Six years ago, I began recording short videos offering library marketing tips as a way to share what I’ve learned and improve my public speaking skills.
With 300 episodes under my belt (!!), I still enjoy doing this every week, all thanks to you. To mark the occasion, I’m going to share five secrets about The Library Marketing Show that I’ve never revealed before!
I want to sincerely thank you, my friends. You’re my people. I think you’re pretty darn wonderful. Thanks for welcoming me into your work life.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you 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, enter your email address. Then, click 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 of Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
It’s not surprising that Tina Walker Davis and her communications team at Deschutes Public Library in Bend, Oregon, have a robust and interesting video strategy for YouTube. Tina, who grew up in the San Francisco Bay area and graduated from Washington State University, has a previous career as a television anchor and reporter.
“I left journalism to go into marketing and communications and owned my own marketing business for 10 years until I made the financially disastrous decision to open an independent bookstore,” explains Tina. “While the bookstore didn’t pan out, it did enmesh me in the literary community here, including the library system.”
Tina took a job at the library in 2012 in event planning and coordination. Now she’s Communications Manager for the library. She manages four people, including a Graphic Design Coordinator and Dana O’Connell, Keifer McCool, and Michael Rivera, who are all Digital Communications Coordinators.
“Michael almost exclusively does video work, and Dana and Kiefer both manage social media,” says Tina. “Dana also does all of our Spanish-language communications. I’ve told the team many times that I’ve never worked with such a collaborative group.”
“We have bi-weekly brainstorming sessions that are so fun. There’s no agenda. It’s just a time for us to come together and talk about what we’re seeing, what we’re excited about, and generally throw some spaghetti at the wall. A lot of our best content was conceptualized in those brainstorming meetings.”
Deschutes Public Library’s YouTube channel was already up and running when Tina began her job. At first, Tina’s team used it to share story time videos and videos of their marquee events, as well as a Why We Love the Library series in 2016 and 2017. At the end of 2019, they had 265 subscribers.
Then COVID hit. Like most libraries, Deschutes Public Library pivoted to online programs and saw its subscriber count grow to 14,500 at the time of this writing.
When Tina hired Michael in 2022, he “brought a wealth of professional video production experience—just phenomenal skills in shooting and editing, but also a fantastic eye and ear for storytelling,” exclaims Tina.
“I don’t know if it’s my background in journalism, but I’ve always believed in the power of stories to do the work that we can sometimes struggle to do in marketing.”
“We can run ads telling people how great the library is, but it’s so much more impactful when it comes from real people who truly believe in the power of libraries to change lives.”
-Tina Walker Davis
Dana says the library’s strategy, when it comes to producing videos for YouTube, is to strike a balance between the information the community needs to know about the library and fun or trending content.
“Everyone who comes into the library has a story,” explains Dana. “Some of our human-interest pieces come from referrals by our public services staff, in the form of kudos from our online web form, or a chance meeting while in one of our branches.”
“Staff, volunteers, and customers offer the chance to talk about the library in a unique voice where we aren’t necessarily promoting a product or service. For me, it’s about having a touch point with a customer and listening to what excites them about the library; no two answers are the same.”
“One thing we do every time someone is interviewed for a video, regardless of the topic, is to ask, ‘Why are libraries important?’” adds Tina. “The answer to that question is evergreen. We can pull the answer and use it along for a series of shorts, turn it into a graphic quote for social, or string together several answers for a stand-alone piece.”
Dana and Kiefer shoot and edit the short-form, vertical format for Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, and YouTube shorts. Michael uses videography equipment to do the longer-form and documentary-style videos.
“But rarely do they work alone,” explains Tina. “They’re writing together, and often Dana or Kiefer will act as Michael’s grip during shoots and take care of the interview portions. Michael is definitely a dedicated videographer, but it’s truly a team effort between the three of them—and it’s magical.”
All videos from Deschutes Public Library have captions for accessibility and clarity. They also have video thumbnails featuring a branded, consistent look. That helps to capture the attention of scrollers while making sure viewers know this content comes from the library.
“When I choose the image(s), I’m looking for a visually pleasing frame that tells the viewer just enough to pique their interest without giving away too much of the story,” reveals Michael. “The best images will also have some clean space in the frame that the title will naturally fall into.”
“The title in the thumbnail usually doesn’t match the video title, and that’s on purpose. The main title is always clear and matter-of-fact, while the thumbnail title often uses one of the most impactful quotes in the story. The key here is to be concise to maximize the size of the text in the frame, so the titles are usually no more than six words.”
Deschutes Public Library doesn’t rely on pure chance to get views on its videos. They promote them!
“Our flagship eNewsletter has 55,000 subscribers, and we’ll sometimes link to videos from the newsletter,” says Tina. “We embed some videos on our website. In particular, we’ve used our videos on our website to help inform the public about our bond projects.”
