The command of social media is an essential part of firms moving forward today, with the ultimate goal to get trending locally and nationally. Or globally, which is exactly what one UK library has managed.

This is not the historic British Library though, or a modern addition such as the Library of Birmingham. No, instead it is the  small Orkney Library.

The population of The Orkneys is somewhere around 20,000, but the number of people following @OrkneyLibrary on Twitter is over 13,000. These are figures that any firm or organisation would be ecstatic about.

Better still, it has achieved that with little over 10,000 tweets.

The reason the account has attracted so many followers, and continues to do at an exponential rate, is because of the quality of the posts. Alternative, funny, witty, and a little tongue in cheek at times, it is exactly how many firms need to go with their content in the modern age.

People want to be entertained after all, whether they are corporate clients or consumers, and Christmas is a great time to start doing this.

For example, perhaps a company that provided personal protective equipment could write an article about toys that require you to wear safety gear?

By being different, engaging, and appealing, firms are likely to gain traction online, while drier business accounts may well not at this time of year.

It may not get you booked into BBC Trending like @OrkneyLibrary has managed, but by taking small steps much mileage can eventually be covered.

It is all about breaking down stereotypes, as Stewart Bain, the man behind the library’s Twitter account, rightly testifies to.

Committed to showing that libraries really can be fun, some of the tweets he has delivered are works of marketing art that literary greats themselves would be proud.

Steven Morris