Morning drive time. Evening drive time. Afternoon talk show. Radio stations, their formats, their audiences, and their ad prices vary greatly.
You might be wondering if an ad on a radio station is an effective use of your limited library marketing budget.
I’ll break down the list of things you’ll need to consider if you want to buy a library radio ad in this episode.
Plus, kudos go to a library for media coverage of a new service at their organization.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Or do you want me to come and speak at your event? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
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I know, we haven’t even gotten to Halloween yet. But guess what??
TikTok has released its holiday shopping guide for marketers! And although this guide was created for shops and profit brands, there were a lot of really great tips in here that you can use at your library. Let’s dig into the guide in this episode.
Plus someone will receive kudos!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
(P.S. Here is the guide mentioned in this episode, no email required!)
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“If you build it, they will come” applies not only to baseball. It works for email marketing for libraries too!
A reader asked: How do you get people to sign up for your email newsletter? It’s easier than you think. But you have to think of it holistically. I’ll share my four-step strategy in this episode.
One note: I mention an opt-in page in this episode. I think major library announcements, like changes in service, the opening of new locations, and all-system programs like Winter Reading, Summer at the Library, and Back to School, should be opt-out. In other words, send those emails to everyone, and let them opt out if they like (most won’t!)
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
The worst day I’ve ever had in a job was in 2009.
I was working in television news as a producer. It was during the recession, and times were tough for TV stations. Most of our ad dollars came from car dealerships. Vehicle sales fell 40 percent that year, which meant the dealerships had no money to spend on television ads.
One morning, as I sat down at my desk, our news director called one of our morning editors into his office. Andy was in there for about 10 minutes. He emerged crestfallen.
Over the course of the next two hours, a dozen or so of my 60 fellow co-workers made the same journey in and out of the news director’s office. When they emerged, all of them had lost their jobs.
I could barely function that day. Writing was hard and my concentration was nonexistent. The only thing that got me through the day was the conversations I had with my fellow, still-employed co-workers, in hallways, offices, and in the back parking lot. We spent time trying to process what had happened and how it would impact our work.
I’m certain you have a similar story. And to make it through the day, it’s likely you pulled aside a friend, or a co-worker, or called your spouse or parent and talked it through. Sharing your story and receiving validation for your experience made you feel better or at least, more able to handle the crisis. Someone practiced empathy for you.
Empathy is the ability to understand and share the feelings of others. It can, and should, play a role in your library promotions.
Libraries are uniquely positioned to put empathy marketing to work. We care about our communities. We want our patrons to find the information they have, to experience joy, to learn, and to feel included. And that can play a significant role in creating effective promotions.
What is Empathy Marketing?
Empathy in marketing means communicating with your audience that you understand and share the emotions they feel. It’s more than pushing out promotions, one after another, on all channels.
Empathy marketing shows your community that you understand their pain, frustration, hurdles, and problems. When you demonstrate that, you’ll unlock the key to turning your audience’s emotions into action.
Emotions that drive action
Think about your favorite novel. The author used empathy to make you care about what happens to the characters. Without that, you likely would never have finished the book.
In the same way, a promotion that lacks empathy is just noise to an audience. You need to make people understand that you care by harnessing emotion in your library marketing.
People are motivated to action by four main emotions: greed, fear, love, and the chance to grow. And under those main emotions, there is a range of nuance: stress, anxiety, worry, compassion, hope, and many more.
How does this work in the real world?
Research shows empathy in marketing increases engagement. Social media platforms take full advantage of this. They count on users to respond emotionally to posts with emojis, and comments, and share the thoughts, struggles, celebrations, and memories of their family and friends.
This is why storytelling works so well in marketing. When your promotions are emotional, they are more memorable. Your audience can see themselves in the story and imagine how they would react in the same situation. And the emotion someone feels after hearing that story has a greater influence on whether that person takes action and uses their library. It’s that simple.
When I worked in a library, the people in our community were worried specifically about jobs. They wanted valuable, stable employment. Many were stuck in low-paying jobs with no prospects for advancement.
