LOL @ HCL

Harvard College Library is going online!

Find out more about this electronic enterprise after the jump.

According to an article posted in the news section of the Harvard College Library website, HCL placed an ad on Facebook to publicize last month's Freshman Open House at Lamont. The ad portrayed a crimson shield with an "H" on it next to the text "LOL @ FOH."

The posting proudly proclaims that of the 160,000 times the ad was viewed, it was clicked on by 163 people. In case we don't feel up to doing the math, HCL lets us know that this transfers to a click through rate of 0.10 percent. The library views the ad as a success, citing 0.04 percent as the click-through rate "that is typically considered successful in direct mail and online" and calling it "'a highly efficient and cost-effective way of communicating with our students,'” in the words of Michael Hemment, Head of Research and Learning Technology for HCL.

FlyBy looks forward to seeing what HCL puts in future Facebook ads. A coupon for free Lamont coffee after midnight, maybe? Now that's something that would be worth clicking.