Social media profiles at MIT Libraries

The Marketing and Communications Officer oversees all use of social media for the MIT Libraries.

Policies and best practices

When we post to social media outlets on behalf of the MIT Libraries, our postings represent the Libraries’ brand/identity, as well as the larger MIT brand. With this in mind, we follow MIT's social media guides for MIT communicators.

We also use the following best practices in our social media posts and interactions. We strive to:

Be friendly and approachable, informative and entertaining

• Use a tone that is upbeat and personable. See below for more information about the Libraries’ voice on social media.
• Use the first person plural “we” when speaking for the Libraries 
• Avoid using library jargon
• Post content that is useful to the MIT community and beyond
• In general, using animated gifs is encouraged; as always, make sure it is tone-appropriate and consider the original source (feel free to use MIT’s giphy page)

Be a good neighbor

• Re-tweet, re-gram, and like posts by fellow MIT accounts 

• Be an active participant in the MIT community—stay aware of current MIT events and initiatives, and find ways to join the conversation. 

• Be an active participant in the greater academic library community.
  Give credit to ideas and content from others.

Be helpful, responsive, and transparent

• Respond promptly and thoughtfully to any questions (that are not spam).
•  Let people know we do not answer reference questions via social media and refer MIT community members to Ask Us.
•  If we get questions that aren’t quickly answerable, say “thanks for your question; we’ll check on it and get right back to you…” and check with an appropriate Libraries contact (Ask Us, Archives, web team, etc.)
•  Acknowledge legitimate criticisms and provide clarification, admit responsibility, or express regret as necessary. Make sure you know all the facts before responding.
•  Don’t engage if a comment is threatening, harassing, or obscene. On FB, you can hide comments if necessary. If you are truly concerned that someone poses a threat, alert Libraries leadership and MIT Police.

Be timely

• Experiment with posting at different times of day, other than 9-5 on weekdays

• Cover weekends and holidays with at least one scheduled tweet/post a day.

• In most cases, promote events a week or two before the event, and remind again one or two days before. Keep in mind that events requiring registration (such as IAP sessions) may fill up. Check the registration page before promoting an event that is full.

Be thoughtful and judicious with potentially sensitive content

• Be mindful of the diversity of our audience and sensitive to a wide range of views

• Engage with topics around diversity, inclusion, and social justice, but do so thoughtfully. Make sure our messages are in keeping with the Libraries’ mission/vision/values and general tone of all official communications from the Libraries.

• When responding to controversial topics or current events, it is good practice to look to communications from the President’s Office or the MIT News Office.

• Feel free to use quotes from President Reif or the Libraries’ mission/vision/values when speaking to these topics.

• Be conscious of previously scheduled posts when news breaks or tragic events happen -- the tone or content might not be appropriate in light of what’s happening.

What/how to post

The Libraries’ voice

Engaged, friendly, irreverent, caring, approachable, pithy, sassy, down-to-earth, fun, knowledgeable, helpful, collegial, goofy/nerdy, open, human, supportive, relevant, welcoming, balanced (academic and fun, work/life), global/part of a bigger conversation

Should I Post It?

• Does it reflect our brand?
• Does it reflect the unique culture of MIT? Does it make people feel connected to the campus? (nostalgia, hacks, campus vistas, history of MIT, Archives, quirkiness)
• Does it reflect our values (of MIT and/or librarianship)?
• Does it tap into current events/the zeitgeist, but in a way that makes sense for us? (Women’s March, yes; Lady Doritos, no)

Include:

• Balance of services, tangible stuff, spaces, smart people
• Community wellness, mind/hand/heart, supportive (connects with values and brand)
• Useful stuff: tips, tools, services
• Behind-the-scenes, the people of MIT/MIT Libraries, humanity

Images

Whenever possible, include a photo/image in your Twitter or PB post (unless a link already has a preview image)

• iPhone photo tips
• Instagram photo tips and tricks

How staff can contribute: Send your ideas!

The social media team encourages creative input from all Libraries’ departments and staff. If you'd like to have something posted through any of the social media platforms, email the team at socialmedia-lib@mit.edu. Submitting an idea does not guarantee it will be shared. Photos must be in focus. 

If you have already submitted a marketing request form to promote an event or service and checked the "social media posts" box, please do not submit an additional request via email to the social media team. 

We encourage submissions such as:

• Unique photos of library spaces (see these photo taking tips)
• Suggestions for an ongoing series (e.g. #BookFaceFriday on Instagram) 
• Interesting, little-known facts about MIT history or Libraries collections, especially as they relate to current events, milestones, or anniversaries
• Positive feedback from a library user (quoted with their permission)
• Behind-the-scenes glimpses of life at the Libraries