You may wonder, is it possible to over-communicate with my patrons?
Can you send too many emails, do too many social media posts, and put up too many posters and flyers in your library?
There are some telltale signs that you’re overdoing it! I have four tips to help you determine if you are flooding your community with too many messages in this Library Marketing Show episode.
Plus kudos go to a library that received press coverage for the return of a long overdue book with a funny note inside!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And 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:
I have a bummer of a report to share with you today. However, it’s imperative because it may impact the way you use your library’s social media accounts to promote other content offerings from your library.
Buckle up! We will dive into that in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, kudos go to a library that uses email to show off its accomplishments and prove its value to key stakeholders.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And 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:
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Interviewing a stranger about their library experience is intimidating for many people. If the thought of having an intentional conversation to elicit a sound bite you can use in a blog, video, social media post, press release, or other content sounds daunting, the post is for you.
Why a powerful quote is important.
Your audience wants to hear directly from the people impacted by your library’s work. Whether that is your staff, director, board members, or patrons, a good quote can drive home your work’s value.
A quote can convey passion or a strong point of view. It can turn a story about statistics or complicated concepts into something understandable and relatable. A quote can also establish an emotional connection with the reader or viewer.
And, if your goal is to catch the attention of local media, a good quote can make your press release, blog post, or email stand out. Because…
The media knows when your quote is fake.
I worked in a local television newsroom for nearly 20 years before I became a library marketer. And I’m here to tell you… journalists can tell when you’ve made up a quote for a press release.
I understand why it happens. Your director or coworkers may tell you they trust you to put words in their mouths. It seems less time-consuming than doing an interview.
But the media can tell when you’re making it up. That’s why an interview, however short, is key to getting an authentic quote. So here are tips to make the interview process smooth and successful.
Prepare as much as possible.
If you are interviewing a co-worker, a board member, or the director of your library, take a few moments to see if there is any documentation that gives you clues about their background. Search their LinkedIn profile and board minutes. Do a Google search to see if they’ve ever done an interview. You may learn new facts about them and their speaking style.
Think about how you might structure your piece before you even write it.
That structure may lead you to questions to ask.
For example, readers may notice that I often start library profiles on this blog with some facts about my subject’s life before they worked in marketing. I ask people to tell me about their childhood library and their work before libraries, to build the scene and give a deep background on my subject. Use this technique for any interview leading to a blog post, social media post, or video.
If you are interviewing to get a quote for a press release, I suggest writing the press release before doing the interview. Leave spaces where a quote or two would grab the media’s attention and add context and emotion to the story you’re trying to pitch. Now you’re ready to write your questions.
Craft targeted questions that elicit insightful responses.
Use simple sentences and language.
Add intention to your questions. If you want someone to share a firsthand experience or observation, craft your sentence to gently lead your interviewee to that answer.
Ask open-ended questions. If you must ask a yes or no question, follow up with “Why?” to give your subject the nudge to elaborate.
Still stuck? Use your tools. ChatGPT can help you craft questions for your interview.
To show how this works, I typed into ChatGPT: “I am interviewing my library director about a new partnership that will help community members land a job or advance their careers. Can you give me some sample questions I might use to get a good quote?”
Here is the list of questions ChatGPT gave me.
Can you please provide an overview of the new partnership aimed at helping community members with job placement and career advancement?
What motivated the library to pursue this partnership?
How do you envision this partnership benefiting members of our community?
Could you elaborate on the specific resources or services that will be made available through this partnership?
In what ways will the library be collaborating with the partner organization to deliver these resources and services effectively?
How will the library measure the success of this partnership in terms of its impact on community members?
Are there any demographics or groups within the community that stand to benefit most from this initiative?
How does this partnership align with the library’s broader mission and goals?
Can you share any success stories or examples of how similar partnerships have been effective in other communities?
What steps will the library take to ensure that community members are aware of and can easily access the resources and services offered through this partnership?
That is a huge list! It’s a great start. All I would need to do is go through and tweak the questions to match the tone I want to set and to sound more like something I would say.
Now comes the fun part: the interview!
6 tips for conducting the interview
#1: Record the conversation.
#2: Talk a little about yourself to get the conversation started.
#3: Ask an easy first question to calm everyone’s nerves.
#4: Encourage elaboration on interesting points.
#5: Let the person talk. Don’t be afraid of silence.
#6: Paraphrase or summarize key points to nudge the interviewee towards a quotable response.
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:
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Courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Promoting your library can feel a lot like feeding a very hungry, very demanding giant.
You want your community to know that your library is the source of rich and valuable information. But, let’s be honest. When you are doing the entire job of promoting your library by yourself or with a small staff, keeping up with the audience’s expectations can be exhausting.
