With the increase in virtual programming many people are in un charted territory when it comes to statistics and tracking. Libraries, while we love words, we thrive off numbers, and tracking social media/digital engagement is a bit more complicated than counting physical program attendance. While all social media platforms have the ability to track views, they are measured differently from platform to platform and some views are more of a pass by or a glance. Some things to be aware of:
Facebook and Instagram: a view is counted anytime someone watches your video for at least three seconds.
Twitter: a view counts if someone watches at least two seconds. Additionally, at least 50 percent of the tweeted video must be visible on screen to be registered as viewed. This rule is to account for the auto-play function.
YouTube: a view is counted anytime someone watches your video for at least 30 seconds.
At the PRL Coffee Break on April 29th, this topic was discussed and the general consensus that views as a whole were counted as success. It was even better when libraries saw growth in virtual attendance or had an interaction based off of what was posted on social media e.g. calls about curbside pickup after it was mentioned on social media.
Having this information, it is important that your library determines and documents “what is attendance” and “what is success” then uses that as a standard throughout your digital programming experience. This will keep your stats consistent, your staff and trustees on the same page, and give you a backbone when presenting engagement to stakeholders.
Some other helpful resource are:
https://superlibrarymarketing.com/
https://www.ebscohost.com/novelist-the-latest/blog-article/microtraining-were-not-closed-were-live