Information Marketing Through Social Media During Covid-19: A Study On A Public University Library In Bangladesh

Purpose: The main objective of the paper is to investigate the status of using Social Media for information marketing during COVID-19 at Dhaka University Library (DUL), Bangladesh. More specifically the study aims are to identify the user’s tendency of using Social Media; explore the purposes of library professionals and library users of using Social Media; observe user’s satisfaction about existing Social Media tools at DUL; identify the obstacles about the usage of Social Media during COVID-19 and finally determine the parameters based on respondents view to develop information marketing plan by using Social Media tools. Design/methodology/approach: For understanding the present status and usage of Social Media during COVID-19 at DUL, a quantitative survey was carried out. Two well-structured questionnaire were administered to collect data both from library professionals and library users of DUL. About 35 library professionals and 115 library users participated in the responses of the survey. Respondents delivered their answers through Google Forms and Email. The study also used both secondary and primary data. The secondary data was collected from journal articles, research reports, websites, etc. and for the primary data survey and observation were used. SPSS and MS Excel had been used to analyze data. Findings: Findings revealed that during COVID-19 pandemic DUL has provided online services through different Social Media tools. Face book is mostly used in DUL. Findings also showed 62.80% library professionals of DUL were acutely aware, 28.60% were aware and 8.60% were not totally aware about Social Media tools. On the other hand, 84.3% library users of DUL have tendency of using Social Media tools. Majority of the students use Social Media for academic purposes. 58.3% respondents use Social Media daily. In contrast, the highest numbers of the respondents 34.9% were dissatisfied and the lowest numbers of the responds 6.9% were highly satisfied about the existing Social Media tools at DUL. There were several challenges faced by library professionals and users in using Social Media. Finally, both library professional and users provided some essential ideas and views to develop information marketing system in DUL through Social Media. Research limitations: This research was confined to only the Dhaka University Library. The size of the sample had limited the scope of the study. Originality/value: The consequence of this study is unique in nature. This paper will encourage other academic libraries to take proper initiatives to practice Social Media for better services to users during COVID-19 pandemic as well as many suitable recommendations obtained from the study that would be helpful to intensify library services to its users