I had a very different email planned for you today. I’d recorded and edited a video explaining how libraries could change a setting on Instagram to help protect photos of patrons and community members from being used by Meta’s new AI image feature.
Then Meta reversed course. (!!)
Just days after launching the feature, and following widespread criticism from users, creators, privacy advocates, and libraries, Meta announced it was removing the feature entirely.
That means the advice in the video is no longer relevant, so rather than publish outdated information, I decided to scrap the episode and give you a quick written update instead.
What happened?
Last week, Meta introduced a feature that allowed people to generate AI images by pulling images from public Instagram accounts. The feature immediately raised concerns because it relied on an opt-out model rather than asking people for permission first.
Within days, Meta announced that the feature “missed the mark” and removed it.
What does this mean for libraries?
For now, you don’t need to make the Instagram profile changes I was planning to recommend in this week’s episode because the specific feature has been withdrawn.
But I don’t think this story is over.
If there’s one lesson for library marketers, it’s this:
Social media platforms are changing rapidly, especially when it comes to AI.
Features can appear with little warning, disappear just as quickly, and affect how we manage photos of our patrons and communities.
That’s why it’s more important than ever to:
Regularly review your library’s social media privacy and account settings.
Stay informed about platform updates that could affect patron privacy.
Be prepared to adapt your social media practices as new AI features are introduced.
One encouraging takeaway
There’s another lesson here that’s worth celebrating.
Many people felt this feature crossed an important line. They spoke up, and Meta responded by removing the feature.
It’s a reminder that feedback still matters. (I am as shocked as you, but we’ll take the win!)
As library marketers, we’re often helping our communities navigate new technologies. Sometimes that means explaining new tools. Other times, it means asking thoughtful questions about privacy, consent, and trust.
This week, those questions made a difference.
I’ll keep watching this space, and if Meta or any other platform introduces similar AI features in the future, I’ll be sure to share what libraries need to know.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
I had a list of things I thought needed attention. I had ideas. I had opinions. I had years of experience.
But I also knew I was walking into an organization that existed long before me, had been through a tumultuous six years, and will face tough challenges in the not-so-distant future.
So I made a decision. For the first few weeks, I just listened.
And looking back, it was probably the most important thing I did.
Start With People, Not Projects
The temptation in a new leadership role is to make your mark immediately. You want to launch something. Reorganize something. Fix something.
Resist the urge.
Before I touched processes or strategy, I sat down with every member of my team and with every member of senior leadership for one-on-one conversations. I asked questions like:
What do you spend most of your time doing?
What part of your job do you enjoy most?
What are you exceptionally good at?
What drains your energy?
What skills do you wish you had more opportunities to use?
What gets in the way of doing great work?
I wasn’t looking for complaints. I was looking for opportunities, gaps, and patterns. And those things started emerging quickly.
Some people were doing work they loved. Others had talents that weren’t being fully utilized. Some responsibilities seemed to belong to multiple people. Other responsibilities didn’t seem to belong to anyone.
That information was incredibly valuable. It became a roadmap to set up a foundation for success.
Build a Team Map
One thing I’ve learned over the years is that organizational charts don’t tell you much.
A job description tells you what someone is supposed to do. A conversation tells you what they actually do.
As I talked with my staff, I started mapping the team. I asked myself:
Who are the strongest writers?
Who can manage projects?
Who understands data?
Who has strong design skills?
Who is great at relationships and collaboration?
Just as importantly, I looked for gaps. Specifically, I pinpointed the skills that were missing, areas that seemed underdeveloped, and places where work was getting bogged down or stopped altogether.
I wasn’t trying to evaluate people. I was trying to understand the system.
Before you can build a stronger team, you have to understand the team you actually have.
Define the Real Problems
As I observed the department and reviewed existing work, I noticed something that I’ve seen in other organizations too.
People were working incredibly hard. But they were often operating without shared expectations, messaging, or processes.
Projects moved through different review paths depending on who was involved. Marketing requests arrived in different formats. Staff made decisions based on their own understanding of priorities.
Nobody was doing anything wrong. The team simply lacked some foundational systems. That realization shaped my plan for moving forward.
Map Out Your Priorities
Once I had a clear picture of my team and the larger organization they worked in, I worked on identifying and prioritizing what I needed to do. I created what I call my “Post-It Pyramid of Priorities.”
I wrote down the foundational tasks I needed to tackle, one on each Post-It. Then I arranged them in a pyramid, with the tasks I needed to complete at the top. (Groundbreaking, right?)
I put tasks that were interrelated into a line to signal to myself that I needed to work on them simultaneously.
Post-It Pyramid of Priorities
Using Post-Its makes it easy for me to move and change my priorities as conditions change.
Establish Your Messaging Foundation
One of the biggest priorities during those first 90 days was working through messaging.
