Angela Hursh, Library Marketing Expert

What to Do If Your Library’s Social Media Accounts Are Hacked: A Step-by-Step Guide to Getting Control Back

In the last post, we covered ways to beef up security for your library’s social media accounts to prevent hacking. But what do you do if your accounts are compromised?

It happens more often than you realize. 36 percent of all internet users report they’ve been hacked, and some were victims more than once.

If your library’s accounts are compromised, it’s critical to gain control back as soon as possible. Bookmark this post so you and your fellow staff members will know what to do.

How do you know a hack has happened?

Admins for library social media accounts should be on the lookout for the three main signs of hacking.

You receive an unprompted email that you changed your login email or password when you did no such thing.
You can’t log in to your accounts.
Your account displays posts and direct messages you didn’t create.

Platform-specific steps to take if you determine you’ve been hacked.

You’ll notice I advise you to take screenshots during various steps in this guide. You may need evidence of the hack to get control back of your account. It’s also just good practice to take screenshots and save them to use as you review what happened with your supervisors or staff.

Facebook

Look at your Page Roles to see if unauthorized people have been added as admins to your account. If they have, take a screenshot, and then remove them immediately.
Next, check Page Info to make sure your authorized phone number, email, and website have not been changed. If any unknown or unauthorized numbers are listed, take a screenshot and then delete them.
Go to Page Management History to review changes that may have been made to your page by hackers. Again, take a screenshot of any suspicious activity.
Finally, go to your Activity Log. Log out of any sessions you do not recognize but first, (you guessed it!) take a screenshot.
If you cannot log into your Facebook account, try sending yourself a password reset email, and recover your account through your registered email address.
If you still have trouble, report your account as compromised immediately, and follow the steps as directed by Facebook.

Twitter

Check Settings and Privacy to see if unauthorized people or email addresses have been added as admins to your account. If they have, take a screenshot, and then remove them immediately.
Also under Settings and Privacy, check the phone number associated with your account. If any unknown or unauthorized numbers are listed, take a screenshot and then delete them.
If you cannot log into your Twitter account, and a password reset does not give you access, go to the Twitter Help Center and choose Hacked Account from the list of options. Follow the steps to recover control of the authorized email associated with the account.
If you still have trouble, contact Twitter Support directly.

Instagram

Check Privacy and Security to see if unauthorized people or email addresses have been added as admins to your account. If they have, take a screenshot, and then remove them immediately.
Check Edit Profile to make sure that your authorized phone number is still associated with your account. If any unknown or unauthorized numbers are listed, take a screenshot and then delete them.
Check Login Activity to see if your account was accessed from any suspicious locations or devices.
You’ll also want to check Contacts and delete any unauthorized synced contacts. Take screenshots of all suspicious activity.
If you still cannot log into Instagram, contact Instagram directly and work with them to recover your account. The steps to do this vary depending on the mobile device you are using. You’ll find those steps on the Instagram Help page.

Look at your Admin section to see if unauthorized people or email addresses have been added as admins to your account. If they have, take a screenshot, and then remove them immediately.
If you cannot access your LinkedIn account, contact LinkedIn immediately by submitting the Reporting Your Hacked Account form.

Pinterest will place your account on Safe Mode if they suspect suspicious activity. Safe Mode locks your account protecting your pins and preventing any further unauthorized changes or actions. In order to unlock your account from Safe Mode, the password must be reset.
Click on the down arrow next to your profile photo in the upper right-hand corner and select Settings, then Edit Profile. Check to make sure your authorized phone number, email, website, and location have not been changed.
Also under Settings, click on Security to check that there are not unauthorized connected devices.
If you cannot access your Pinterest account, contact Pinterest for further help.

What to do after you regain control.

Notify your followers that your account may have been compromised. This will prevent your fans from clicking on any suspicious posts or messages that appear to be coming from your library’s page, but may contain malware.
Notify other account admins and review the steps to beef up security with your account admins.
Change the passwords on all your accounts.
Check to see if there are any new apps or connections created with links to your accounts. If so, delete them. Hackers often gain access to social media accounts through third party apps.

Did I miss anything? Has your library been a victim of social media account hacks? Let us know in the comments below.

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The Book of Two Ways by Jodi Picoult.

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February 22, 2021 0

There is NO SUCH THING as Too Many Library Marketing Emails! Why Libraries are the Exception to the Rule.

Watch Now

The Library Marketing Show, Episode 82

In this episode, I respond to the common misconception that a library can send too many emails and annoy their cardholders. Libraries are the exception to the email marketing rule and I’ll explain why that is.

Kudos in this episode go to the Dallas Public Library, who did a branch grand opening in the middle of the pandemic!

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 subscribe to this series to get a new video tip for libraries each week. Thanks for watching!