At that time, there weren’t many programs in our area aimed at giving people the basic coaching they needed to put together a resume, ace an interview, or even sort through prospective job openings to find the right fit for their life and their family. So, my library partnered with another organization to put on a series of free workshops aimed at improving the job prospects of members of our community.
The emotion we’ve used to market that program was hope… a sense of hope for the betterment of our community and a sense of hope for those who want a better-paying, more fulfilling job. Hope is related to that fourth base emotion: the chance to grow.
Hope infused every promotional piece we created to promote the workshops. We knew that if we really leaned into the hope this program provided, we would compel our target audience to sign up and attend the workshops.
And it worked! Our workshops filled up and we had to start a waiting list.
A subtle but important shift
I want you to take a look at the last few promotions you have created. Were you merely telling your audience that a service existed in your library? Did your promotion include any emotion?
Here’s how to bridge that gap. Look at the difference between the two paragraphs below promoting Weiss Financial Ratings Site, a library database that allows patrons to find and compare insurance companies. Let’s say you want to compel your community members to do their insurance coverage shopping using your library.
Push marketing: Introducing Weiss Financial Ratings – Your Ultimate Insurance Database! Tired of sifting through endless insurance options? Look no further! Weiss Financial Ratings is a comprehensive database that helps you find the perfect insurance company tailored to your unique needs.
Empathy marketing with fear: The fear of making the wrong insurance decision can be overwhelming, leaving you vulnerable and uncertain about your coverage when it matters most. But your library is an unwavering ally in this sea of uncertainty. Weiss Financial Ratings, available for free at your library, lets you easily and confidently navigate through insurance options. Peace of mind is non-negotiable when it comes to safeguarding your future.
See the difference?
Here’s another example. When I worked at a library, we had a personalized reading recommendation service called Book Hookup. Cardholders used a form on the website to tell a librarian what books they like. Then the librarian gave them three personalized reading recommendations.
When we sent emails promoting this service, I used empathy in my subject lines. To parents, I appealed to their need for convenience, saying, “You’ve got a lot to do. Let us pick out your next favorite book.” To teens, I used greed and a little bit of rebellion as motivation, saying simply, “Read something YOU want to read for a change.”
For a streaming movie service, you can center your promotional message on frustration, saying, “Tired of endlessly scrolling through streaming platforms, only to be met with the frustration of not finding anything captivating to watch? Say hello to a free, curated selection of blockbuster hits, timeless classics, and hidden gems. Your precious time deserves to be spent indulging in the magic of cinema, not lost in the labyrinth of choices.”
It’s a slight, but effective change in wording that leads to big results. For your community, empathy marketing feels less like promotion and more like help.
How do I know what emotions motivate my community?
If you want to get to the heart of the emotions that motivate your community, use psychographics.
Psychographics is the study and classification of people according to their attitudes, aspirations, and other psychological criteria, especially in market research (Oxford Dictionary). They go beyond basic demographics: location, age, gender identity, and library card usage.
To segment by psychographics is to divide your library audience into groups according to their beliefs, values, and reasons for being. It delves deeper into your cardholder’s values, dreams, desires, and outlook on life.
Psychographics identifies motivation. Why does your library community take certain actions? Why do they feel the way they do about the library? How do they see the role of the library in their life? And what activities do they participate in, both inside and outside of the library?
Once you identify the emotions that motivate your community, create messages that help, rather than promote. Here’s an easy thought process to use as you sit down to create promotions. Ask yourself:
How does my community see this problem? What do they do about it right now?
What are their fears?
What are their hopes?
What do they really need from my library, and why do they need it?
Psychographics lead to compelling marketing messages because they focus on your community’s unarticulated needs and motivations. Learn how to identify your community’s psychographic makeup here.
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
I must be honest. I’ve never seen survey results like this one.
My library marketing friends are ALWAYS trying to figure out which social media platform will give them the best results for their goals.
And if your library is trying to drive circulation, it turns out there is a definitive answer.
TikTok.
The platform now boosts a million posts every two months JUST ABOUT BOOKS. And those posts are having a measurable impact on reading habits.
In May of 2023, Casino.org surveyed 10,000 TikTok users between the ages of 18 and 45 (the Gen Z and Millennial generations) who live in the United States and Canada.