What exactly were we trying to say about the library? More importantly, were we all saying the same thing?
Libraries are wonderful at promoting programs, events, and services. We are less consistent when it comes to communicating our larger value.
Ask staff members why the library matters and you might get a bunch of different answers.
Some will talk about books.
Some will talk about literacy.
Some will talk about technology.
Some will talk about community.
None of those answers are wrong.
But if your organization wants to build trust, recognition, and support, there needs to be some shared understanding of the bigger story you’re telling.
In my next post on July 27, I’ll go more in-depth to show you how our library determined a messaging focus and how we’re executing it.
Create a Strategy People Can Actually Use
The word “strategy” seems to scare people. I think it’s because most strategies are created by senior leadership, who then pass them down to the staff without taking the time to get buy-in. (This happens at for-profit companies too!)
I wasn’t interested in creating a document that nobody would read. I wanted a framework that would help people make decisions.
Who are we trying to reach?
What behavior are we trying to influence?
What organizational goals are we supporting?
How do our messages connect to those goals?
How should different channels work together?
Once you have the answers to those questions, you can create a simple strategic framework that you and your staff can follow for the next year.
Standardize the Review Process
When organizations don’t have a clear review process, everyone creates their own.
One project gets five rounds of edits. Another gets none. One person is included in decisions. Another is surprised at the last minute.
Over time, that creates frustration for everyone!
So we built a standard review structure. It helps me and my marketing manager to, well, manage projects!
We worked together to decide:
Who reviews what.
When they review it.
What kind of feedback they’re responsible for providing.
What final approval looks like.
The result is more consistency, fewer surprises, and much less confusion.
Focus on Culture, Not Just Process
The systems matter. The strategy matters. The messaging matters. But the biggest adjustment we need to make is cultural.
Instead of asking, “Can we promote this?” I’m prompting my staff to start asking, “What are we trying to accomplish?”
Instead of thinking about outputs, we are thinking about outcomes. Instead of automatically saying yes to every request, we started discussing priorities. (That is a biggie!)
It definitely is a mindset change. It won’t happen overnight, and you’ll face some bumps and pushback along the way. But getting yourself and your team to work these questions into your daily thought process will lead to better results.
What I Didn’t Do
Here’s what I did not do in my first 90 days!
I didn’t reorganize the team.
I didn’t launch a huge new campaign.
I didn’t overhaul every process.
I didn’t try to solve every problem.
New leaders sometimes feel pressure to demonstrate value immediately.
Ironically, one of the most valuable things you can do is slow down. Ask questions. Gather information. Build trust.
What If You’re Not New?
You don’t have to start a new job to use this approach.
In fact, if you’ve been at your library for years and feel like you’re stuck, this mindset can be even more valuable.
One of the advantages of being new is that you notice things everyone else has stopped seeing. You ask questions because you genuinely don’t know the answers. You challenge assumptions because you haven’t inherited them yet.
After you’ve been somewhere for a while, it’s easy to accept the way things are simply because “that’s how we’ve always done it.”
So borrow a trick from your first-day self.
Schedule listening meetings with colleagues you don’t work with regularly. Ask people what gets in the way of doing great work. Map your team’s strengths and gaps again. Follow a marketing request from start to finish as if you’ve never seen the process before.
Sometimes the biggest breakthroughs come from looking at familiar problems with fresh eyes.
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When patrons ask why they have to wait weeks for an ebook or why a title isn’t available on demand, it can be difficult to explain what’s really happening.
You know that publisher pricing and licensing models have created challenges that affect libraries everywhere.
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I show you how to have these conversations with your community using a new advocacy toolkit designed specifically for libraries.
Plus, kudos go to a library that figured out how to connect with a specific target audience.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
Managing posters sounds simple until you’re responsible for dozens of them.
A viewer recently asked how to keep library displays current without spending hours tracking down outdated posters. It’s a challenge many libraries face.
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I share a few practical tips for creating a poster management system that’s easier for staff.
Plus, kudos go to an entire country of libraries! Watch the video to find out why.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
Photo courtesy of Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library
For years, conventional wisdom in library marketing has been clear: you need to be on Facebook because that’s where your community is.
But what if that’s no longer true?
The staff at Lucius Beebe Memorial Library in Wakefield, Massachusetts, asked themselves that question. And then did something many libraries would consider unthinkable.
They stopped using Facebook altogether.
Several months later, Library Director Catherine McDonald says the results have been surprisingly uneventful.
“After all the work that went into the decision, it didn’t have any effect other than how freeing it is to have one less thing on my plate,” says McDonald.
“I realized I had felt a constant responsibility to protect patrons and staff from harsh words and misinformation about the library and its services. People don’t behave face-to-face as they sometimes might on Facebook.”