Heck, doing it with a big staff is exhausting. Marketing is tiring.
And the more exhausted and overworked you get, the more your original content suffers. You can’t put your best work out into the world when you are weary.
Your original content, like blog posts, videos, newsletters, and social media posts that talk about what your library offers and how your library helps your community, must be as engaging as possible. Those pieces of content take precedence. You should devote your energy to making those shine.
But there are so many content holes to fill! That’s where a little trick called content curation can be super helpful.
Content curation is sharing articles, infographics, case studies, videos, and other content created by other organizations on your library’s platforms.
Now, I know this sounds counter-intuitive to promoting your library. Why would you share the work of someone else with your audience? Shouldn’t you take every opportunity to engage your followers with your library’s stuff?
That would be ideal. But I know darn well you don’t have a staff of 20 writers to fill your content needs every day. And besides helping you fill your editorial calendar, content curation has other benefits.
Sharing content that aligns with your library’s mission, vision, and values will strengthen your library’s brand. It does this by building trust in your library as an institution of knowledge and inspiration. And it helps you to drive home important messages, like the joy of reading.
Before you begin sharing
The library I used to work for was huge: 600,000 plus cardholders and 41 locations. However, I had a small marketing staff. We often shared content from other sources to fill gaps in our social media and email calendars.
We set a focus for this shared content: anything we shared from outside sources had to be related to books and the literary world. This aligned with one of our library’s overall goals to drive circulation.
That focus was both simplistic and broad. It allowed us to fill our content needs with posts about authors, new books, books being made into movies, health news related to reading, beautiful libraries around the world, historic libraries (including our own), and a lot more.
Our library’s curated content led to higher organic reach on social media. Those pieces of shared content were intriguing additions to our emails. The curated content got a high click rate.
This strategy positioned us as a news source for all things related to the book world. Our followers and fans thought of us as more than a library. They turned to us for information on all topics related to literature.
So, I advise you to set a focus: one that is simple and aligns with your library’s strategic goals.
For example, Hennepin County Public Library’s strategic plan includes the line: “Offering free access to essential technology and connectivity.” Their curated content focus can be on technology and the benefits of open access to a community.
Here’s another example. One of Montgomery County Public Library’s strategic goals is to make sure all children ages 5 and younger are ready for kindergarten. Their curated content focus might be on shared literacy tips for caregivers of young children, as well as any content that helps caregivers prepare their kiddos for school.
Once you’ve set your focus, you can start sharing. Here is a list of 13 websites where you can find library-related content to share with your audience.
Do you know of a website I should add to the list? Comment below the post to let me know!
This list of user-generated content on books, libraries, and the literary world is invaluable. Use the discussion boards to give your ideas for fun, and interactive polls to create for your social media followers or email subscribers.
A good source of more high-brow literary news and lots of book reviews. Use this site to help you decide which books to highlight for individual promotions on social media and through email.
Find in-depth articles and interesting angles on literary themes. Scroll down to the bottom for links to a host of podcasts on every kind of literary subject.
My team is responsible for the blog and newsletters, and we work hard to make sure they are a rich source of content curation or promotional ideas for your library. Steal away!
This company is based in the UK and sells printing options for libraries. Their blog is rarely about printing. Instead, they cover library topics like the impact of early literacy strategies and the joy of volunteering at a library.
This daily email from Megan Kowalski (profiled here) will give TONS of great, daily ideas for content. She’s a whiz at following those little-known holidays that can make for great fun on social media (Hello, Fish Tank Floorshow Night!)
Any blog from another library or one of your partners!
If you type “library blog” into Google these days, you’ll come up with a whole list of libraries that are publishing content on a variety of subjects. They’ll appreciate you if you share their content. And you’ll know those content pieces are well-researched and written from the library’s perspective.
Your partner organizations will also be flattered if you share their content. For example, if the town yoga instructor who occasionally holds a class at your branch posts about how yoga helps relieve stress, and your content curation focus is on mental health, share that post!
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
Last week, we went over the Marketing Rule of 7 and how consistent messaging delivered many times over multiple channels will lead to promotional success.
But that does NOT mean you must create 500 versions of every promotion you do. PHEW!
So, let’s talk about the easiest way to make the Marketing Rule of 7 happen within the constraints of working in a library. We do that by repurposing our content.
Repurposing content
Repurposing content is the practice of reusing elements of existing content to expand that content’s reach.
Repurposing content makes it easy to fulfill the Marketing Rule of 7 because you don’t need to write every post, shoot every video, and design every infographic from scratch.
Instead, you can use a piece of new content as the basis for lots of other content.
