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PRA: Social Media

Social Media Basics

Social Media at the MVC Library will serve the following goals:

  1. Raise awareness for the available library services
  2. Improve public perception on Library as a community-building, gathering place for students
  3. Drive traffic to the Library website

Please keep these goals in mind as you build your content. You will be required to submit your posts one week in advance, listing the dates, pics, and captions. You should have at least 4-5 posts per week each for our various platforms (Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat; content can overlap). Carrie will review and edit/approve before you can schedule the post.

In light of our goals, we'd like you to consider the following variety of posts:

  • 1/3 of your updates are about the library (new materials, services, events, etc.)
  • 1/3 of your updates are for sharing content from others and surfacing ideas (tips, quotes, articles, tutorial links, etc.)
  • 1/3 of your updates are based on personal interactions (candid photos, staff bios, etc.)

Infographic on best times to schedule posts:

 

Photo Composition:

It’s important that your photo feed looks great, because that’s what people will look at when they make a decision about following you. If you post boring photos, silly text screenshots, or what you ate for lunch today, the chances are that many people don’t want to see that on their Instagram feed. Remember that quality is more important than quantity.

Learn how to take better iPhone photos by practicing creating photos with good composition that will catch the viewer’s eye. Check out our great video tutorial that will teach you 7 Simple Tricks For Using Light To Create Beautiful iPhone Photos.

Canva Tutorials:

  • Using Canva grids: https://www.canva.com/design/DAA7XyqmXto/remix?minichallenge
  • Enhancing images: https://www.canva.com/design/DAA7XBQmJ8o/remix?minichallenge
  • Enhancing photos with filters: https://www.canva.com/design/DAAoCL_bkec/remix?minichallenge
  • Design for social media: https://www.canva.com/design/DAA70DmbeCU/remix?minichallenge
  • Tweak these designs: https://www.canva.com/design/DAA7pZgEPuk/remix?minichallenge

Ways to Increase Followers:

  1. The best way to get someone’s attention on Instagram is to leave a nice and thoughtful comment on one of their photos. Don’t just say “nice” or “great photo.” Say something thoughtful or explain why you like that photo. When you leave a comment like that, the person will usually be happy to also check out your photos and potentially follow you. Never ask people you don’t know to follow you – this will only annoy them. But if you leave a nice and thoughtful comment about one of their photos – and if your Instagram feed looks great – many of them will be happy to follow you back.
    1.  To find photos to comment on, search for a hashtag that relates to the focus of the library, and leave comments whenever you have something to say about the photos that appear in that hashtag.
  2. To get followed, you must first be a good follower. Finding and following accounts of real people and businesses who are relevant to our Library can build a necessary base. Make good connections. Don't just follow people for a follow. Make connections worthwhile to protect your image as a caring community. 
    1. Check out key influencers (like the @msjc social media) and interact with their followers through comments. 
    2. “Best People to Follow on…” lists. Search for published lists of recommended accounts to follow for libraries. 
    3. Groups and communities. Join groups and communities on Facebook and other networks that have them, and watch for those who consistently make valuable contributions. Follow them, and they will probably lead you to other good people to follow as well as good content to share. 
  3. When your followers leave comments and start discussions with you, make sure you always respond. Even a simple gesture like saying “thanks” for positive comments will make your followers happy and engaged.
  4. If you want people to follow and share what you publish, you need to publish content worth sharing.
  5. You should also stay connected with your existing followers. Watch your feed, ‘Like’ photos from those you are following, leave meaningful feedback and thank people who have left comments on your photos.
  6. Use hashtags, especially those that are trending. Instagram users tend to completely forget about hashtags, as though they were only invented for Twitter. However, hashtags are used an awful lot on Instagram in order to add your images to a category... So use them!
  7. Promote our social media on flyers or in conversations with students. 
  1. Academic Library Social Media, things to consider: https://wiki.commons.gc.cuny.edu/best_practices_in_social_media_for_academic_libraries/
  2. Marketing a Academic library: https://crln.acrl.org/index.php/crlnews/article/view/8302/8392​
  3. Weekly post ideas: http://yalsa.ala.org/blog/2017/02/23/12-insta-easy-instagram-library-literacy-promotion-ideas/
  4. Hashtag ideas: http://librarylinknj.tumblr.com/post/168049004999/library-hashtags (also a good way to get more ideas and like-minded followers)
  5. Library Contests: https://mrlibrarydude.wordpress.com/2011/04/05/game-on-social-media-ideas-prizes-for-libraries/
  6. Social Media Strategies: https://libraryconnect.elsevier.com/articles/how-find-and-create-social-media-content-your-library

Branding Guidelines: 

Photos:

If you are taking your own photos or hiring a photographer, the subjects in the photos must sign photo release forms before the photo can be used in promotional materials, print, web, etc. The photo release form can be found on the P Drive at P:\Departments\Public Info-Mktg Please review the Brand Positioning Workshop document for the style of photos used at MSJC. The document can be found at: http://www.msjc.edu/PublicInformationOffice/Documents/MSJCbranding102308.pdf

Communications:

General communications style Mt. San Jacinto College follows the writing and communications style recommended by the California Community Colleges Chancellor’s Office in its Chancellor’s Office Style Guide. The Chancellor’s office provides The Crisp & Clear Communications E-Column to help with writing and producing brochures, advertising and more. Click on this link for more information: http://www.msjc.edu/PublicInformationOffice/Documents/ChancOffcEcolumn.pdf 

MSJC Logo

Mt. San Jacinto College has a board-approved logo to represent the college as a district. All versions of the MSJC logo can be found on the P Drive or by clicking here: www.msjc.edu/PublicInformationOffice/Pages/Logo.aspx The logo types must be used “as is.” They cannot be modified. The logo must be present on the bottom portion of the front of a document. On the MSJC web site, the logo appears on the top right and appears on every page. This would be applied to any flyer presented on social media. 

College Name & Acronym

The legal name of the college is the Mt. San Jacinto Community College District. It is also proper, and more colloquial, to use: Mt. San Jacinto College. DO NOT use “Mount,” or any other variation, as it is not interchangeable with Mt. The acronym for the college is MSJC, which stands for Mt. San Jacinto College. DO NOT use MSJCC or MSJCCD or any other variation. The proper names of the MSJC locations are: Menifee Valley Campus, San Gorgonio Pass Campus, San Jacinto Campus, Temecula Education Complex

Color Palette

MSJC’s official college colors are a specific red and black using the Pantone Matching System, or PMS. Our red is PMS 1805c and black is Pantone Process Black. The supporting colors in the palette can be used in varying combinations for all advertising and marketing materials on the web and in print. These colors should be used to enhance graphic elements, spot typography and photo enhancement. Together, these colors help promote the personality of MSJC, as determined by the participants in the 2008 branding workshops. Each of these colors work together to accurately represent “the feel” of MSJC. Vendors may ask for the CMYK or RGB color codes to match the Pantone color depending on the output media. 

Pantone #1805 (Red)

Pantone Process Black 100% (Black)

Pantone Process Black 30% (Gray)

To match Pantone #1805 (Red) for RGB or CMYK color codes:

R175 G38 B36

c0 m91 y100 k23

 

Link to Branding Guidelines: https://www.msjc.edu/PublicInformationOffice/Documents/MSJC-BrandingGuide2012.pdf 

MVC Library Best Practices

  • Make titles and messages brief, but add value: Post content that will be useful, interesting, or engaging to your audience. Don’t just post several links to other items.
  • Before posting, check facts, cite sources, and check spelling and grammar. Do not use copyrighted photos and/or images.
  • Post regularly. Simply having a presence isn't enough — you need to populate the site with good content. We recommend a maximum of one post per day on weekdays (ie: up to five posts per week).
  • Ask questions in your posts. Don't just talk at your readers — engage them. Ask questions in some of your posts and see what kind of response you get via comments from fans. 
  • Monitor your page, and keep up with the conversation. Regularly read all the posts on your page, including those posted by others. Sometimes, students will ask important questions via social media rather than phone or email. Make sure to find these questions and answer them directly on the page.
  • Don’t use all upper case letters when writing. This is considered shouting.
  • Protect confidential and proprietary information. Social computing blurs lines between internal and external communications. Sensitive information must never be posted. 
  • Don't censor negative comments. You may see students or community members post negative comments from time to time. Notify the Librarian who will reply officially and respectfully, or simply ignore the comment.
  • Report potentially illegal content to the Librarian.

Guidelines on Posts by the Library

The Library will not post items or comments that are obscene, racist, derogatory, or similarly objectionable in their content:

  • Personal attacks, insults, or threatening language
  • Potentially libelous statements
  • Plagiarized copyrighted material
  • Commercial promotions or spam

If an image is posted, and is not owned by MSJC or the Library, the image will link directly back to the original site. If the image is not from a website, then permission will be requested from the copyright holder before the image is posted.

“Friending/Following” – Who Does the Library Follow and Why?

The Library’s social media presence is open for interaction with all members of the public. The Library will accept links, followers or “friends” from everyone except:

  • Users who have violated the site’s policies
  • Users who post any inflammatory, offensive, or exploitative materials

The Library will “follow back” any fans or followers that are:

  • Official  MSJC-identified sites
  • Library or academic-related
  • Non-commercial in nature
  • Of possible interest to the MSJC Library or community