LITA & Social Media: Using Social Software to Connect with Members

1. LITA & Social Media: Using Social Software to Connect with Members Emerging Leaders 2009 Team U Task: Determine the appropriate "social software" functionality to deploy to meet the needs of the membership • General Social Media Guidelines: • When adding content LITA should keep in mind What's in it for members, how would the information they are providing be valuable to members • Use a consistent username across all networks – makes it easier to find LITA on all social software • Include links to other social networks on each network you join • Measure your progress – track number of views, people who get to your site through social networks • Team Unit Resources: • LITA Social Media Wiki http://www.litasocialmedia.pbworks.com • Emerging Leaders 2009 Wiki http://wikis.ala.org/emergingleaders/index.php/Project_U_(2009) • LITA & Social Media Video • http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kaaJ_579F4g • Team Unit Members: • Chanitra Bishop: • Indiana University Bloomington • Ligaya Ganster: • State University of New York at Buffalo • Tracy Sutherland: • Eastern Connecticut State University • Holly Tomren: • University of California, Irvine Recommended Tools: ALA Connect – Collaborating w/ALA members Facebook – Social Networking w/ anyone Flickr – Sharing photos Twitter – Microblogging & social networking YouTube – Sharing videos Image Sources: http://www.fredcavazza.net/2008/06/09/social-media-landscape/ http://socialmediasc.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/personal-brand.jpg • Flickr Suggestions: • Rename LITA’s Flickr account name & market the group account • Upload quality photos from conferences • Friend members on Flickr • Join groups • Write creative tags and descriptions for each photo • Include LITA’s web site and social media sites in tag or description where appropriate • Include conference city in tag or description • Use creative commons license to allow photos to be used everywhere • Comment on photos of LITA members • YouTube Suggestions: • Create a channel for LITA with a URL that matches the LITA website • Post videos from conferences • Post tutorials from members that highlight new tech tools • Subscribe to other library related channels – will help increase the number of subscribers to LITA’s channel • Send "Friend Requests" on YouTube • Allow friends to post comments on LITA’s Channel wall • Facebook Suggestions: • Start a Facebook page • Send messages about conferences and other LITA events to members • Create a discussion board • Become of a fan of other organizations on Facebook • Share social media with friends – include box for YouTube & Flickr • Use widgets to post LITA’s blog feed to the page • Twitter Suggestions: • Retweet valuable messages • Monitor what is being said about LITA, then join the conversation • Respond to questions & comments • Share useful blog posts, websites, new tech tools • Start a discussion • Tell members how to get involved with LITA • Use Twitter Apps such as TweetDeck or HootSuite to manage your account • Share videos and pictures from Flickr & YouTube • ALA Connect Suggestions: • Use Flickr gadget to show photos from conferences • Use Delicious gadget to share LITA’s favorite websites • Share updates about conferences • Divisions and interest groups can share updates, meet with members and post documents for collaborating on projects