Search

Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion

Open Search
Author

Angela Hursh, Library Marketing Expert

Angela Hursh leads an outstanding team of marketing and training professionals at NoveList, a company dedicated to helping libraries reach readers. A 2023 Library Journal Mover & Shaker, she has also created courses on LearnwithNoveList.com designed to help library staff learn how to create effective marketing. Before her job at NoveList, Angela led the content marketing team for the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County. She also has more than 20 years of experience as an Emmy-award-winning broadcast TV journalist.

Push Play and Record: The Library’s Guide to Video Production (including a list of equipment to fit your budget!)

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

There is nothing like putting a face on a story.

In my television news days, we worked hard to get on-camera interviews for every story. We knew that there was no better way to express emotion and build empathy for the subjects of our stories than to show their faces and hear their voices.

Your library can and should be producing videos for library marketing to build empathy and connection with your organization.

To be clear, I am not talking about TikTok or Instagram Reels videos. TikTok or Reels are fun and give you a chance to engage new audiences. And those videos do build brand awareness for your library.

But that should not be the only video your library is creating. Your library should produce some longer-form videos, lasting a minute or more, that tell a specific story or have a specific library marketing goal. These are videos you will embed on your website, and post natively to Facebook, LinkedIn, YouTube, or Vimeo (or all the above if you’re smart!)

Why?

Videos help you rank higher in searches.

According to Oberlo, more than 82 percent of global internet traffic comes from videos. That means video can be a powerful tool for driving community members to your website to check out your services.

Demand for video is increasing.

According to a survey conducted among consumers worldwide by Statista, people watched an average of 19 hours of online video content per week in 2022. That hourly total has been steadily rising since the survey was first conducted in 2018.

Every major social media platform will reward you for producing longer-form videos.

They boost video posts organically. And the more video your library posts to those platforms, the more organic reach your other posts will get.

Video makes your marketing memorable.

Video is the closest you can get to experiencing something without being physically present. It’s relatable. As I mentioned earlier, seeing faces and hearing voices builds empathy and allows people to really feel the emotions your videos convey.

And if you use staff in videos, community members will end up recognizing those staff members as they come into the library. They’ll feel more comfortable because they will “know” the person behind the desk.

Your library’s long-form video strategy doesn’t have to be complicated. And you don’t have to break the bank to buy equipment. So, let’s lay out a plan in three parts.

Set goals and brainstorm video ideas to meet those goals.

The easiest way to decide which videos to create is to refer to your library’s strategic goals. What does your library wish to accomplish? Your videos should serve to make those strategic goals a reality. For this section, let’s pretend your library has a strategic goal to increase visits to the Makerspace by 10 percent in the next year.

Once you decide which of your library’s overall goals to focus on, the next step is to set your own marketing goal for your videos. For example:

Your video marketing goals:

  • 1000 views on YouTube
  • 200 views on the library website
  • 50 Makerspace sessions booked by people who watched the videos.

Setting your video marketing goals before you decide what videos you want to create might feel backward. But you’ll have more success if you set your marketing goals first. That’s because you’ll be asking yourself: What kind of videos will help me achieve these goals?

If you have trouble coming up with video ideas, try searching your website analytics to see what your cardholders are looking for when they visit your site. Do they have specific questions or use specific keywords or terms to search for information related to the strategic goal you’re focusing on?

You can also check keywords used in Google searches in connection with your library’s strategic goal. This keyword research will uncover the questions your community has related to the goal you’re trying to accomplish. You can use video to answer those questions!

For our MakerSpace example, let’s say you look at Google Analytics for your library website and you do Google keyword research. And you discover that people in your community are searching, for “3D printers near me.”  If your Makerspace includes a 3D printer, you’ll want to make sure some of your videos are about that piece of equipment.

Let’s say you also discover many searches of the phrase “cost of 3D printing”.  Now you know that cost may be a barrier to use for some community members. You can address that with a video.

Plan and produce.

