations and discuss best practices of social media use by academic libraries.
#Hashtag Social Media Experiences: Building Positive Patron–Library Relationships
The ubiquitous presence of social media has changed the way libraries communicate with their patrons. Academic libraries usually employ social media to provide instant feedback to queries and promote library services to students and faculty. However, using these tools solely for such purposes means not fully utilizing their potential. Properly applied, social media can help build and maintain positive relationships between libraries and communities they serve. Social media experts (e.g.: Quesenberry, 2021) argue that in order to build these relationships, an organization should take a “bottom up” approach to social media by engaging with patrons through social media listening and monitoring, content creation, community management, and engagement. Using this approach, the study examines how five academic libraries in Atlantic Canada employ social media to build long-term positive relationships with students and their parents, faculty, and staff. It also examines how electronic word-of-mouth (eWOM) influences these relationships, since social media can either engage or alienate patrons. The authors also devise a set of recommendations and discuss best practices of social media use by academic libraries.