A Long Time Coming
Lucius Beebe Memorial Library serves Wakefield, Massachusetts, a community of just under 30,000 residents located north of Boston. The library operates from a single historic building on Main Street.
The library wasn’t an early skeptic of Facebook. In fact, McDonald created the library’s first Facebook page around 2010.
At first, the platform helped the library connect with patrons and promote programs and events. Over time, the library expanded its social media presence and experimented with different content strategies.
Some of the library’s most successful posts featured unexpected moments, including a bunny rescue, removal of a hornet’s nest, and staff retirements.
But as the years passed, McDonald began questioning whether the effort was still worthwhile.
” First, we noticed that the number of followers who were Wakefield residents was about only a third of the list,” recalls McDonald.
“Social media was becoming less social and requiring more work to understand how to game the system.” It became complicated to understand who we were reaching with what information.”
McDonald also saw reports on declining reading-for-pleasure rates, online bullying, misinformation, and increasingly hostile online interactions. The platform also made it difficult for the library to control its own narrative.
“On Facebook, often people type, but don’t read,” McDonald says.
Those concerns prompted a deeper internal discussion about whether Facebook still aligned with the library’s mission.
Testing the Assumptions
One of the most common arguments for maintaining a Facebook presence is that libraries need to “meet people where they are.” McDonald wasn’t convinced that statement should go unquestioned.
Rather than relying on assumptions, the library began comparing Facebook’s effectiveness against other communication channels, including its website, newsletters, blog, and local media outlets. The library also experimented with a social media pause during Summer Reading. The response?
“I received a couple of emails thanking me,” McDonald says.
The experience reinforced what library leadership was beginning to suspect: Facebook might not be as essential as many people believed.
Making the Decision
After an influx of bots appeared on the library’s Facebook page, McDonald decided it was time. With support from the assistant director, the library stopped actively using Facebook.
Not everyone was immediately convinced. Two members of the library’s board questioned the decision, and some staff initially worried the library might be giving up an important communication tool.
“Initially, some staff thought we were missing something important,” McDonald says. “But they accepted the decision and moved on to other things.”
Interestingly, she says stakeholders have been more likely to praise the decision privately than criticize it publicly.
What Happened After Leaving Facebook?
The short answer: not much.
Program attendance remained steady.
Website usage remained strong.
The library’s newsletters and blog continued to perform well.
Community engagement did not decline.
The library still maintains an Instagram presence, which McDonald says allows staff to share photos and connect with the community without many of Facebook’s drawbacks.
In fact, one unexpected benefit involved customer service. When the library was active on Facebook, patrons expected staff to monitor comments and answer questions in real time. During weather closures, for example, patrons would ask questions such as, “Are you open tomorrow?” and expect a response.
Without dedicated staff monitoring the platform, those inquiries often went unanswered. Now there is no confusion about where patrons should go for timely information.
“The expectation is that the place to learn immediate information about the library is the website or the Town website,” McDonald says.
The library also works closely with Wakefield’s communications manager to ensure important messages reach the community.
The Real Benefit
While the library didn’t experience dramatic gains after leaving Facebook, McDonald says the biggest benefit was psychological. For years, she felt responsible for moderating misinformation, managing negative comments, and protecting both patrons and staff from hostile online interactions.
That burden disappeared.
“I realized I had felt a constant responsibility to protect patrons and staff from harsh words and misinformation about the library and its services,” she says.
The experience also eliminated ongoing questions about moderation policies, comment removal, and blocking users, areas where McDonald says she often received conflicting legal advice.
Advice for Other Libraries
McDonald acknowledges that many libraries continue to find value in the platform and use it successfully.
But she does encourage library leaders to examine their assumptions.
“I’m sure lots of communities find Facebook effective and fun,” he says. “But don’t be afraid to question your assumptions or prevailing theories.”
For Lucius Beebe Memorial Library, questioning those assumptions led to a surprising discovery: Leaving Facebook changed far less than they expected.
And sometimes, that’s the most revealing result of all.
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Is adult nonfiction struggling to circulate at your library?
The problem may not be the books themselves. It may be our approach!
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I’ll share two easy yet practical strategies for making adult nonfiction more visible and more appealing.
Plus, kudos go to fifty libraries! Find out why they’re all earning recognition this weekend and how you can say congrats in person.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
One of the biggest advantages of creating Instagram Reels is that you can share them on Facebook, too. But what happens when that connection suddenly stops working?
A viewer of The Library Marketing Show recently ran into this issue, and after some troubleshooting, we found an easy solution.
In this episode, I share the fix and a few tips to help your library get the most out of its short-form video content.
Plus, kudos go to a library with an expansive new plan to reach young children.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
Photo courtesy Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library
In this post, you will learn:
Relevance matters more than frequency. Libraries don’t need to send more messages. They need to send more relevant ones.
