Sometimes it can be very difficult to get your library leaders on board with your marketing ideas. I’ve got five tips that I’ve used to persuade senior leaders and supervisors, and I’m going to share them with you in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus we’ll give kudos to a library that received press coverage for a new outreach initiative at their local airport!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
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A fascinating new report may help your library decide which social media platforms you should use to post content specifically aimed at your youngest readers! We’ll break down the topline results and talk about how to take advantage of this new data in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus we’ll give kudos to a library mentioned on a major national comedy show… and they didn’t even plan this press!
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. Then 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
When Jennifer Fermino graduated from college with a B.A. in English, she needed help figuring out how to put together a resume that would land her a job in communications. She found that help at what was then the New York Public Library’s Mid-Manhattan Library (now the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library).
“It was an invaluable resource for a young person who really didn’t know what she was doing or how to translate any of her job skills, which was then primarily waitressing and nannying, into the career path I was aiming for,” recalls Jennifer. “I would also add I am in good company: President Obama also credits the Stavros Niarchos Foundation Library with helping him get his first job.”
And now, 20 years later, after stints as a reporter for the New York Post and the New York Daily News, as well as PR agencies and as Communications Director for the New York City Council, Jennifer works for NYPL as Vice President for Communications and Marketing. She’s been at her dream job for about a year and a half.
“It’s amazing to work for a system that serves three boroughs in the greatest city in the world (Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island),” enthuses Jennifer. “We have 92 locations and there is never a dull day.”
Jennifer and a team of nearly 30 people run all marketing and promotions for the library. And her first 18 months on the job were, shall we say, a trial by fire.
New York City Mayor Eric Adams proposed huge cuts to the library’s budget earlier this year… $58.3 million to be exact… that would have forced NYPL to dramatically reduce hours. The budget cuts also threatened the library’s budget for books, programs, and maintenance. Prior cuts, enacted in late 2023, forced all NYPL branches to close on Sundays.
Soon after these new cuts were announced, NYPL, along with the Brooklyn and Queens Public Libraries, launched a massive campaign to show the importance of the city’s three libraries. And New Yorkers, as well as library lovers from across the country (myself included) jumped in to show their support.
For months, I was served a social media post from NYPL every time I went online, on all channels. It felt like a coordinated, consistent effort to keep reminding people of the threat of the cuts. And that’s why I reached out to Jennifer. I wanted to know how her team managed the campaign.
“It was a sustained effort to tap into the goodwill that people have for libraries and keep the cuts front and center,” says Jennifer. “I give huge credit to Victoria Reis, our social media manager, who is creative and has an understanding of both online culture and our audience.”
“We began repurposing the famous “This is fine’ meme with our mascot Patience and it was an immediate hit with our followers. People really connected to the campaign, and the message – that we already lost Sunday service and were in danger of losing more – resonated.”
“The reaction kept growing and growing. Towards the end of the campaign, one of our memes – again a repurposing, this time of the “girl explaining” meme, went over the top viral. Last I looked it had over 7M views on X (Twitter).”
The team included messaging on other channels as well and worked hard to stay coordinated.
“Special shoutout to our talented Managing Editor Katherine Ward, whose job was to keep it all together for us,” declares Jennifer.
The team coordinated messaging using four main tactics:
Their NYPL Connect newsletter, which I encourage any library or NYC lover to sign up for, as well as regular reminders of the cuts on our home page.
Letter writing stations in branches in which patrons could easily write city leaders to support libraries.
Rallies of supporters at City Hall that the press was invited to cover.
And, as mentioned, a fun, creative social strategy.
“We honestly didn’t know what was going to happen – everyone was hopeful but on pins and needles,” remembers Jennifer. “Reporters started calling me saying they had sources saying we would be saved, but I refused to believe it until it was official. People were congratulating us, but I felt like it was jinxing us. It took a bit for me to finally accept that it was over.”
“Thankfully, the Mayor has a history of supporting libraries, and we are grateful that he funded us. We also had the City Council, including Speaker Adrienne Adams, firmly in our corner throughout.”
“But I can say that our campaign engaged New Yorkers and showed how much people love their libraries, which is so important in the budget process.”
While they fought the budget cuts, NYPL’s marketing team had other promotions to balance.
“We had launched our “Books for All” campaign celebrating the freedom to read and standing against book bans right before the cuts were enacted,” explains Jennifer. “We continued that campaign all year long because the issue is of such importance to us.”
“We also just finished our ‘Summer at the Library’ campaign with Brooklyn and Queens to promote reading and education city-wide during the summer break for schools. Although not technically part of the advocacy campaign, efforts like this help show why funding libraries is so important.”
“We are always exchanging ideas and talking about how to engage New Yorkers,” says Jennifer. “It is a great relationship. We are partners throughout the advocacy campaign and continue to do great work together.”
“In fact, we are planning a national Freedom To Read Day of Action on Oct. 19 with Brooklyn and Queens, as well as the American Library Association, Unite Against Book Bans, and the Association for Rural and Small Libraries to stand against censorship. We have many libraries already signed up and invite everyone to join us.”
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:
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then 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:
Can your library go viral? It is possible… if you create the right kind of content. We’re going to dive into the psychology of emotion and its impact on the effectiveness of social media in this episode of the Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library that created a video highlighting their most popular and fun resources!
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. Then 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:
This is a hot topic for many of my viewers. I have six tips for you, plus three things working against you that make this work harder in this The Library Marketing Show episode. This episode is a bit longer than normal but it’s worth it!
Plus we’ll give kudos to a library that did something very smart to get lots of press coverage for a recent event.
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. Then 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:
Does your library need to delete old events from your Facebook account? It’s a great question that came in from a viewer. I’ve got three questions to ask yourself before you hit the “delete” button in this episode.
Plus we’ll give kudos to a library with a fantastic YouTube short that puts a library spin on an iconic sporting event.
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. Then 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:
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then 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:
There’s a very simple trick that you can use to get more views on your YouTube channel. It takes about 10 seconds of your time. I will show you exactly what to do in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus we’ll give kudos to a library that drew a lot of attention to a very delicious-sounding event.(Here’s a hint: 🥒)
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. Then 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:
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 