Library collections promotion for preadolescents using social media marketing strategies

Abstract

PurposeThis study aims to explore preadolescents' opinions of the social media marketing strategies hosted by libraries to promote collections.Design/methodology/approachAn experimental Facebook page was created with posts containing interesting animations, games and book recommendations. A questionnaire survey was administered to 262 preadolescents between 11 and 13 years old to seek their opinions about the posts, and confirmatory factor analysis was used to measure their acceptance of the marketing strategies.FindingsThe authors examined the effects of five marketing strategies: word-of-mouth marketing, buzz marketing, event marketing, viral marketing and gamification marketing. In terms of sharing, word-of-mouth marketing proved the most popular, followed by buzz marketing. Participants were least accepting of viral marketing. The authors found that gamification marketing resulted in higher engagement than did event marketing. The preadolescent participants preferred engagement marketing strategies over information sharing strategies.Originality/valueAccording to the uses and gratification theory, preadolescents seek, share and engage with information in ways that differ from other age groups. With specific reference to hedonic engagement by preadolescents, the authors built a two-fold model to describe the information-seeking behaviors of preadolescents from the perspective of marketing strategies. The study findings indicate that librarians who use Facebook to promote library collections should first employ gamification and word-of-mouth marketing to build trust with preadolescent users. Event and buzz marketing will then be more effective when applied within the context of this trust.

Editorial: 40th anniversary: contemporary library research

“…Al-Aufi et al (2022) investigated and developed a model to check for the effectiveness of crowdsourcing through social media in improving information services. Wu and Yang (2022) studied how to use social media marketing strategies to promote library collections for preadolescents. They used a Facebook page to experiment and investigate the effects of word-of-mouth marketing, buzz marketing, event marketing, viral marketing and gamification marketing.…”

Instagram for student learning and library promotions: a quantitative study using the 5E Instructional Model

“…These approaches to using Instagram are viable for increasing user engagement and fulfilling HKUL's aim to support teaching and learning at HKU, which was found to be effective using Facebook and other social media (Dong et al, 2021). Further, this approach aligns with Wu and Yang's (2021) finding that the younger generation tends to accept gamification marketing, resulting in higher engagement than event marketing and information sharing strategies for collections promotion. Further, HKUL can recruit student interns and young volunteers to manage or even lead their social network communities not just for human resources concerns but also to bridge the generation gap with the students (Gazit, 2021;Fong et al, 2020).…”

Editorial: Advances in information and knowledge management

“…Readers may also be interested in reading further into e-trust issues on social media (Nabi et al ., 2023; Wang et al ., 2021; Wang and Tse, 2022; Ye and Ho, 2023; Yuan and Bi, 2023; Zhang et al ., 2023a, b, c), contact-tracing apps (Ho et al ., 2023a, b) and chatbots (Hsiao and Chen, 2022). Besides, readers may be interested in issues related to library promotion and marketing (Chan et al ., 2020; Cheng et al ., 2020; Fong et al ., 2020; Kwan et al ., 2023; Lam et al ., 2019, 2023; Liu et al ., 2023; Sahli et al ., 2023; Wójcik, 2022; Wu and Yang, 2022).…”

“…e-trust issues on social media (Nabi et al, 2023;Wang et al, 2021;Wang and Tse, 2022;Ye and Ho, 2023;Yuan and Bi, 2023;Zhang et al, 2023a, b, c), contact-tracing apps (Ho et al, 2023a, b) and chatbots (Hsiao and Chen, 2022). Besides, readers may be interested in issues related to library promotion and marketing (Chan et al, 2020;Cheng et al, 2020;Fong et al, 2020;Kwan et al, 2023;Lam et al, 2019Lam et al, , 2023Liu et al, 2023;Sahli et al, 2023;W ojcik, 2022;Wu and Yang, 2022). Mandel et al (2023) analyzed geographic information systems (GIS) research in two databases, Library and Information Science Source (LISS) and Library Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), and found growth in the last decade for library research using GIS to analyze service areas and to manage facilities and collections.…”