Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion

Learning is essential to the existence of humans.

No, this blog hasn’t suddenly turned into a philosophical self-help website. But I do think it’s important to make learning and research a part of your work schedule.

You need to know the latest research on customer experience. You need to be alerted when social media algorithms change. You need to be inspired by creative, encouraging, thoughtful people who know the struggles, hurdles, and frustrations of marketing.

Boy, have I got a list for you!

I’ve followed a lot of marketers over the years. I’ve read a lot of blogs, subscribed (and then unsubscribed) to a lot of email newsletters. I’ve watched videos and listened to podcasts about marketing, in the never-ending search to find the people who could offer the most help to me and my library marketing friends.

Here are the seven best places for library marketers to get advice!

Ann Handley: Author, Marketer, Chief Content Officer at @marketingprofs. 

Ann is at the top of my list because she’s the definitive expert on writing and creating engaging content.

Read her two books, Content Rules and Everybody Writes. Your library likely has a copy of both.

Next, sign up for her newsletter, Total Annarchy. It’s the gold standard for e-newsletters and one of my favorite pieces of email to receive!

Mark Schaefer: Marketing strategist, author, and podcaster.

Mark is a human being. I mean, that’s obvious. But what I’ve always loved about him is that he gives advice like he’s your best friend. He’s not afraid to talk about the hard truths of promotional work.

Back in 2014, he started warning marketers about content overload (sometimes also referred to as content shock). This is the idea that people don’t pay attention to marketing because there is just too much stuff bombarding them from all angles.

This was pretty revolutionary for the time, and as I recall, there were a lot of people who thought Mark was nuts.

But he was right. And that’s why he’s written seven best-selling marketing books, launched a podcast, and is a popular speaker.

Read his latest book, Marketing Rebellion. I also recommend his free Pandemic Playbook. Subscribe to his {grow} blog and his podcast Marketing Companion (co-hosted with another marketing expert, Brooke Sellas).

Jay Baer: NY Times best-selling author, marketing consultant, keynote speaker. 

Jay is an expert in the content marketing and social media space.

He has two podcasts that contain tips that relate to libraries. Social Pros focuses on real people doing real work in social media. Talk Triggers shares inspirational case studies about businesses succeeding with word of mouth marketing. 

Library Marketing Book Club

What do Ann Handley, Jay Baer, and Mark Schaefer all have in common? They’ve all been guests at the Library Marketing Book Club on Facebook!

Chris Boivin of the Jacksonville Public Library founded the group in the fall of 2020. We meet once a month to discuss a marketing book and to share tips and strategies for library marketing. Chris is usually able to get the author of the books we discuss to come to our meetings!

Learn more about the book club.

Content Marketing Institute

This is the go-to organization for everything related to content marketing. I came to know of the existence of Ann Handley, Jay Baer, and Mark Schaefer because of this organization.

Sign up for Chief Content Officer magazine (its free) and for their email newsletter. You’ll get the heads-up on upcoming seminars, free webinars, eBooks, and white papers.

Follow their Twitter for great advice and alerts when they post new blog articles. CMI also hosts #CMWorld chat on Tuesdays at noon EST on a host of relevant marketing topics.

Social Media Today

This is my go-to website to check for the latest information on changing social media algorithms, new features, and tips on how to get the best organic reach.

The easiest way to consume their plethora of tips is to sign up for their daily newsletter. They also host #SMTLive chats on Twitter on a variety of social media topics. You can find recaps of their past Twitter chats on their website.

Social Media Examiner

This website makes a good companion for Social Media Today. It provides a deeper dive into social media marketing, with expert advice from some of the leading marketers in the space.

They have a variety of ways for you to receive updates. They post articles and have a robust YouTube channel full of tutorials and shows about social media marketing. They also have two podcasts chock full of information about social media and more expert interviews.

Do you have an expert that should be added to this list? Let me know in the comments!

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