Why repurpose your content?
Your community is diverse. Their preferred methods of receiving information are diverse.
Some of them are visiting your website every day for updates. Some are seeing your social media posts. Some are waiting for your next email to hit their inbox. And some are fans of your Reels, TikTok, or YouTube videos.
Re-purposing content helps you reach more people on the channels they prefer efficiently, so you can go do all the other things you need to do in a day!
I repurpose this blog every week. (Did you notice?!) Here’s how I do it.
I pull out a few lines, usually from the first one-third of the post. I may use the lines exactly as they are in the post. Or I might rearrange them, adding more humor or emojis… things I wouldn’t necessarily do in my blog post.
Then I take those lines and I post them across my social media channels and in my emails.
I also take parts of a post and use them in other posts, especially if these are key points I really want you to remember. For example, I strongly believe books are your library’s brand. And I say so… often!
Sometimes, I take parts of my blogs and use them in presentations. I also turn them into an infographic or a 60-second video.
How will this work at your library?
Let’s say you’ve created an infographic to communicate the value of your library in the past year. We know infographics are a great way to present those statistics and give a whole picture of your library’s contribution.
But infographics take time to build. And some people will still need those stats broken down for them, piece by piece, in order to comprehend their meaning.
So you can take each of the points on that infographic and create separate social media posts. This really helps your audience digest the information.
Those separate pieces of breakout information can also serve as a springboard for your library to write blog posts or longer social media posts specifically diving into those key stats and what they mean for your community.
Choose three of the facts on the infographic. Pick a staff member who loves being on camera and ask them to create a 60-second Reel or TikTok video using trending audio and creative elements to explain this serious subject: the value proposition of your library.
Need more help figuring out how to make this work at your library? I created a 4-step guide for you!
Easy 4-step guide to repurposing content
Let’s say your library is publishing a promotional blog post about Book Club Kits. It might look like this.
Get Convenient, Easy Help Leading Your Next Book Club
Are you someone who enjoys discussing books, sharing insights, and hearing different perspectives on a story? Or maybe you’ve been thinking about starting a book club but don’t know where to begin. Well, look no further! Our Book Club Kits are designed to bring people together through the power of literature, and here’s why you should definitely consider checking one out:
Diverse Selection: Our Book Club Kits include a wide range of titles covering various genres, themes, and authors. Whether you prefer classics, contemporary fiction, non-fiction, or even a mix of everything, we have something for everyone. From thought-provoking novels to inspiring memoirs, our collection is carefully curated to spark engaging discussions.
Convenience: Starting and maintaining a book club can be challenging, especially when it comes to sourcing multiple copies of the same book. With our Book Club Kits, we’ve taken care of that for you! Each kit includes multiple copies of the featured book, making it easy for your group to access and read the same title simultaneously.
Discussion Guides: To facilitate meaningful conversations, our kits come with discussion guides. These guides provide questions, prompts, and talking points to help guide your book club discussions, ensuring that everyone gets a chance to share their thoughts and insights.
Cost-Effective: Participating in a book club can sometimes become costly when you have to purchase multiple copies of a book. With our Book Club Kits, you can enjoy reading and discussing a wide variety of books without breaking the bank. It’s a budget-friendly way to explore new literary horizons.
Community Building: Book clubs provide an excellent opportunity to meet new people, make friends, and engage in lively conversations. By checking out one of our Book Club Kits, you can be a part of a vibrant community of readers right here in your own neighborhood.
Flexibility: Whether you prefer in-person meetings or virtual gatherings, our Book Club Kits are designed to accommodate your preferred format. You can use them to start a club with friends, family, or even coworkers, making it easy to connect with others over a shared love of reading.
You can use that post as a base for repurposing.
Step one:Write a two-line version of your blog post.
This is going to be the mini-version of your post… the elevator pitch, so to speak.
For this example, I would say:
Book Club Kits from the library make it easy, convenient, and cost-effective to start a book club. The library provides free book copies and discussion guides that allow everyone to participate and build community.
Step two:Promote in your emails.
Add your two-line version of the blog post to your newsletter and any other email you send over the course of the next month, with a link to the full post.
Step three:Share on your social channels.
Post your two-line version of the blog and include a link to the full post in the comments of your social media post. (Here’s why you want to put it in the comments instead of the post.)
Keep the momentum going on different social media channels by creating more two-line versions of your blog. For example, during week one, post this to Instagram and Facebook:
Book Club Kits from the library make it easy, convenient, and cost-effective to start a book club. The library provides free book copies and discussion guides that allow everyone to participate and build community.