With your goals and keyword research in hand, it’s time to make more concrete plans. Start brainstorming and make a list of ideas. Depending on your goal, you may want to produce more than one video.

Let’s go back to our previous example of increasing visits to your Makerspace. Your library may decide to make a series of videos to reach your goal of 50 Makerspace sessions booked.

  • Interview a patron who made something unusual on the 3D printer.
  • Interview a patron who used your 3D printer for their small business.
  • Showcase Makerspace staff using the 3D printer to make common items, like repair parts, for a fraction of the cost of buying those parts.
  • Show how to book the Makerspace.
  • Show how a typical Makerspace session runs, from greeting to finished product.

It took me about five minutes to come up with that list! If you are having trouble coming up with ideas on your own, ask your co-workers. For our Makerspace example, it would make total sense to ask the staff working in the Makerspace to help you come up with ideas.

Plan your production.

It’s time to create a production schedule. You’ll want to add your videos to your regular editorial calendar, giving yourself plenty of time to produce them. In general, it will take you about a month to produce a video lasting one minute or longer. Here’s a sample schedule:

  • A week to write an outline or a script if necessary.
  • A week to get your outline or script approved.
  • A day to shoot the video.
  • A week to edit a draft.
  • A week for approvals and edits.

With this schedule, you could release one longer form video each month.

Refer to your video style guide as you begin the work of bringing each video to reality.

Now you’re ready to shoot and edit your videos. Then, it’s time to make some important decisions.

Choose the thumbnail picture for your video carefully.

The thumbnail picture is the billboard advertisement for your video. Research shows that faces are more likely to draw viewers. If you can, choose a face showing an emotion.

If you are creating a series of videos, be consistent with the look of your thumbnails. You’ll want your audience to recognize the video as being from your library and part of a series.

Use keyword research to come up with video titles. 

Video titles should be 100 characters or less, so you’ll need to use that limited space to your best advantage. Do a few test searches to see what keywords lead viewers to popular videos. Then try to work those keywords into your video title.

Include a Call to Action and track results with special codes.

When you create and promote your videos, include a Bitly link to drive viewers to your website, catalog, or other owned property.

Promote your videos.

It’s not enough to post your video and forget it. You’ll make sure people see your video once it’s released.

Within the first 24 hours of uploading and releasing a video, send an email to promote your video. You’ll want to match the content of your video to the segmented email list that will be most likely to want to view it. 

The exception to this rule would be system-wide video announcements, like the opening of a new branch or a change in service for your entire library system. You can send an email to your entire list, letting them know there’s a video available with exciting information! 

Email notifications about your video will alert your audience that the video exists. More people will watch the video. And the more views you get in the first 24 hours after you’ve uploaded a video, the higher your video will appear in search rankings. 

Bonus: Affordable equipment list for library marketing videos

  • Camera: Canon EOS 2000D is great for beginners. It also has a Wi-Fi connection, so you can easily share your videos. And it gets great ratings. This package from Walmart is fairly priced and includes extras like memory cards, a backpack, and a tripod.
  • Ring light: The Sensyne Ring Light is an affordable option for libraries and it comes with its own tripod.
  • Wireless Lavalier microphones: You’ll want to buy at least two. This model from ZMOTG can be used with phones and a DSLR camera and gets great reviews.    
  • Editing software: Here’s a great list of free editing software.

More Advice

5 Easy and Surefire Ways To Decide What Videos You Should Create for Your Library’s YouTube Channel

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:

0

My Boss Said “No!” How To Get Buy-In From Senior Staff for Your Library Marketing Decisions

Watch this video

The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 186: One of my viewers is facing a conundrum.

They have been tracking data on posts on one social media platform. The data tells them that viewers are NOT responding to posts about events. They want to drive attendance at events. So, they want to switch tactics. But…

Their boss said “No.”

So, now what do they do?

I’ve been in this situation before. I’ll share my tips in this episode.