Yes, an organization dedicated to gaming did a survey on reading. 🤷
They asked three reading-related questions.
Are you reading more because of the BookTok community?
If the answer is yes, how much more?
Have you ever read a book as a direct result of a BookTok recommendation?
Hang on to your hat, my friends.
48 percent of the survey respondentsin the United States and 53 percent of Canadian respondents said they are actively reading more books because of their exposure to BookTok.
Americans said the platform resulted in a 60 percent increase in their reading activity, with Canadians reporting an increase of 58 percent.
That means that a member of Gen Z or the Millennial generation who previously read 10 books a year is now reading as many as 16 books a year because they watch #BookTok videos.
Holy Kansas.
Casino.org also collected location data and used that to compare the impact that BookTok had on reading by location.
Here’s another stunning result: every state or province reported an uplift in reading among TikTok users.
In the United States, the impact on reading was the most profound in Maine, Nebraska, Idaho, Utah, and Kentucky. Other states where readers reported reading more because of BookTok were California, Nevada, Texas, Pennsylvania, Michigan, and Illinois.
In Canada, Saskatchewan saw the biggest increase in reading due to BookTok. But 57 percent of TikTok users in Ontario, Quebec, and Alberta also stated they are reading more because of BookTok.
If your library is posting on TikTok, you should 100 percent be creating videos that promote books. Here are five tips on how to drive circulation and promote your collection using this specific social media platform.
Ask a question of your staff.
Troy Public Library asked staff members to name a BookTok book that they think is overrated. The video is short, and it’s shot in a way that builds suspense. That’s the perfect way to get people to watch the entire video.
Use trending audio.
Scranton Public Library used this very popular piece of audio from a popular #BookTokker in this video. Chambers County Library System used audio from the Creepy Book Club account on TikTok to share reading recommendations from two of its library staff.
Using popular audio will boost the organic reach of the video by increasing the chances it will show up on a reader’s For You page. And if you’re running low on ideas about what to post on TikTok, just check out the trending pieces of audio as a place to start.
Use humor.
Vaughn Public Libraries used a short snippet of a popular movie soundtrack to create this hilarious clip. At just under 10 seconds, it perfectly introduces the library to a trigger-happy TikTok scroller.
It also subtly promotes the fact that the library’s BookTok recommendations are popular and nudges readers to follow the library account for great book recommendations.
Do something unexpected.
Most people think a library would only promote books with great reviews. But McHenry Public Library turns that notion on its head to highlight a one-star review of a book that most people would consider a classic. And they used a Taylor Swift song, capitalizing on her popularity to boost their organic reach.
Take advantage of staff creativity.
Perhaps it’s no surprise that the script for this hilarious and creative TikTok came from staff at the Los Angeles Public Library. We’d expect nothing less from a city just seven miles from Hollywood.
I bet there is someone at your library who is brimming over with creative ideas for BookTok videos. Put out a call for the best script or concept from staff and fill your content calendar while getting buy-in for the impact of BookTok from your co-workers. They’ll be more likely to share your videos on their personal accounts when they’re personally invested in the process.
For more tips on how to market your library using BookTok, here’s a great article by my co-worker Yaika Sabat. I must give her credit: she called out the impact of BookTok long before Casino.org did!
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My childhood TV crush is organizing an event at public libraries across the United States and your library needs to get ready for it, especially in terms of promotions.
Watch this episode for tips on how to prepare now and educate your community about the importance of inclusive reading.
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 here.
Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enteryour email addressand 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:
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.
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Tamara Murray moved around a lot as a kid. But her family settled in Westerville, Ohio when she was 11 years old. She’s lived there ever since and now works for the library she used as a youngster.
“The Westerville Public Library was the first place I went after getting my driver’s license to return my (ahem, overdue) library books and pick up the newest Steven King novel,” recalled Tamara. “I still remember the glorious sense of freedom I had on that warm spring day, driving down the road towards the library.”
Tamara graduated in 2001 from Miami University (Ohio) with a degree in Creative Writing. While struggling to find a full-time job, a friend suggested she look into librarianship.