In week two, post a new two-line version on Instagram, Facebook, and LinkedIn:
Book Club Kits from the library bring people together through the power of literature. The curated kits are convenient and flexible to help any book club leader.
On week three, you put another two lines on Facebook, LinkedIn, and X:
Meet new people, make friends, and engage in lively conversations about books without breaking the bank. Check out the free library’s Book Club Kits.
And so on. Mix it up to make it sound like new content while driving home the key points you wish to make.
Step four: Use the promotional message on print promotions.
Create a bookmark, flier, and sign, with your favorite two-line pitch from your blog post. Include a QR code linking to the blog post.
Place the bookmarks and fliers in every hold or checkout. Place your sign on a display of books that have been assembled into book club kits.
Re-purposing all content
You can do this with any piece of content, from podcasts to press releases. Break the content down into pieces and spread them across all your available platforms.
In this way, you can make sure everyone in your community sees your message. You also can make sure the work you are doing right now will have maximum impact.
The added benefit to re-purposing: more data.
It won’t take long for you to learn where your audience is getting news about the library. If you notice that engagement is high on one marketing channel, you will know which channel to start with when you are promoting your library.
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
A few weeks ago, I walked through my neighborhood listening to the Library Marketing for Library Marketers podcast. Katie Rothley was interviewing a woman named Sarah Tolle, who manages content for a large Canadian agency. And Sarah said something that literally stopped me in my tracks.
“People take comfort in hearing the same story repeatedly. They like knowing that they know the story and that they understand you. And they anticipate the ending. “
-Sarah Tolle, content director for Black and White Zebra.
I was standing there on the sidewalk, staring at a squirrel gathering nuts from the front yard of an indiscriminate house, and I thought, HOLY SMOKES, this woman is dropping some truth bombs.
Sarah was talking about the value of a consistent message. The timing of this episode could not have been more perfect. In my day job, I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about how library marketers can get the most bang for their buck.
Many of the libraries I work with are struggling to figure out how to do three big things:
Drive more visitors to their buildings
Get higher attendance at their programs
Get their cardholders to use their cards more often.
They’re working alone or with a small team, with very little money, and very little time. It’s an impossible formula.
Except, as Audrey Hepburn once said, “Nothing is impossible. Even the word itself says, ‘I’m possible.'”
And the secret to success may be found in the form of a marketing axiom that’s nearly 100 years old.
The Marketing Rule of 7
The Marketing Rule of 7 was developed by the movie industry in the 1930s. Studio bosses discovered that a certain amount of advertising and promotion was required to compel someone to see a movie.
It takes time and consistent marketing to make people aware of your library. One message, delivered on one platform, one time, is not going to be enough. We must work to make sure people are familiar with our library.
Now, I know what you are thinking. The Marketing Rule of 7 makes sense. But it’s also in complete contradiction to another marketing fact that is entirely a product of the digital age.
The Reality of Content Shock
Marketing expert Mark Shaffer, author of more than 12 books on marketing, defines Content Shock as “the phenomenon when exponentially increasing amounts of content intersect with our limited human capacity to consume it.”
In other words, there’s too much stuff to read and not enough time to read it. (Are we talking about my inbox or my TBR? Or both?)
So how do we square both marketing truths? And how do we figure out a way forward so we can reach the goals of our library marketing?
First, the number 7 in the Marketing Rule of 7 is an arbitrary number. It could take somebody more than seven times the exposure before they become a loyal library user. Or maybe it will only take five times. Or two times.
Don’t focus so much on the number. Focus on the consistent message.
Because when your audience is overloaded with content, sharing one, consistent message, repeatedly, will break through.
Political candidates know this is true. When they’re trying to get elected or whip up support for a bill, they come up with a main message. They repeat it everywhere: on fliers, social media, in interviews with the press, in speeches, etc. They do this because they know they must repeat the message to make sure their constituents hear and understand it.
How to Create a Consistent Message
Let’s say you work for a high school library and your goal is to get more kids to check out books to read for pleasure (because, let’s be honest, most kids do not find reading Catcher in the Rye all that pleasurable).
First, write a few lines that succinctly encapsulate the message you want to get across.
Read something for once just for fun! The library is filled with books that won’t give you class credit but will take you on an adventure you’ll never forget.
Now, use those two lines across your promotions: on bookmarks, posters, displays, and in morning announcements. Repeat it to kids who wander into the library looking for something to read. Do it all year long. By the end of the year (and probably sooner), the message will have sunk into the kids. That’s consistent messaging.
Next week: I’ll give you a four-step plan for repurposing any piece of content you create across multiple channels without losing your consistent, core message. (Yes, it can be done!)
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 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.
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
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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Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 