Social media is an ever-changing landscape and it can be overwhelming for library staff to stay on top of the best practices for each network while also creating original content. We’d like to take some of the stress away by creating this list of resources to give you the most up to date information, all in one place as we start a new year. Feel free to refer back to this guide if you ever have a question about when to post, what size your graphic should be, or how to plan the month ahead.

Consistency is key, but how do you know when to consistently post? Check out this breakdown of the best days and times to post on each platform.

The Best Times to Post on Social via Social Media Today

Stuck on content? There are calendars that autofill national holidays and ‘social media’ holidays like National Trivia Day that can serve as inspiration for what to post. Most calendars are free to download and can help your library plan ahead to see what’s coming up and how you can create a post that stands out.

Map Out Your Strategy with This Social Media Holiday Planner for 2023 via Social Media Today

Not every library has a graphic designer available for social media marketing so it’s nice to have a cheat sheet like this one when you’re making graphics on the fly. This list breaks down what size specifications there are for each network, a detail that seems to be changing constantly. Free image creation services like Canva have pre-sized templates labeled by social media channel, which can also be helpful. Either way, when you’re creating images, you want them to be sized correctly so there is no pixelation!

2023 Social Media Image Sizes for All Networks via Hootsuite

In the event that you’re recalibrating your library’s social media plan for the new year, you might want to revisit the general statistics of each app. This way you can get a snapshot of the user demographic and frequency of use to be sure you’re reaching your target audience.

11 Best Social Media Apps for Marketers in 2023 via Hootsuite

Along the same lines, if you’d like to look at what other organizations and industries are doing in social media, it might be beneficial to see their metrics reports as a benchmark. This will allow you to better analyze your social media data and measure up how you’re performing compared to others on these networks. It’s always good to get the full picture when planning your strategy for the year.

Social Media Benchmarks by Industry in 2023 via SproutSocial

Don’t forget to bookmark this page and feel free to refer back to it throughout the year if you ever need a little more guidance with your library’s evolving social media plan.