“I kind of hated the idea at first,” admitted Tamara. “I was worried it would be boring. But I took her advice to apply as a volunteer, just to get a sense of what it was like. And when an opening came up in the Outreach Department where I was volunteering, I was encouraged to apply.”
“From there, I earned my MLIS from Kent State University and have now held numerous positions at the Westerville Public Library – Outreach Associate, Adult Services Librarian, Web Content Librarian, and now as Marketing Manager.”
The Westerville Library marketing staff consists of Tamara and two staff members. They’re extremely agile. Projects, services, and other initiatives are often conceived of and implemented on short timelines. They are always experimenting with new things.
One day, Tamara spotted a Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) digital billboard while driving. It was positioned on the border of where CML and Westerville’s library district meet. Tamara mentioned it to her Executive Director, Erin Francoeur.
The two hatched a plan to create a friendly rivalry piece about CML encroaching on Westerville’s “home turf”. They approached CML to brainstorm the idea.
“Our initial thoughts were that we could pretend to hack or graffiti the CML billboard,” recalled Tamara. “Then we also considered filming a guard whose job it is to ‘patrol’ the border between our two districts and creating a fictional history around that idea.”
“After we realized that the billboard was only scheduled to be live for a short time, we brainstormed other ways we could represent a rivalry using our current spaces. It occurred to me that a simple ‘apples to apples’ comparison would allow us to highlight our differences and similarities in a way that would be a win-win for both libraries.”
The group decided to create a video using library cards as the main characters, fighting over which library was cooler. They added googly eyes to the library cards to give them personality and made them seem more like real characters in the story.
“The hardest part was figuring out how to add the googly eyes to the library cards in a way that wouldn’t look messy,” laughed Tamara. “I’m always thankful for the ingenuity of our children’s librarians who suggested sticky tack.”
The actual filming took less than an hour. Connor Dunwoodie, Digital Storyteller Specialist at CML, visited each highlighted location and filmed clips with a helper to model the library cards.
“Connor previously worked as a news reporter and anchor and has a gift for visualizing the space and getting the shot on the first try,” said Tamara. “Connor then took the video footage, edited it together, added sound and text, and made it live within 48 hours.”
Tamara and her counterparts at CML were hoping the promotion would spark engagement from those who already know and love both libraries. They also wanted to reach new potential patrons who live near the border of the two districts, an area that both systems refer to as a “library desert.”
“As a single branch medium-sized suburban library, we don’t think of ourselves as direct competition with the 22-branch Columbus metropolitan system,” explained Tamara. “We both are amazing in very similar and very different ways. In Ohio, we are lucky to share state funding for public libraries, which creates some built-in camaraderie since we’re not competing with each other for basic funding.”
Tamara and her team continue to do great work, creating fun promotions and highlighting how the library helps patrons (more on that in a future post!). Tamara says she finds inspiration for her library marketing campaigns nearly everywhere she looks.
“We’re marketed to almost everywhere we go, and I try to take note of what marketing is effective with me personally, as well as what’s effective with my friends and family members,” she shared.
“I ask a lot of questions. ‘Where did you hear about that?’ ‘Why did you buy this product instead of this product?’ It helps to understand what channels, graphics, and calls to action are the most effective.”
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:
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
The best customer service experience I ever had was with a cell phone provider. No kidding.
I was having issues getting my contacts to transfer to a new phone. The provider’s website offered no solutions. So, with great trepidation, I called the customer service line.
The woman who answered was a delight to work with. She welcomed me in a friendly manner and assured me she wouldn’t hang up until she’d solved my problem. She was patient with me as I explained my issue. She was friendly, asking me questions about my day as she worked. And she thanked me with sincerity when our call is over.
A successful and delightful customer service interaction is rare. And it’s increasingly difficult for people to contact a human customer service agent. Earlier this year, Vox published a story about the death of customer service lines. Companies like Frontier Airlines, Facebook, and Amazon are cutting costs by eliminating their phone-based customer service lines in favor of email forms and chatbots.
When I read that, I thought, “That’s a huge opportunity for libraries!”
