Using Twitter as a way to share information about an organisation has become a commonplace thing in the 21st century. How each organisation goes about managing their Twitter feeds is very different. This can be seen when comparing the National Archives of Australia (@naagovau) and the American Library and Information Association (@ALALibrary).
Looking back at the last few weeks, the National Archives posts multiple times a day, with almost every tweet accompanied by a photo from the archives. The photos include scenery, landmarks, famous events that happened #onthisday, drawings and so much more. They primarily focus on things that happened in Australia which suggests they are trying to appeal to somewhat older generations who remember the specific events, or similar events. However, they could also be trying to appeal to younger generations who want to compare life in the past to now. While the National Archives does not often retweet other organisations, they have retweeted libraries and other record offices.
Similarly to the National Archives, the American Library Association posts multiple times each day, however, the content of the posts is vastly different. Features of recent tweets have been advertisements for their upcoming conference and exhibition. Interspersed between these promotional tweets, there have been messages advertising ALA merchandise and useful tools for National Library Week. Prior to these tweets, the ALA retweeted other libraries who had guest speakers or hosted events. These tweets are aimed primarily at an audience of librarians who would find both the conference and the Library week tools useful and be able to use the events for ideas.
The success of the organisations themselves and of the tweets posted and retweeted by both can be looked at through the number of followers and the number likes, comments or retweets for each tweet. The National Archives has 23 thousand followers, while the American Library Association has over 200 thousand. While the difference in follower numbers has to be viewed critically given the difference in populations between the two countries, one should also take into account that as the Archives are not posting about real time and current events, the people to whom it appeals is quite different. When looking at the retweets, comments and likes, the American Library Association has more of each with approximately 20-30 retweets per tweet, compared to the National Archives 1-5. Similarly, the ALA have significantly more likes than the National Archives, which could be attributed to difference in follower numbers.
When determining if each organisation has been successful, it can be said that they are each successful in their own way. The National Archives are successful with sharing their work with Australians. It allows the followers to see the types of documents that are stored within the archives and are being digitised. The American Library Association is successful in sharing library-related news with librarians and library users in America (and the world).
References
National Archives of Australia [@naagovau]. Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved 15 March, 2021, from https://twitter.com/naagovau
The American Library Association [@ALALibrary]. Tweets [Twitter profile]. Twitter. Retrieved 15 March, 2021, from https://twitter.com/ALALibrary
This is an interesting analysis and comparison of these two Twitter pages. I like the perspective of a national and international information organisation and the similarities and variables to their tweets. I agree that they are both successful in promoting themselves and their services in their own way. Thanks for posting.
Thanks Michelle!
I didn’t really consider the fact that the two were so different when I started writing. And now, I find it interesting that even though the two organisations were quite different in their primary purpose, size, and location they still shared similar content. I think the main differences between the content shared could be expected given the intended audiences and sizes.
Thanks for reading 🙂
I think you’ve highlighted the main advantage of Twitter well – that it allows for a constant stream of pocket information about all things pertaining to, in this case, libraries/archives. Retweets effectively link organisations together. Of course the great benefit in using Twitter is the brevity of the information means delivering the relevant basics without risking ‘information overload’ therefore promoting engagement.
Very well worded Denise! I completely agree. The character limit of each tweet really helps to prevent the information overload. I’ve tried to have students summarise a lesson in a ‘tweet’ and they all really struggle to limit it to the characters!