February 17, 2021 4

Six Critical Steps You Need To Take Right Now To Shield Your Library’s Social Media Accounts From an Attack

Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

Next week on the blog: What to do if your library’s social media accounts are hacked!

Two years ago, I listened to two episodes of the Social Media Examiner podcast that gave me nightmares.

The first episode featured an interview with a fitness instructor who lost control of ALL her accounts in the span of an hour. Her quest to gain control back was a saga I don’t ever want to experience.

The second episode featured an interview with the Social Media Examiner team as they recounted the day they lost control of their own Facebook business account.

If it can happen to Social Media Examiner, it can happen to your library.

Here’s the truth: most of us are too trusting. We probably don’t think a social media security breach will never happen to us. But we couldn’t be more wrong. In the first six months of 2020, the data protection company ZeroFOX reported a 95 percent increase in threat activity on social media accounts, compared to the last six months of 2019.

We may be even more vulnerable right now, with staff members working from home and resources stretched thin. One library I know allows more than three dozen staff members to post on their various social media accounts. I’m happy to say they are taking steps to beef up their social media security. But I fear there are too many libraries who operate in this way.

Anti-virus and malware software are essential, but that’s only half the battle. You need to take steps to protect your library’s social media accounts from compromise. Here’s how to do that.

Limit access to your social media accounts.

If you have a large team of people who post for you, consider trimming to no more than five admins for all social media accounts. Most platforms like Facebook or LinkedIn will let you assign roles to people. Limiting access is a good way to protect your full account’s security.

What should you do if you have a large social media team who currently post on your accounts? Ask your team to send pre-written posts with photos, videos, and graphics to a team leader via email or a shared file system like Google Drive, Trello, or Base Camp. Your social media account admins can pull and post that pre-written content.

Create an email exclusively to manage your library’s social media accounts.

This step will prevent your social media accounts from being compromised if one of your admins accidentally opens a suspicious link or file in their own work or personal email.

Use two-step authentication.

Most platforms will ask you to enter a randomly generated code every time you log in. Take the extra step. It’s better to choose safety over convenience.

Pick strong, unique passwords.

According to the digital risk protection company Idagent, 80 percent of data breaches in 2019 were caused by password compromise. That’s why choosing a strong password is critical.

Strong passwords contain:

At least six characters.
A combination of numbers, symbols, and letters.
Letters in both upper and lowercase characters.
No connection to your library. Don’t use the name of your mascot or the numerical portion of your street address in your password.

The easiest way to create strong passwords is to use a secure password generator like Passwordsgenerator.net. You should also consider a process for storing your passwords in a secure location, like a locked file on your Share drive. You could choose to pay a small fee for a password manager like LastPass.com and 1password.com.

Finally, you must also be sure the password you use for each social media platform is unique. Don’t use the same password across all your accounts.

Change your passwords often.

Don’t get too attached to your passwords. Changing them is an inconvenience, but it’s a small price to pay for peace of mind.

A good rule of thumb is to change your passwords at least every quarter, but more often is even better. You should also be sure to change all passwords anytime a staff member who had access to your social media accounts leaves the library’s employment.

Don’t use your library’s public Wi-Fi.

The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission warns that public Wi-Fi is not secure. Cybercriminals easily gain access to passwords and other data on these types of wireless networks. Use your staff Wi-Fi or a Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) if available.

If you are posting on a mobile device in a location outside the library with public Wi-Fi, use your cell service instead of the public Wi-Fi. Cell service providers use encryption to ensure safety. You may need to consider the purchase of a library-owned device with cell service so staff aren’t using their personal cell service to post for the library.

Did I miss anything? Did your library experience a social media attack and if so, how did you handle it? Let me know in the comments below.

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February 15, 2021 3

📚I Was Wrong About Bookmarks! How to Use Print to Keep People Coming Back to the Library.

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The Library Marketing Show, Episode 81

When I worked at a large public library, I thought bookmarks were worthless in terms of library marketing. I was wrong! In this episode, I’ll explain why I changed my mind. Plus I’ll show you how to use bookmarks to engage with readers.

Kudos in this episode go to the King County Library System for their Virtual Welcoming Center.

February 10, 2021 3

How To Create a Library Social Media Policy for Your Staff and Your Community That Encourages Interaction and Keeps Everyone Safe

You don’t have to do a whole lot of searching to find stories of public relations nightmares caused by a social media scandal.

All it takes is one slip-up, accidental or intentional. A library employee creates an offensive post on an official account, shares confidential information, or lets their anger get the best of them… and you have a situation on your hands. Libraries have also found themselves the target of social media trolls, who take a thread so far out of control that it catches the attention of the community, the algorithm, and sometimes the press.

Libraries have enough to deal with. You don’t want these potential problems keeping you up at night.