Plus we give away kudos! Watch the video to find out which library is being recognized.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for watching!

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:

0

3 New (and Relatively Easy) Promotional Ideas for Increasing Your Circulation and Building Support of Your Library

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

Maybe this is just a library thing, but practically every time I leave the house, I have a book in my hand.

Doctor’s appointments, salon appointments, a quick trip to pick up a prescription from the drive-thru pharmacy (WHY is the line so long??), the airport, a car trip… I must take a book with me. You know… just in case I have five minutes of downtime. Heaven forbid I waste any precious reading moments.

As it turns out, there are plenty of people who share my love of reading. (But we knew that, didn’t we?) A new survey by blogger and freelance writer David Leonhardt sheds new light on reading habits.

David surveyed 945 people about their reading habits in December 2022 to gather book reading data. The survey was not random, and it was conducted on the Internet, so as David points out, “Respondents tended to self-identify as readers. Most people who do not read books or have not read books in a while declined to participate.”    

But the survey does spotlight three opportunities for library marketing.  

Key Survey Finding: Most people read either a few books or a lot of books.

Opportunity: Target low-volume readers with read-alike suggestions.

David’s survey shows about 32 percent of people read only 1-5 books in 2022. That’s a huge percentage of low-volume readers.

We know that readers sometimes have a difficult time finding their next book. That is especially true of low-volume readers. They just need some encouragement and attention.

This is incredibly simple. Train your front-line staff to notice when someone is checking out just one book. Tell staff to ask the cardholder what interested them about the title. Then have the staff offer them a read-alike!

You can apply the same principle to your holds shelf. Create 3 bookmarks with reading suggestions. Pick three genres, subjects, authors, or topics that are popular with your cardholders.

Next, tell staff to be on the lookout for patrons who have 1-2 books on hold. Ask them to slip one of your three bookmarks into those holds. Have your staff make their best guess on which bookmark to choose based on the 1-2 titles the patron is checking out.

Key Finding: People still love print books.

Opportunity: Strategically upsell your print collection.

David’s survey shows 57 percent of readers prefer print. (That number is slightly lower in the U.S., where readers are more likely to use the Kindle.)

That’s a lot of print readers! And that’s a lot of opportunity to drive circulation numbers for your library, without much effort.   

To do that, we’re going to focus on upselling. Upselling is a sales term in which customers are encouraged to buy a more expensive version of a product than they originally intended.

Libraries can upsell to cause our cardholders to end up checking out more items than they originally intended! To do that, we must always be thinking of ways to offer other collection items to patrons as they checkout.

If you are running your library’s drive-thru window and a patron comes to pick up their hold on a cookbook, you can do a quick catalog search to find another cookbook by the same author or around the same topic: bonus points if you have the cookbook on the shelf! Then, when you’re ready to hand over the original hold, let your patron know you have a suggestion that perfectly matches what they’re checking out. 

Or maybe you are leading a monthly book club at your library. Create a bookmark to distribute to your attendees suggesting more books related to the one you’re reading. Better yet, bring a cart of books to your meeting and encourage members to browse and check out!

You can do this with your next children’s program too. Pull a cart of books related to the topic of the program and encourage the kids or their caregivers to check out the books. Look for every opportunity to encourage your patrons to check out more materials.

Key Finding: People plan to read more in 2023.

Opportunity: Educate the community on your library’s importance in the reading world

64 percent of readers who responded to the survey said they plan to read more books in 2023 than they did in 2022. Only 3 percent plan to read fewer books.  

Our work here is done!

Not exactly.

I don’t have to spend any time telling you that libraries are truly in danger. Every day, our news and social media feeds are filled with horrific stories from friends in the library world about book challenges and campaigns to defund libraries. (I saw this post literally as I was taking a brain break from writing this post.)

You know that libraries are important. You know books change lives. You believe your community members understand that it is essential to have a place in a community where people can come to check out the books they want and need.

They do not. 

If libraries are to survive and thrive, we must do a better job of showing the value of our work around literacy.  

