Facebook, Twitter, Instagram... Oh my!

    We live in a social-media-rich environment - pretty much everyone knows how to use at least one social media platform and accesses said platform daily. Like with anything, there are negatives to social media, and a quick Google search will surely highlight these aspects (i.e cyberbullying, too much screen time, inability to communicate face-to-face, creating fake/perfect personas, etc.). However, social media has the ability to be a great tool, especially for school libraries, because it is a way to share news with multiple people at one time and connect with users in the community beyond traditional email and paper. Social media allows one to highlight different aspects of life through text, photos, videos, links, and more. It allows others to receive updates and interact regardless of location. Ready to bring your school library into the 21st-century with social media? Let's chat about three of the top platforms! 

    Facebook is one of many social networking sites available on the internet that make is easy to connect with family and friends by sharing photos, videos, links, text updates, and more. It's also a great platform for receiving news updates, connecting with like-minded individuals by joining interest-specific groups, and supporting businesses and organizations through their pages. 

    Using Facebook is just one way school libraries can reach a broad audience with a simple click. However, it does not appear to be an extremely popular platform. A quick search within Facebook shows an abundance of schools that have Facebook pages but not a lot of pages dedicated specifically to school libraries. With a little more digging, I found that there are a lot of high school libraries with Facebook accounts but not a lot of elementary, intermediate, or junior high library accounts. In addition, many of the school library pages do not include an abundance of posts beyond promoting their summer reading program and a few sporadic programs that occurred throughout the school year.

    Benignus Library (@benignuslibrary) in Klein ISD is one school library page that is updated frequently. With 233 people having "liked" the page and 249 people following it for updates, each post has great potential to reach a large audience. The school librarian regular posts reminders about reading programs such as the example below that is showcasing the Klein ISD Reading Express - A Summertime Storytime Series. Other posts include video highlights of the library winning a grant and when their "Name That Book" competition team found out they were advancing to the next round. The librarian also showcases student work such as writing poems using wordless picture books and using block coding to play a game of soccer. While many posts have a few interactions (i.e hearts and likes), most do not include comments. 

Advantages

• Share a variety of content (photos, videos, links, text, etc.)
• Easy format to use 
• Connect with other like-minded pages (i.e. other districts, schools, and school libraries)
• Reach lots of people at one time 
• All individuals receive the same updates
• Information, unless deleted, remains on one, searchable page
• Creating a Facebook account is free
• Posts can be shared from other pages (i.e. district or school pages) and, if allowed, patrons can share posts from the school library page to their personal page which can increase exposure

Disadvantages

• Predominantly used by adults, so many students (esp. elementary aged) will not have access 
• Algorithm limits users from seeing updates on their individual timelines which means some users would have to navigate to the specific page to see updates 
• Users must have their own Facebook account to access the platform
• Due to the public nature of social media, the librarian will need extensive knowledge on the district's social media posting policies as well as student release information if student faces are used in any pictures or videos 
• Advertisements are very prevalent on your personal timeline when browsing

While I have several Facebook accounts including my personal Facebook page, two groups for my small businesses, and a small business page, I've only just begun an account for my library journey. Follow me here: Teaching By The Books (My plan to change this over to my school's library Facebook page once I have met with my new principal and receive the green light!)

    

    Another social networking site available on the internet is Twitter. Like Facebook, Twitter can be used to receive news, connect with businesses, and stay in-touch with friends and family. This platform aims for simplicity and "highly skimmable" content, so text posts are limited to 140 characters. 

Advantages

• Creating an account is free
• There are thousands of Twitter users, so your potential audience is high
• Many celebrities use this platform as their go-to social media source
• Free from advertisements that can clog up feeds
• Limited message size (although this could be viewed as a disadvantage depending on the tweet)
• Links are easy to share
• Hashtags can be used strategically to attract new visitors

Disadvantages

• Videos cannot be uploaded
• Not as effective for sharing photos compared to other social media sites
• Many inactive and fake users 

    As you create your very own Twitter account, one of the first things you'll have to ask yourself is, "Who do I want to follow?" This can seem very overwhelming as you venture off into the Twitter world. Let me help ease the burden just a little by highlighting a few of the biggest names in educational technology today: 

Kathy Schrock (@kathyschrock)

    Kathy Schrock's Twitter biography states that she is an education technologist, presenter, adjunct instructor, influencer, and geek from Cape Cod, MA. A quick scan through her most recent tweets highlights new blog posts, TED talk videos, upcoming opportunities to hear her speak, and fun activities/websites such as Morsle (which I've already tried and become slightly addicted too). 

Linda Braun (@lbraun2000)

    Linda Braun is a learning consultant, educator, and teen advocate. Her Twitter feed consists predominantly of retweets or tweets that highlight other Twitter users. One downside of highlighting other Twitter users is that many accounts are not set to "public" which means users who do not follow those specific people are not able to see the post she is highlighting. I did appreciate her tweets and retweets where the news articles were easy to access, meaning that when I clicked the link she posted or shared, it took me right to the source. For example, her tweet below highlighted a very interesting article from The New York Times about how teens around the US have met life's challenges in the midst of a pandemic. Read the full article here. 

