Social Media Engagement Across Public Libraries in Monroe County: A Webometric Study

Abstract

Social media has continued to develop and change rapidly since its inception. In order to best meet the information needs of users and gather as much visibility as possible, new platforms have been created and older platforms have been updated to improve usage. Because of these changes, engagement with newer, yet highly popular social media platforms such as TikTok has not been studied as widely as more traditional platforms such as Facebook. Additionally, post formats, character limits, and post content can vary greatly by platform. Comparing multiple social media platforms in this study allowed for a wider view of how users engage with public libraries on different social media platforms. The purpose of this webometric analysis is to evaluate social engagement across TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook social media accounts at public libraries in Monroe County in Western New York by categorizing post content and measuring engagement through reactions or likes, shares, and comments.