Beyond “Likes”. An assessment of user engagement in Facebook among Philippine academic libraries
| DOI | https://doi.org/10.1108/LM-12-2016-0100 |
| Date | 08 January 2018 |
| Published date | 08 January 2018 |
| Pages | 59-65 |
| Author | Janice Peñaflor |
| Subject Matter | Library & information science,Librarianship/library management,HR in libraries,Library strategy,Library promotion |
Beyond “Likes”
An assessment of user engagement in
Facebook among Philippine academic libraries
Janice Peñaflor
De La Salle University, Manila, Philippines
Abstract
Purpose –The purpose of this paper is to examine the performance of the academic libraries’Facebook
pages in relation to the type of content they provide and the user engagement they generate.
Design/methodology/approach –Facebook pages of ten university libraries in the Philippines were
analyzed for their posts and user interaction to look at their effectiveness in driving engagement with their
target audience.
Findings –This study reveals that engagement is low for majority of libraries. For the most part, frequency
of posts is directly proportional to the engagement rate. Photo posts and events-related posts account for the
bulk of status posts and gather a higher level of interaction than any other type of postings. Status posts that
are non-library related are also receiving a considerable engagement rate.
Research limitations/implications –Because of the absence of the Facebook Insights data, only the
information publicly available from the Facebook pages of the libraries were utilized for this study.
The findings of this research will help libraries to effectively create a plan of action to further build
community and increase interaction in their Facebook sites. The results may also provide useful data for best
practices and establish benchmark by which other libraries could evaluate their own performance.
Originality/value –While majority of the studies conducted analyze the type content posted by libraries in
their Facebook pages, this study provides further investigation by looking at the engagement level generated
by these posts as a primary gauge for determining the effectiveness of the libraries in creating engagement
amongst their audience.
Keywords Academic libraries, Social media, Facebook, Philippines, User interaction,
Social networking sites (SNS)
Paper type Research paper
Introduction
Social media has provided libraries with new avenues to connect with their users and
promote library resources and services beyond the library walls. While there is a wide
range of platforms to choose from, Facebook remains to be the one most commonly
adopted by libraries as an outreach and promotional tool. Academic libraries in the
Philippines are also increasingly leveraging Facebook to establish their online presence
and market the library’s services and resources to increase usage. But regardless of the
objectives of employing social media sites like Facebook, it is essential that libraries
measure their engagement level in order to get the general overview of how they are doing
in terms of driving user interaction.
Engagement is the primary goal of Facebook marketers and accounts for a variety of
ways the social audience can interact with the posts. Engagement rate measures the user
interaction with the content posted and could provide a significant data about the type of
content or post that are performing well. Similarly, engagement reveals information about
the audience as it helps identify the type of content the audience find particularly interesting
(Smitha, 2013). In this way, libraries will be able to tailor content to their target audience.
The majority of existing literature deals with the use and application of Facebook in
libraries and in analyzing the type of content posted by libraries in their Facebook pages.
Studies that investigate on effectiveness of libraries in utilizing Facebook are still very few
especially in the local setting. This study takes a closer look at the engagement level
generated by the libraries’Facebook posts as a primary gauge of determining the
Library Management
Vol. 39 No. 1/2, 2018
pp. 59-65
© Emerald PublishingLimited
0143-5124
DOI 10.1108/LM-12-2016-0100
Received 20 December 2016
Revised 11 April 2017
Accepted 13 April 2017
The current issue and full text archive of this journal is available on Emerald Insight at:
www.emeraldinsight.com/0143-5124.htm
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User
engagement
in Facebook
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