Social media survey and talkback boards
Through an email survey and talkback boards (whiteboard surveys), we learned that Instagram is the most popular social media platform by a significant margin. We also learned that users check the Libraries website (not social media) for timely closure info, though they also expect us to post that information on social media channels, too. Participants also said that they wanted the Libraries to post about events and workshops, book highlights and recommendations, behind the scenes, and more.
Overview
As the social media landscape evolves, we wanted to know how Libraries users reported their uses and expectations of social media, since the Libraries has an active presence on multiple platforms.
Our research questions included: Which platforms do our users check/use (even without an account)? How active are our users on those platforms? Where do users expect Libraries to be active? Where would users go to check real-time updates about the Libraries, such as weather-related closures?
We sent out a survey by email, which had 41 responses. We also set up talkback boards (whiteboard surveys) in the lobbies of the Hill, Hunt, and Veterinary Medicine Libraries for a week, which received over 500 responses. Here’s what we learned.
Social media platforms
The most popular social media platform is Instagram, by a significant margin. The next most popular social media platforms are LinkedIn, Reddit, Snapchat, and TikTok.
Responses from our emailed survey:
Respondents reported that they mostly lurked (read or watched) on the social media platforms they used. The exceptions were Instagram and Snapchat, where more active usage (sharing, commenting, and liking) was about equal to passive usage. We didn’t ask about where respondents were creating content, since that was out of scope for this survey.
Responses from our whiteboard survey:
The chart above shows the estimated sum of the tally marks that passersby added to the whiteboards.
Timely info
When asked where they would look for timely information such as weather-related closures, nearly half of survey respondents said they would consult the Libraries website first.
Almost no respondents said they would consult social media.
What users want to see from the Libraries
Most survey respondents said they expected us to be on Instagram. Other social media platforms didn’t have as much traction in this context.
Survey and talkback board respondents said they wanted to see us post about events and workshops, timely updates, campus and community happenings, advertising our services and resources, book highlights and recommendations, behind the scenes, and posts just for fun (such as memes).
How We Did It
We sent out a survey by email to our participant pool and received 41 responses.
We also set up talkback boards (whiteboard surveys) in the lobbies of the Hill, Hunt, and Veterinary Medicine Libraries for a week. On a daily basis, we took a photo of the whiteboards and erased responses (since the boards got full each day!).
What's next
Based on this survey, the Libraries Communications department established accounts on two new platforms, Bluesky and Threads. The survey results are helping to inform us about which platforms to focus on and what types of content we should post.