Your library can implement two strong social media policies to help avoid these situations: one that lays out the guidelines for how your staff will use social media to communicate with the public, and the second that sets the rules for how your community interacts with you and others on your official library accounts.

In this post, we’ll make suggestions for what should be included in these two policies.

Internal library social media policy

Are library staff allowed to use social media at work?

Social media access during work hours can be beneficial to your library. A Pew survey found that 20 percent of people use social media to find information that helps them solve problems at work. And you’ll want your staff to feel free to promote their work and advocate for the library, even on their personal accounts.

Your staff social media policy should respect the rights of employees while protecting your library. Here’s what to include in this section.

Staff should be open about who they are and where they work when posting about the library.
Staff should be clear that their opinions are their own. State that you expect them to use good judgement, and be aware that their posts are permanent, retrievable, and public.
Staff should not disclose proprietary information about your library. For instance, they should not publicly disclose service costs, salaries, upcoming service changes, or future initiatives that have not yet been announced.
You will also need to address the use of personal devices for staff who post on the library’s official accounts. You may want to purchase a library-owned mobile device where all apps and content will be produced.
Finally, clearly state the procedures for when a staff member wants or needs to post something to your library’s official accounts during off-hours.

Which library staff members can post on the library’s official accounts?

Specifically outline which staff members will have authorization to create, maintain, and delete official company accounts.
You should also define who keeps track of passwords and where will those passwords be saved.
Include a process for granting access to new employees.
Finally, specify the procedure for securing your library’s social media accounts when a staff member leaves the library’s employment.

Customer-facing social media policy

Your library should define expectations for followers on social media with a short policy which contains a few clear points. I’ve created a policy below which you are free to copy and customize for your library.

The Library encourages participation on all its social media platforms; however, we ask that users keep postings and comments appropriate for all audiences.

The Library reserves the right to remove any content that is deemed, in its sole view, to be inappropriate in nature. That includes posts that contain:

Obscene content or hate speech
Personal attacks, insults, or threatening language
Private or personal information, including phone numbers and addresses, or requests for personal information
Potentially libelous statements
Plagiarized material
Commercial, political, or religious messages unrelated to the Library or its social media postings
Solicitation of funds

The Library also reserves the right to ban or block users who violate this policy. The Library is not responsible for the content posted by others on its social media platforms. User content is the opinion of the specific author and does not necessarily represent the opinions of the Library.

Did I miss anything? Does your library have a social media policy that you are willing to share? Let us know in the comments below.

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February 8, 2021 8

How to Convince Your Library Staff That Library Marketing Materials MUST Be Accessible!

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The Library Marketing Show, Episode 80

I recently learned that there are some library marketers who face push back when they try to make sure their marketing materials are accessible.

Accessibility is a library mission. One in five people around the globe live with a disability. Libraries will never be truly inclusive until they design services, programs, and marketing with this group in mind. And so, in this episode, I’ll share some strategies to help you make sure this goal becomes a reality at your library.

Kudos in this episode go to the Hutchinson Public Library for their advocacy idea that they deploy during Library Lovers Week.

February 3, 2021 4

Five Easy Fixes for the Little Mistakes That Threaten to Sabotage Your Library Marketing!

Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County, showing a librarian and a boy interacting at the reference desk in the Children's Department circa 1925.

It’s been one year since I started working for NoveList.

I don’t often talk about my day job here on the blog. But the work I do gives me a unique perspective on library marketing.

I get to meet (virtually, of course) with library staffers from all over the world and spend time talking about marketing. It’s a privilege to learn from the people who are kind enough to share their insights, problems, and dreams with me.

Part of my job includes offering advice to help strengthen the position of libraries. And one thing I’ve noticed is that libraries of all sizes and shapes are making some small but common marketing mistakes. All of these little mistakes are fixable!

What’s the most common mistake you think libraries make in marketing and promotions? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Little mistake #1: Trying to promote everything your library has to offer, all at once and all the time.

Libraries are amazing. They quite literally have a service or collection item that is perfect for every single person in their community. The difficulty libraries face in marketing their breadth and depth of service is centered in matching each community member to the right service or collection item.

In the quest to make that match, many libraries will try to market everything they offer, hoping that the person who needs that item the most will see it. I had a boss who would have called this “an error of enthusiasm.”

Promoting everything you offer all at once waters down your message. It makes your marketing come off as noise to the community you are trying to reach. And it’s less effective.

How to fix it: Focus with precision on your library’s overall strategy.

What goal is your library trying to accomplish right now? Are you hoping to increase your circulation to pre-pandemic numbers? Are you helping to bridge the pandemic educational gap for elementary school students? Are you implementing a step-by-step plan to ensure your library is truly accessible to everyone? Are you undergoing a facilities improvement project?

Your promotions should be centered on whatever your library is trying to accomplish this year. When you focus your marketing with precision on your library’s strategy, your marketing will be more effective. You will avoid spreading your message thin.