How do we do this?

I want you to set a goal. In the next 12 months, your library is going to find four patrons who love to read. Pick people from different backgrounds with different reading interests.

Then, I want you to tell their stories. Send them an email with interview questions and write a blog post about them. Or pull out your phone and interview them on camera.  Then post the video on your library’s website and social media channels.

In addition, pick 2-4 staff members who work with readers and who love giving reading recommendations. Tell their stories as well, either in print or on video.

Attaching names and faces to the work your library does around reading will evoke emotions and leave a lasting impact. It also builds trust and credibility.

People remember a good story. Storytelling is a powerful way to communicate with the human side of your library. And it will build support for your work.

More Advice

You Don’t Have to Choose Between Print and Digital Books: How to Promote Your Collection to Patrons Who Use BOTH Formats

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:

0

🤐4 Secret Ways To Maximize Views and Engagement for Your Library’s TikTok Videos

Watch this video

The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 185: The best way to learn is by doing, right?

I have been extremely active on TikTok recently, as I try to figure out the algorithm. And I sure did learn some things! In the episode, I reveal the four specific things you can do to make certain your library’s TikTok videos get noticed.

Plus we give away kudos to the Longview Public Library.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

Thanks for watching!

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:

0

Marketing Your Library’s Annual Report: How to Get Staff to Help and Make Sure Everyone in Your Community Understands Your Value

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

Barbara Swinn knows what she’s doing.

She’s worked with libraries for 40 years, most recently as manager of the flagship library for Explore York Libraries and Archives  She’s been awarded the British Empire Medal for her work with the library.

You may remember her from this interview last year. I spoke to Barbara about her work turning a stodgy, boring annual report into a storytelling masterpiece.

One thing I love about Barbara: she is always looking for ways to improve.

Hear about Barbara’s approach to the annual report this year

A few months ago, she sent me an email with a link to her current annual report. It is also amazing.

And this year, Barbara decided to take it a step further and promote her report, activating staff to help. So of course, I wanted to know how she did it.

Barbara told me she first spent time thinking about the emotional impact she wanted her annual report to have on the community.

“What do we want our audience to think, feel, and do,” said Barbara. “We wanted to make sure that people can see that we were relevant to their lives, and the lives of the communities. So that’s how we want them to feel this is for them. This is something they are excited about and want to be involved with.”

“We want them to actually reach out and be involved in what we’re doing, to become a volunteer, to become a community member, to bring their skills to work with us, or to actually just come in and enjoy what we do. and just participate and get the value of for them in their lives of what libraries can bring.”

Hear Barbara talk about the goal of this year’s annual report.

Barbara’s first step in this new mission was to focus on the many target audiences for her annual report.

“The audience could be people who are library users but they’re probably people who aren’t library users,” explained Barbara. “They may be potential funders or sponsors, local government officers, and the people who provide our funding. We needed to advocate the value that we have, and that we bring to the city.”

Barbara’s team tried something new this year: a social media campaign to expand the reach of the stories her library is telling. And if you think people aren’t interested in social media posts about an annual review, you would be wrong.

“We had a series of five posts over five days, which were highlighting those key details from the annual review,” explained Barbara. “On Twitter, we had a 4.9 percent engagement rate compared to 2.5 percent, which is the average for the month.”

“There was a particular post that had a 6.5 percent engagement rate on Facebook. That usually averaged 2.5 percent for the month. So, it did engage with people. People were commenting on it, people were sharing it, and the engagement rate was higher than the normal engagement rate. We’re really pleased with that.”

And this year, Barbara and her staff got the rest of the library staff involved. Staff linked to the annual report in their email signature.

“We really emphasize the fact that this was an opportunity for them to not necessarily have a conversation, but through their email, they’re connecting with people, and people can see that annual review,” said Barbara.

The library has one main organizational social media account and branch accounts. Barbara and her staff worked to get all the administrators of the branch accounts to help in the social media promotion of the annual report. Her team provided context and made the ask very simple.

