Likes, Comments, Views: A Content Analysis of Academic Library Instagram Posts

• Published in: Information technology and libraries 2020-09, Vol.39 (3)
• Main Authors: Doney, Jylisa, Wikle, Olivia, Martinez, Jessica
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Academic libraries; Analysis; Crowdsourcing; Education grants; Social media; Social networks; University and college libraries
• ISSN: 0730-9295; 2163-5226
• DOI: 10.6017/ital.v39i3.12211

This article presents a content analysis of academic library Instagram accounts at eleven land-grant universities. Previous research has examined personal, corporate, and university use of Instagram, but fewer studies have used this methodology to examine how academic libraries share content on this platform and the engagement generated by different categories of posts. Findings indicate that showcasing posts (highlighting library or campus resources) accounted for more than 50 percent of posts shared, while a much smaller percentage of posts reflected humanizing content (emphasizing warmth or humor) or crowdsourcing content (encouraging user feedback). Crowdsourcing posts generated the most likes on average, followed closely by orienting posts (situating the library within the campus community), while a larger proportion of crowdsourcing posts, compared to other post categories, included comments. The results of this study indicate that libraries should seek to create Instagram posts that include various types of content while also ensuring that the content shared reflects their unique campus contexts. By sharing a framework for analyzing library Instagram content, this article will provide libraries with the tools they need to more effectively identify the types of content their users respond to and enjoy as well as make their social media marketing on Instagram more impactful.