Can you Measure a Meme? The Math Behind Library Likes (Lauren Fowler Blog Post 8)


Let’s be honest—when your library’s Facebook post gets five likes (and three out of five likes are from you and your coworkers), do you feel personally attacked? We all love a viral moment, but as Dr. Sun reminded us this week, numbers don’t mean much without context. Welcome one and all to the surprisingly unglamourous world of social media metrics! Here, the difference between success and static depends on what you’re actually measuring.

This week, Dr. Sun’s lecture introduced to the DATA model—Define, Assess, Track, and Adjust—which basically asks us to stop counting likes for the sake of likes. Before the bragging about “engagement” starts, we have to Define our goals (are we trying to increase attendance? Build awareness? Inspire action?), Assess whether its worth the effort, Track the data that actually matters, and Adjust based on what we find.

Sounds simple enough, until you realize engagement is one of those fuzzy words that can range in meaning from clicking a link to crying in the comments section. That’s where Fan and Gordon (2014) deliver their own take: the CUP framework—Capture, Understand, Present. They argue analytics should move from:

C – Gathering data, to

U – interpreting what it means, to

P – sharing it meaningfully.

It’s less “count every click” and more “what story are these clicks telling us?”

Take a public library campaign promoting a new Library of Things. Sure, the post might get 200 likes, but if your objective was to increase checkouts, that metric means nothing unless your data (and your cup, haha) runneth over with actual circulation stats.

It was eye-opening to discover the real lesson here: success in social media is not about going viral, but going valuable. The next time you chase the algorithm, remember that what really matters for an information organization is clear goals, useful data, and stories that show your impact!

Question for readers: When posting content not promoting something specific, rather highlighting a staff member's achievements or listing a "what we're reading" story, do numbers really capture what makes a library’s social media meaningful?


--Lauren Fowler

References

Fan, W., & Gordon, M. D. (2014). The power of social media analytics. Communications of the ACM, 57(6), 74–81. https://doi.org/10.1145/2602574

Sun, Y. (2025). Social media metrics [Lecture video]. LIS 558: Social Media for Information Professionals, University at Buffalo.

Comments

  1. MsIvelisseOctober 24, 2025 at 11:11 AM

    I love your point about “going valuable, not viral”. It’s so easy to get caught up in likes and shares without thinking about what those numbers actually mean. The DATA and CUP frameworks make so much sense for libraries, where impact isn’t just clicks but real-world engagement like visits, checkouts, or community connections.

    To your question, I think posts highlighting staff or sharing what librarians are reading might not get huge numbers, but they build trust and personality over time. Those kinds of posts show the human side of the library, which can be just as valuable as promoting programs. Sometimes the best impact isn’t measurable, it’s how people feel about the library afterward.

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