 “We talked about what we’re trying to achieve,” said Barbara. “‘We really want you to share those posts through your social media.’ And that’s what they did.”

The plan to involve staff to help spread the message worked so well, Barbara’s team now uses it for every major campaign. She explains the impact her library hopes to have by marketing and shares examples of posts with high engagement garnered with staff support.

“We give examples of the posts that really made a difference because they got behind it,” revealed Barbara. “For example, our summer reading challenge that we do for children every summer, that absolutely by staff getting behind that campaign really made a difference. We’re starting to build that. It’s gaining momentum. And the staff are seeing the value of that engagement, they’re seeing the value of the fact that they can amplify the message and by amplifying influencers as well. “

Barbara hopes her annual report does more than inspire her community to act and support her library. She hopes it inspires you, her fellow library marketers.

“You’ve got your story,” said Barbara. “The people use your libraries, your volunteers, your staff, they know the story too. And there are so many nuggets to choose from. Think about the beginning, the middle, the end, what you’re trying to do, and what you want people to do. It really, really works. It’s the story of the people that’s really important.”

Hear Barbara’s advice for your library’s annual report

More Advice

An Academic Library Increased Their Instagram Reach by 1149% in a Year! Learn Their Secrets for Success

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:

0

Should Your Library Build Community Using Facebook Groups? (SPOILER ALERT: There’s a Better Way!)

Watch this week’s episode

The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 184: A viewer wants to know if libraries should use Facebook Groups to build community. For-profit companies are doing it (or are they??) so why wouldn’t it work for libraries?

I’ll share what I’ve learned in my research. Does your library use Facebook Groups? Let me know in the comments.

Plus we give away kudos to the Stow-Munroe Falls Public Library.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

And please subscribe to this series on YouTube or follow me on LinkedIn to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.

Thanks for watching!

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:

0

Be the Social Media You Want To See in the World: Advice on Building Community From a Library Marketer

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

Erica Freudenberger really, really loves her job.

“I have the best job in the world!”

For the past six years, she’s been the outreach, engagement, and marketing consultant at the Southern Adirondack Library System. Erica works with 34 member libraries in four counties, as well as two correctional facilities and four county jails.

Like many of you, she is responsible for providing high-quality library services.

“My position allows me to do a wide range of things, from onboarding new directors to working with community partners to install Narcan Emergency Kits for public use in our libraries to curating a personal history of the pandemic through our Leaving Our Fingerprints on History Project,” explained Erica.

So, it’s a wonder that she has any time at all left for library marketing. But Erica is responsible for the system’s monthly newsletter and social media promotion.

And her work on social is drawing praise from fellow library marketers. On the Libraries and Social Media Facebook page, one fellow marketer said, “I am here for the brilliance of the social media team/individual at Southern Adirondack. Amazing curation and writing and quantity. It’s been fun watching their reach and followers grow over the year.”

“My philosophy in all things, not just social media, is to build relationships and community,” explained Erica. “Social media is where people go to be entertained and learn something.”

“But the focus can’t be just pushing out content. We must give people a reason to visit our page, so they check in regularly.”

“One of the things that makes me happiest is when I see our followers interacting with each other – finding common interests or challenging someone’s take on things. There’s a conversation that we’re convening.”

As you can imagine, Erica has a limited about of time to dedicate to social media. So, she chooses to post to the platform with her library system’s most prominent established audience: Facebook.

“When I was a library director, I found out how long it took to develop a robust social media presence,” said Erica. “When you lead small, rural public libraries, you do all the things and don’t have much time to focus on something like social media.”

“Since most of our libraries are small and rural, I use our Facebook account to aggregate content they can use on their social media accounts as filler – in between the posts about their programs and services.”

“We don’t want to push content but invite people in to build community. I focus on finding a library or literary memes, or what I consider library-adjacent posts (cats and dogs!), or things that are nerdy and fun. It’s about creating a community of people who enjoy our page, so when we post advocacy messages, we’re reaching a much bigger audience that trusts us.”