Alan November (@globalearner and @NLearning)

    The Globalearner account no longer shows any tweets, but the account is listed as the lead for November Learning which provides consulting services, workshops, and rich resources through a  Building Learning Communities Conference. This account has not been active in the tweeting world since August of 2019. Back when they were active, their tweets included articles about leadership, blogs on ways to inspire change, and other helpful tips for teachers such as the blog post by Bill Ferriter shown below. Read the full blog post here. 

The Daring Librarian (@GwynethJones)

    Gwyneth Jones, also known as The Daring Librarian, is probably my favorite person featured here. If you read my last blog post, I highlighted her blog among five of my favorite library-themed blogs, and I also follow her on Instagram (TheDaringLibrarian). Her tweets feature a variety of content including podcast showcases, upcoming books to read, favorite shows, important topics in the world of reading (i.e. banned books and censorship), student highlights, and other funny/relatable content. One tweet that really spoke to me and my personal experiences was a link to one of her blog posts titled "Dealing with Difficult People in the Workplace." I particularly liked the motivational memes and the tip on how to handle passive aggressive people. Check out the tweet itself below!

Jim Lerman (@jimlerman)

    According to Jim Lerman's Twitter profile, he is an architect of ideas and implementation - an educator, designer, author, speaker, and project director - based out of Greenwich Village, NYC. Many of his tweets offer practical tips for technology use such as photo editing, PDF annotators, Kindle tricks to improve reading, and Android shortcuts (just to name a few). He also has some fantastic literacy-based tweets like the novel list and writing strategy shown below. Check out the full novel list here. 

    

So what does this mean for my library?    

    Since Twitter is a platform I am not as familiar with, it would not be my go-to right away in terms of promoting my school library. However, the district I am moving to, Klein ISD, uses Twitter regularly - the district itself has a Twitter handle, the KISD Library program has a Twitter handle, every school has a Twitter handle, and most school libraries have a Twitter handle. That being said, I am definitely going to need to learn and become more comfortable with this social media platform. With this much use in the community, the value and benefit of having my school library on the platform is tremendous. Follow my new journey here: @Mrs_Sonnier. 

    Instagram is at the top of my list when it comes to social media platforms, especially for school library promotion. It is a free photo and video sharing platform with a highly visual component that catches the viewer's attention. Just like Facebook and Twitter, this platform provides users with a way to connect with friends and family, it also allows users to learn news stories, support businesses, and connect with like-minded individuals. 

    Instagram, as well as Facebook, has several different ways to share content including posts and stories. Posts are stored on your homepage for others to view as long as you do not delete them, while stories are only visible to others for 24 hours unless you save the story to your page's highlights. 

Advantages

• Posting content and engaging with other peoples' content is easy
• Share photos and videos
• Lots of filters available for photo editing
• Connect with others who have similar interests
• Free accounts
• Lots of options on stories including adding links, polls, questions, music, donations, and countdowns
• Posts from Instagram can also be shared to Facebook and Twitter
• Hashtags can be used strategically to attract new visitors

Disadvantages

• Best viewing platforms are iPhone and Android apps 
• All posts must be first tied to a photo or video
• Feeds can become clogged with advertisements, sponsored posts, and follow suggestions 
• Heavily trafficked for business purposes

    

What does my love of Instagram look like?

    I use Instagram daily. I have a personal account, two small business accounts, and an account chronicling my journey towards becoming a school librarian. At least one of these accounts receives an update from me each day, and I check all accounts for activity regularly. 

Teaching By The Books

    I snagged my Instagram username the day I was accepted into the MLS program at SHSU and have been documenting my journey, mainly through book reviews, ever since. I plan to transition this account into my library account to continue sharing book reviews, library lesson ideas, bulletin board displays, reading quotes, and more! 

    In addition to posting my own content, I follow lots of other teachers and school librarians on Instagram. Through these other accounts I have gathered fantastic ideas for teaching and learning including:

• Making books that haven't been checked out in a while appealing to students
• Creating infographic templates as bookmarks
• Using STEM activities in the library and classroom
• Connecting art with literacy
• Creating meaningful anchor charts 
• Using clay in makerspace activities
• Finding new books to feature (often tied to activities and freebies that can be used in the library and classroom)

Follow me on Instagram today!

Check out my highlights: Librarian Life, Puzzling, and Favorite Reading Quotes!

Find new book recommendations like this one!

What is my social media plan?

Use them all! If you start with an Instagram account and connect it to both a Facebook page and a Twitter handle, you can essentially post in one place but be seen on all three platforms! This is a win-win-win because you will be making yourself visible in more than one location, providing a better chance that your content will be viewed by those in your community and beyond :)