Poster presented at the Libraries@Cambridge conference 2013. The poster presents the results of my MSc dissertation research into the impact of social media marketing in libraries.

1. Measuring the impact of social media marketing in libraries
Background to the project
This research is the result of a dissertation undertaken
at Aberystwyth University. The main aim of the
project was to measure what impact, if any, the Judge
Library’s social media presence was having on its
users. Users completed a short questionnaire in May
2012 to give their opinions.
Makes the library
more accessible
What users say…..
Makes me think of the
library in a more
positive way
It gives the library a
better understanding
of its user base
Makes them seem more
modern and
approachable
Results
77.2% like the library’s social media presence
89.5% think that social media is an effective
communication method
 88.2% find the content posted useful to their studies
89.5% think that social media use affects their perceptions
of the library in a positive way
68.4% use online resources more as a result of their
promotion on social media but only 10.5% used the physical
library more
63.29% have found out about a specific resource on social
media and then gone on to use it
BUT only 42.6% of users surveyed access library social
media, even though most use it for personal reasons
This poster is based on an as yet unaccepted dissertation submitted to Aberystwyth University. Image credits:
Twitter bird/Matt Hamm, Delicious logo/topgold, Facebook logo/dear anxiety
Makes the library seem
more friendly
Conclusions
Social media is having some positive impacts:
 there is a greater impact on user perceptions than actions but
this should not be underestimated. Positive perceptions can
lead to positive actions
 social media is having more of an impact on use of the online
library than the physical library
BUT a significant number of users don’t use library social media –
mainly because they don’t know about it. We need to make sure
that we let our users know about our social media presence in
order to reap the rewards