Little mistake #2: Sending every email to all your cardholders.

This happens as a result of mistake #1. Sending an email to all your cardholders feels like common sense. When you are hoping to get people to check out an item, use a database, or attend a program, you want as many people as possible to know about it for maximum success.

But imagine if you had the entirety of your library service community all gathered in the same place, like a large stadium. If you stood on a platform to survey the crowd, what would you see?

There would be all kinds of people, from different backgrounds, with different economic statuses, of different ages. And if asked just ten people in that crowd to tell you a little about themselves, you would hear ten different stories from people with ten different wants, needs, and interests.

Your service community is diverse. One email isn’t going to inspire action in all your community members. Think of your emails as magazines – is there a magazine that includes every interest? Even general topic magazines like Better Homes & Gardens have a target audience and covers matters of the home and garden – not political news or sports or celebrity gossip. (My thanks to my boss, Kathy Lussier, for this brilliant analogy).

How to fix it: Target your email marketing.

There are dozens of ways to segment your audience. To help you get started, read this two part series on targeted email marketing: Targeted Email Marketing for a New Era: The Pros and Cons of How Most Libraries Segment Their Audiences and Psychographics Are the Key to Powerful Email Marketing: How to Unlock the Motivations and Aspirations of Your Cardholders.

Little mistake #3: Assuming your community will see your marketing.

Remember back before the pandemic when we were all exasperated every time we talked with someone about all the services we offer besides books? We were constantly asking ourselves how it was that there were still people in the community who had no idea their library had e-books or homework help or small business resources. We were certainly marketing them! But it kept happening because our community was not always seeing our marketing messages.

Think back again to your community, gathered in the stadium. Each person in that crowd has a different preference for how they consume marketing. Some are signed up for your emails. Some come into the branch and see your posters. Some have never been in a branch before and only interact with your website… and they may have the catalog bookmarked on their computer, so they never even see your homepage promotions!

How to fix it: Target your promotional tactics.

Tactics are the specific methods you use to market your library. They include social media, emails, your website, your catalog, your digital signs, your print promotions, and more.

You don’t need to market each of your library’s overall goals using every tactic. Instead, think about where your target audience is interacting with your library. Then, choose the tactics that your target audience is most likely to see during those interactions.

For example, if you are promoting your new themed storytime, your target audience will be parents, caregivers, and educators. They may interact with your library in emails, on social media, and when they pick holds or use your curbside service.

You can target your promotional tactics specifically to this audience in the places where they are! You’ll want to send them a targeted email message, create social media posts that speak directly to them with wording that focuses on skills their children will learn in the storytime, and slip a flyer or bookmark promoting the storytime into holds or curbside pickups that contain picture books or books about parenting.

Little mistake #4: Letting fear prevent you from implementing a great promotional idea.

The ability to trust your own marketing instincts takes time to nurture. You may be worried that your great promotional ideal will fail. Or you may face difficulty in convincing others that a new promotional idea has merit.

I speak from experience. It took me five years to convince senior staff at my former library to let my department start a blog. It was frustrating. But my good idea did finally see the light of day.

How to fix it: Don’t give up.

Five years is a long time to advocate for a blog. But I did it because I knew it would be good for my library and good for my community.

I’m not advocating insubordination. But, if you truly believe in your idea, don’t give up. Be patiently persistent.

Your supervisors are a target audience, so use what you know about their priorities, motivation, and work beliefs to build your case. Keep gathering data to back up your idea. Recruit like-minded co-workers or peers to advocate for you.

Keep trying. The real winners will be your service community.

Little mistake #5: Thinking you must be an expert to be a good library marketer.

It’s a bonus to have formal training in communications and marketing. It gives you extra confidence. But for many of my readers, the role of promotions was handed to them as part of “other duties as assigned.” It’s hard to do good work when you feel unqualified.

How to fix it: You are already doing it.

If you read this blog or spend any time researching marketing trends, you’re already adding to your expertise. Keep seeking out advice from websites, videos, professional development courses, and conferences. No one understands the importance of lifelong learning better than librarians!

Remember, the more promotional work you do, the more you will learn about your audience and what works for them. The better you will get at marketing. And the stronger your library will be.

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February 1, 2021 1

The Absolute MOST Important Step in Library Marketing…Revealed!

Watch Now

The Library Marketing Show, Episode 79

In this episode, I’ll share the MOST IMPORTANT thing you need to do in library marketing and why you must make time for this step!

Kudos in this episode go to the Madison Library District for their commitment to marketing on Pinterest.

Thanks for watching!

January 27, 2021 0

Feeling Lost and Uninspired by Library Marketing? Here Are Seven Places to Learn and Improve Your Library Promotional Prowess!

Photo courtesy the Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

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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January 25, 2021 2

Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion

Author