Our community is our customers. And our unique value proposition is that we offer personalized service provided by a real-life person, always.
Library staff is not chatbots. We’re not email forms.
We listen, and we help solve problems. In fact, we’re proud of our problem-solving skills.
So why don’t we spend more time marketing our unique, valuable customer service experience?
Good customer service is a competitive edge for libraries. We can build a reputation as a warm and inviting space. When was the last time you heard Amazon or Best Buy described in those terms?
Building your library’s reputation for customer service will increase visits and use of your library. And for many of you, that can be valuable in budget and funding discussions.
And delighted community members are more likely to spread the word to their friends and family about our system and the services we provide. They are compelled to talk about us positively on social media, give us great reviews on Google Business, and support our work through donations or volunteerism.
Here are 3 ways to use your library’s customer service as a marketing tool. Scroll to the bottom of the post for a great real-world example of customer service guidelines for staff from the University of Illinois.
Make it incredibly easy for people to contact you.
Your library’s address, phone number, and email address should be easy to find on our website. I’d recommend adding it to your page’s footer, as well as your “about” section. You might also add a “Contact us” page to your website.
It’s okay to have your contact information in more than one location! Don’t make your community members jump through hurdles to reach you. Remember, your competitive advantage is the ease of using the library.
You must also keep your library’s information updated on Google. And add your contact information to your bio or “about” page on all your social media accounts.
Finally, consider sharing your contact information at the top of your email newsletters, at the beginning of each video you produce, and even at the beginning of each program you hold. A simple statement like, “Our library is here to help you! Ask us any question, anytime by calling 555-5555 or emailing us at questions@mylibrary.org” is sufficient.
And if you do this anytime you interact with a group of community members, over time your concerted and consistent effort to share your contact information will convey the message that your library is a place where community members can seek help.
Promote your library as a place that helps people solve problems.
In your marketing, emphasize that your library is on the community’s side.
Your promotions should drive the following messages:
That your staff works collaboratively with users.
That you take your time to listen to problems and find the best solutions.
That your community members’ problems are your problems!
That you care about the outcome of your interactions.
One way to do this is to collect stories of the library solving patron problems. You might have to get out of your comfort zone to ask after a casual conversation but it’s worth it. Most people will be more than happy to allow you to use their feedback as a jumping-off point for a story. People love to talk about themselves. Use that to your advantage!
You’ll likely need to train your staff on how to do this. It sounds complicated, but here is an easy framework for staff to keep in mind.
If you think there is an opportunity for a patron to share a story with you, don’t wait until the end of your interaction to ask. Ask questions when the moment presents itself, even if that’s toward the beginning of your interaction. Listen for the community member to say something like, “Oh that was helpful!” That’s your cue to ask permission from the community member to share the story of your interaction.
Avoid broad questions that can be answered with a simple yes or no, like “Would you recommend the library to friends and family?” or “Did you benefit from our work together?”
Instead, ask the patron specific questions that require a bit of engaging explanation.
“What are some reasons you’d recommend the library to your friends and family?”
“How is your life different now that you’ve received help from the library?”
When you ask these more specific questions, you’re setting up your patron to offer a bit of narrative and a back story. Remember that hearing more about another person’s journey can help a potential library user visualize the difference their life could have if came to the library for help.
Look for stories everywhere… in emails to your library, in social media comments or messages, and of course, in person. When you actively look for stories, it will get easier and become second nature.
Finally, create a story bank. Collected stories have little value if they can’t be molded into something you can. Use whatever technology your budget will allow.
You can keep track of all the major details with a simple spreadsheet in Excel or Google Docs. Some libraries even use Trello, which is free, to gather and share patron stories.
Promote your staff as problem solvers
Other companies have employees. Libraries have experts who truly care about the work they are doing and the impact they have on the community.
That’s why your staff is one of your most valuable resources. They are what makes your library stand out from your competitors. Augusta Public Library did this in a fantastic Facebook post.
And when you highlight specific staff, your community members will begin to feel as if they know the employees. They’ll be more comfortable coming into your physical buildings because they’ll recognize the face at the desk or in the stacks. They’ll feel more open about asking you for help!
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Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 