Erica says social media is a vital part of the formula for success for libraries.

“We live in a chaotic, information-saturated world,” said Erica. “It can take a lot of work to get your message out, and part of any advocacy strategy has to include social media.”

“I think libraries are getting better at marketing, but we tend to hide our light under a bushel rather than share the great work we’re doing. And in our neck of the woods, local newspapers are few and far between, so the best way to reach people is where they’re already spending time, which tends to be social media.”

Even with her expertise in social media, Erica continues to look for ways to improve her reach and drive more connections for her member libraries. “I would love more time to strategize and devise an evil plan to dominate social media,” shared Erica.  “In the best of all possible worlds, I’d create a social media calendar and be more intentional in our content and posting.”

For Erica, it’s easy to find libraries that inspire her. “There are a ton of libraries doing great stuff,” said Erica. “I love what the Stillwater Library does – they take historical items from their collection or community and ask people to respond to what it is with wrong answers only. And they do a lot of great puns.”

“ I steal stuff from our member libraries, including the Bolton Free Library, Argyle Free Library, and the Caldwell-Lake George Library (to name a few) regularly. I love Waikato District Libraries, Dexter District Library, Friends of the Barbara Rose Johns Farmville/Prince Edward Community Library, Librarian Memes – any library page I come across. There are so many doing incredible, creative work!”

And Erica wants to share a piece of advice for anyone working in social media library marketing. It’s something she learned from a presentation by a marketing librarian from the Portsmouth Public Library in New Hampshire, “Be the social media you want to see in the world. That’s what I live by. Be silly, have fun, and help spread the word about the vital work public libraries do each day.”

More Advice

There’s New Advice for Libraries About Posting to Social Media but… Should You Actually Take It?

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:

0

How to Manage Your Library’s Social Media Promotions in Ten Minutes a Day!

Watch the video here

The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 183: Are you the only person handling your library’s social media promotions? Do you have about 1000 other tasks you need to complete at work each day?

You don’t have to sacrifice your library’s social media presence just because you’re short on time. In this episode, I’ll show you how to manage library social media in ten minutes a day or less!

Plus we’ll give away kudos to the Niles-Maine District Library.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

And please subscribe to this series on YouTube or follow me on LinkedIn to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.

Thanks for watching!

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:

0

10 Tips to Make The Most of Your Next Library Marketing Conference

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

My phone has a folder just for conference apps. And perhaps this is super nerdy, but I get a sense of thrill from moving an app from the folder to my homepage. It means it’s time to attend a conference!

Conferences, in whatever form they take, give you space to step away from your normal work tasks and learn, network, and get re-energized.  

And for those of us working in library marketing, conference attendance is vital. Promoting your library means you have to balance a number of skills, like creative writing, data analytics, and project management. We need ongoing training and inspiration to do our best possible work. Conferences help you do that!

But, to get the most out of the experience, you’ll need to do more than show up and take notes. Here are my top 10 tips to help you get the most value out of your next conference.

Pick your sessions in advance.

Before you get into the car, train, or plane to travel to the conference, decide on which sessions you’ll attend. Most conferences offer sessions in tracks. Those are a series of related sessions designed to give you an in-depth and multi-layered education about one area of librarianship.

You may be expecting me to recommend that you always attend sessions in the marketing, communications, or outreach track. And I do… but only if your library is sending more than one person to the conference.

If you are traveling solo, choose your sessions based on the needs of your library. Think about the coming year and the kinds of challenges that may lie ahead for your organization. Then pick the sessions that will help you to meet those challenges.

For example, this year at LibLearnX, I attended a session on strategic planning for libraries. I knew that I needed to learn more about the process so that I could encourage libraries to add communication initiatives to their strategic plans.

