Lincoln Trail Libraries System has officially
stepped into the world of MySpace by creating a page on December 20,
2006. MySpace
is just one of many social networking products available to users. These
types of products allow users to create profiles about themselves
that can then be searched by other users using a variety of criteria,
including interests and schools attended. You might be wondering
why we (or any library) would do this. In the end, there was
one main reason for joining—marketing.
By using MySpace, or any of the other social
networking products, we and other libraries can reach out to new
users, connect with potential donors, and promote our programs to
a wider audience. And, the best thing is that it doesn’t cost a penny. A
few minutes is all it takes to set up the basics of a MySpace account
and profile and then a few minutes each day to check activity and
interact with other users.
Reach out to New Users
One of the benefits that is the easiest to track is tapping into
new users. As of this writing, there are over 142 million
users on MySpace—that’s 142 million potential new friends
that could become part of your circle. As a registered user,
you can add friends and also track the number of views to your profile. You
can then look at what your friends are interested in and develop
programs that they might enjoy. Or, you can get them involved
in the process and solicit suggestions directly.
Connect with Potential Donors
MySpace isn’t just for teenagers—many adults use MySpace
for a variety of reasons, including connecting with people from their
past. Wouldn’t it be nice for a former resident of your
user population to find your MySpace page?
Promote Programs to a Wider Audience
It’s a generally accepted rule in the world of marketing that
the more you put your name and product out in front of the public
in positive ways, the wider your reach will be with your audience. By
using MySpace to promote your programs, you are tapping into an
audience that you might not have reached in other formats.
Conversely, you can also promote your programs
to a very specific audience by using bulletins to those on your
friends list. Many
recording artists use the bulletins to promote special events exclusively
to those on their friends list.
Check us out and add us as a friend. You
can find us at http://www.myspace.com/lincolntraillibraries.
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