Data makes library marketing more newsworthy. Statistics and outcomes can transform promotions into compelling stories.
Trust is a strategic asset. Libraries can stand out by being a reliable source of information and expertise.
I recently downloaded Cision’s State of the Media Report so that my library could adjust our media strategy to get more positive press. But I found myself looking at the report as a larger lesson for my library marketing.
Cision surveyed nearly 1,900 journalists worldwide about how they work, the challenges they face, and what they need from public relations professionals. At first glance, it might seem like a report intended for public relations agencies and large, well-funded corporate communications teams.
But as I read through the findings, I kept thinking about libraries (of course!) That’s because the challenges journalists face look surprisingly similar to those library marketers face every day when reaching our communities.
People are overwhelmed with information. They’re short on time. They’re sorting through more content than ever before. And they are constantly trying to determine which messages deserve their attention.
The things that cause a journalist to ignore a pitch are often the same factors that make a community member ignore a library marketing message.
Here are the top five things I learned from the report about making my library’s message stand out.
Takeaway #1: Relevance Beats Volume
The report found that the number one factor that makes journalists respond to a pitch is relevance. Nearly 80 percent said they are most likely to consider a story when it aligns with their audience and coverage area. Likewise, more than 80 percent said they reject pitches that aren’t relevant.
That should sound familiar. Libraries often assume that getting attention is a volume problem.
“We need to post more.”
“We need to send more emails.”
“We need to promote this event harder.” (What does that even mean, really?)
But attention isn’t usually a volume problem. It’s a relevance problem.
The question isn’t whether your community saw your message. The question is whether they immediately understood why it mattered to them.
A generic announcement about a program might get ignored. But a message that clearly connects to a person’s needs, interests, goals, or challenges has a much better chance of breaking through.
Takeaway #2: People Are Drowning in Messages
Most journalists in the survey reported receiving more than 50 pitches every week. Many receive more than 100! Yet most say only a small percentage of those pitches are actually relevant.
That sounds familiar too! Your patrons are also sorting through dozens of emails, social media posts, text messages, videos, advertisements, flyers, signs, and notifications every day. They don’t have time to figure out why something matters. They need clarity and connection.
I recently implemented a new messaging strategy for my team to address this issue. I told them that we are going to stop leading with what we are doing and start leading with why our community should care. We are now going to be focusing less on announcements and more on why our work matters and the problems it solves for our community.
Here’s a simple way to reframe your library’s message to focus more on the value.
Instead of: “The library is pleased to announce…”
Try: “Parents looking for free summer activities can now register for…”
Or: “The Library is proud to offer resume workshops and mock interviews” becomes “Get the tools and support you need to actually land the job.”
One messaging strategy starts with the organization. The other starts with the audience.
Takeaway #3: Data Makes Stories Stronger
One finding that really stood out to me was that journalists said they want more data and research. Why?
Because data provides context. It helps explain why a story matters.
Libraries have access to more useful data than we often realize.
We know what people are reading.
We know how technology is being used.
We know what programs are growing.
We know where community needs are emerging.
Yet many libraries continue to market programs without sharing the larger story behind them.
So, don’t just announce Summer Reading. Show how participation has grown. Don’t just promote your digital resources. Show how community usage has changed over time.
Data transforms promotion into storytelling. And storytelling is more memorable than push promotions because it activates emotions, which makes the story stick in a person’s mind.
These data stories are particularly impactful for messaging aimed at elected officials and donors.
Takeaway #4: Trust Is Becoming More Valuable
One of the biggest concerns journalists identified was accuracy and misinformation. Credibility matters.
This is an area where libraries have a tremendous advantage. Libraries remain among the most trusted public institutions. But trust is only valuable if we actively use it.
That means sharing accurate information, citing sources, providing context, and helping community members make sense of an increasingly complicated information landscape.
Takeaway #5: Make People’s Lives Easier
Perhaps the most important lesson from the report is that journalists want sources who make their jobs easier. They want clear information, quick responses, and they want their subjects to respect their time. So do our community members!
The best library marketing doesn’t demand attention. It earns attention by being useful.
When your content helps people solve a problem, answer a question, save money, learn a skill, or improve their lives, your library marketing stops feeling like marketing. It becomes a service.
Final Thoughts
The State of the Media Report wasn’t written for library marketers. But it contains an important reminder for all of us.
Whether you’re pitching a reporter or communicating with your community, success doesn’t come from sending more messages. It comes from creating messages that are relevant, trustworthy, useful, and easy to understand.
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Every once in a while, a social media update comes along that feels like it was built for libraries.
Instagram is currently testing a new feature that could make it easier for users to find content they’re genuinely interested in. And many libraries are already creating the kind of posts that could thrive in this environment.
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I explain what’s changing and what it could mean for your social media strategy.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library that received press coverage for its new bookmobile!
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 