If you’re on the fence about a session or are having trouble choosing between several speakers running at the same time, do some research on the speakers. Look on YouTube to see if you can find their past presentations. Check their LinkedIn profile, blog, or website. Their presentation style and willingness to share valuable information with their audiences may help you make your final decision.   

Sign up for notifications.

Most conferences will send you notices through email or their app (or both) with helpful info, including places to eat and have fun when you’re not in a conference session. They may also alert you when sessions are added or dropped from the agenda. These can be valuable time savers.

Connect with fellow attendees and speakers on social media before you go.

Start checking the conference hashtag a few weeks before the conference to see who is attending and what they’re excited about. That excitement is contagious!

You might also find Facebook and LinkedIn groups connected to your conference where you can meet attendees in advance. Connecting with conference attendees and speakers ahead of time makes it less intimidating to walk into an event full of strangers.

And while you’re at it, update your LinkedIn profile. You can bet people you meet at the conference will be checking you out.

And you never know… you may find your next boss at the event. I was hired by NoveList in 2019 after meeting my current manager at the Library Marketing and Communications Conference!

Practice how you’ll introduce yourself to new people and have a few conversation starters at the ready.

You’ll be surprised how fast you can freeze up in a room full of strangers. So even though it feels weird, figure out what you’ll say to introduce yourself and then come up with three questions you can ask someone you’ve just met to help get a conversation going.

Can’t think of any good conversation starters? You can steal mine! Of course, they are all library marketing questions.

  • What’s the best way you’ve found to send messages to your community?
  • What social media channels does your library use to communicate with your cardholders? Which one works best for you?
  • How does your library measure your marketing and promotion success?

Get familiar with the venue and pack your conference tote bag.

Try to arrive on the day before the conference so you can go to the venue. Figure out where the exhibit hall, session rooms, food booths, and restrooms are located. Knowing how to get around can help ease your nerves.

If the conference has early check-in, take advantage of it. The registration desk is always busy on the morning of the first day of a conference. You’ll be glad to avoid the lines and get right into your sessions.

The night before the conference, pack a notebook and pens or your laptop, some business cards, a small snack, your water bottle, and a phone charger into a tote bag or backpack. But be sure to leave room for freebies you’ll pick up in the vendor hall.

Take notes in sessions. 

You might be tempted to skip this step, given that many speakers make their slides publicly available after the presentation. But you’ll absorb more of the information if you take notes.

Ask questions of the speakers. 

If you are in the midst of a session and you have a question about the material, write it down. Most conference sessions include a question and answer time at the end of the session.

If you find it too intimidating to ask a question of a speaker, approach them after the session. They’ll be happy to talk with you one on one.

Give yourself a break.

I made one big mistake at my first post-pandemic in-person conference. I went from session to session without any breaks all day long! It was exhausting and I never had a chance to reflect on what I was learning.

So now, I make a commitment to myself to take a lunch break every day of each conference I attend. If I can, I take my food outside of the venue or I visit a nearby restaurant and eat while going over my notes. The breaks help me to regain focus for my afternoon sessions. 

At the end of each day, go through your notes and compile a summary.  

Head back to your hotel and spend about 20 minutes just writing a few paragraphs about what you’ve learned, who you met, and how these ideas can translate into your library marketing work.

The time you spend putting your notes in order will also help to reinforce what you learn. It will also prompt you to start thinking about ways to put those new nuggets of knowledge into practice at your library!

Put what you’ve learned into practice—do not skip this step!  

When you return home, I want you to set aside one hour on your calendar as if it were a meeting. During that time, review your notes and pick two or three things you’ve learned at the conference that you can do at your library.

For example, maybe you learned ten new tips to get more subscribers for your email newsletter. Choose a few of the tips and make a plan to actually try them!

Try to do this within a week of returning, when the material is fresh in your mind and your enthusiasm and energy are high.

More Advice

The Secret To Tell Compelling and Memorable Stories About Your Library That Make People Cry!

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:

0

A WordPress.com Website.

Up ↑