Presented at Multimedia and IT Group Conference 2015 One year ago the University of Edinburgh Library had a number of disparate social media accounts. Each account existing in its own world, with little or no coordination or consistency, and no clear message to Library users about who we were and what we offered. Not only do we now use social media far more regularly, our engagement with and attempts to coordinate this activity has created internal dialogues which have improved the way that we offer services.

1. Social Media collaboration:
influencing internal practices and
cohesion
Gavin Willshaw Stephanie (Charlie) Farley
Digital Curator Social Media Officer
@gwillshaw @SFarley_Charlie

3. http://images.is.ed.ac.uk/luna/servlet/s/k3n4l
8

4. Library statistics 2014/15

8. Information Services Organisational Chart

9. One library; two divisions

10. One service; several locations

11. Main Library: one building; several services

12. This complicated organisational and
geographical structure has created
significant challenges for the library to
provide a unified message to users.

13. For example, through social media
• Some social media presence
• Lopsided coverage
• Skewed perceptions for users
• Confusing and inconsistent messages

14. Example 1: CRC Twitter account
• Managed by a volunteer – no ownership
• Automatic blog feed
– Lots of content but often irrelevant
– Confusing messages
– Tweets not optimised
• For example…

15. Title should go here
Subtitle goes here

16. Example 2: Lack of coordination
• No joined-up approach across library
• CRC monthly Social Media report
• Dormant account ‘came back to life’
• No-one knew who was doing the
tweeting
• Transpired it was colleagues in another
division

19. To summarise…
• Lack of coherence gave unclear
messages to users
• Doing things for the sake of it
• Broadcast mentality
• No attempt to monitor statistics
• Highlighted lack of collaboration in other
areas

20. From Confusion to Cohesion
• Meet together.
• Do this regularly.
• Create a social media policy.
• Measure progress.
• Clearly define the purpose and audience
of each account.

21. @EdUniMainLibrary Promotes events in the Main Library,
Service updates, Service Hours, Practical information, fun
posts.

22. @CRC_EdUni Focuses on the special collections, archives
and museums.

23. @EdUniLibraries Promotes site library services, wider
library and information services, museum events, events
in Library and Museum locations.

25. Social Media Style or Voice
Think about what style or voice to use for
your social media accounts.
Using Twitter in university research, teaching and impact activities
by the London School of Economic-
http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/files/2011/11/Published-
Twitter_Guide_Sept_2011.pdf

26. Quick Wins
• Co-ordinate header images across media
and accounts.
• Co-ordinate naming conventions.
• Cross-linking accounts on each SM
platform.
• Sharing/liking/following across accounts
and platforms.

27. Approachable Customer Service
Collaborating allows us to respond quickly
and appropriately to a wider range of
queries.
Sometimes it’s great just to make contact
and create a conversation.

28. Example 1

29. Example 2

30. Example 3

31. Coordinating Communications
Working together with a clear
understanding of our accounts we are now
able to coordinate communications for
large events.
E.g. Upgrading to a new Library
Management System, or promoting
exhibitions and events.

32. Improving Internal Communications
http://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk
Aggregates posts from 40 individual
Library blogs.
Each blog is maintained by its site, project,
or team, and can be viewed individually.

33. http://libraryblogs.is.ed.ac.uk

34. The blog aggregate was created to
communicate to an external public. What
we found was that this was actually an
excellent tool to improve internal
communication.
One of our remote sites, the Library
Annexe, uses their blog to connect with
colleagues and staff.

36. The Annexe Factor
•Promotes who they are, what they do.
•Blogs to build relationships with other
Library sites.
•Shares behind the scenes project and
work.
•Are talented Halloween pumpkin carvers.

38. SM as Staff Development Tool
• Staff can choose to attend ‘Writing for
the Web’ training.
• Encouraged to participate.
• Thinking about the service from a
different angle.

39. Influencing other forms of
communication
We are now working to improve the
coordination and consistency of wider
communications in other formats.
This has also opened up conversations
about identity issues and identifying
ourselves as a service.

40. Library identities

41. Joining a wider conversation
http://bit.ly/1zTxAvQ

42. Conclusion
We’ve only just begun. There are areas
we’re still working to improve, and actions
that have been identified to ensure our
communications continue to meet the
needs of our internal and external users.

43. Discussion
• Has the use of social media improved internal
communication in your institution? If not, could it?
• Do you have a consistent approach / brand across all
your promotional and communication materials /
accounts?
• Have you used social media as a staff development
tool? If not, could you?