“I also do some paid promotion of videos on YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram if I can see that a monetary ad boost is needed and will help us really target our Deschutes County residents.”
“So, with all that said, our investment in YouTube as a platform was very organic. It started slowly, but we saw real growth. But nothing happens on YouTube alone in terms of storytelling. Anything that is shared there is also pushed out on Instagram and Facebook, and some also make their way to TikTok if they’re humorous or have that viral potential.”
Tina and her team say the videos help boost awareness of the library and its services, and they’ve received a wealth of positive community feedback.
“Our recent viral video — where our director, Todd Dunkelberg, is giving a Gen Z-inspired tour of the new Redmond Library — was a great community experience. Between Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube, we are now close to 5 million views on that video. But what I loved seeing was locals commenting amongst folks from across the country and the world — the locals took so much pride in claiming the library as their own (‘That’s MY library!’).”
“And Todd became a little local celebrity after it, with folks coming up to him in the community and telling him how much they loved the video. We immediately jumped on the ‘Slay’ and ‘So Julia’ lines and created stickers with the characters Todd points to in the video, and those were really popular with our customers.”
For inspiration, Tina and her team often look inside and outside the library world.
“I’m guilty of being an Instagram reels scroller,” confesses Tina. “My brain often goes to, ‘Could we put a spin on that?’ Often in our brainstorming sessions, we’ll bring forward videos that we’ve seen over the past two weeks, share them with the team, and see if there’s something we can do along those lines.”
“Library systems are really growing into their own niche on social. They’re funny, sometimes irreverent. People really enjoy watching library folks, who are perhaps historically thought of as buttoned up, be funny.”
– Tina Walker Davis
Tina says the key factors in the success of the library’s video marketing strategy are her talented team and library leadership that believes in the power of communication.
“I know that for a lot of libraries across the county, being able to spend this kind of time on video work is an absolute luxury,” says. Tina. “I feel very fortunate to not only have the trust from our leadership to do that work, but also lucky to work with a team of communications professionals who are passionate about the work and the message.”
“The goal is to remind our customers, the taxpayers who make the library’s work possible, that the library is here for them, in whatever way they may need, from checking out a book to finding a job. We’re here to meet people where they are and make their lives better.”
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Did you know that there are seven places inside your library building where you could be promoting your library and have a perfectly captive audience? You’ll look like a genius! I’m going to reveal the list in this episode of the Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library that used a book display to help the community understand the threat of anti-library legislation.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you 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, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Have you ever wondered how your community discovers books? Here’s a spoiler alert…
It’s not just on your shelves! A new study explores the discovery habits for books in Canada, the U.S., Australia, and New Zealand. I’ll give you the highlights and three smart marketing tips for each area that you can do to promote your collection in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library for a program that promotes Freedom to Read without being partisan or political.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you 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, enter your email address. Then, click 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
We are now firmly in the second half of the calendar year. I don’t know about you, but when I worked in a library, this was the time I usually started to “drag” a little. I was tired and uninspired. (Hey, that rhymes!) I needed a little boost… someone to remind me to focus on what was important.
I’m here for you. These are the eight things I want you to focus on as you move into the next six months. This is also a great post to share with new hires who work on library promotions. The eight principles listed below are the most valuable tips I can offer to help you center your work and find direction.
And I’m curious… do you think I missed anything in this list? Add your guiding principles to the comments!
8 Tips to Focus Your Library Promotions
1. Plan ahead — don’t just react.
This is my number one tenet because so many of the library staff members I work with say they feel like order takers! They are asked by different departments and branches to promote the things that are important to those people, which allows no time to create a strategic library marketing calendar or campaign that supports the library’s overall goals.
Effective marketing is proactive, not reactive. You want your promotions to be holistic, covering all the channels where your target audience is located (see item #4). List the goals you want to achieve over the next six months, and create holistic campaigns. Before you know it, you’ll have a full editorial calendar.
And I know this might sound scary, but be transparent. Share your calendar with the rest of your coworkers. Inform them of the overall goals and provide them with regular updates on the content you share and the results you are achieving. At the end of the year, let everyone know how you did.
This will help educate your coworkers about marketing! Many of them probably think marketing is reactive. They don’t know how much planning and coordination go into an effective campaign.
2. Promote the benefits, not the features.
Listen, I know this one is hard. But your community is looking for a solution to their problems.
So instead of saying, “Use our personalized reader recommendation service”, highlight how your service solves real problems, like helping readers to find the right books for them (because, let’s be honest, there are SO many good books out there!), or helping readers who feel like they’re stuck in a rut, reading the same things over and over again.
You want your readers to think of the library, not Google or Goodreads, as the best place to find a book.
3. Tell more stories of how the library impacts lives.
User-centered storytelling, like Loyola Marymount’s Library Fans video series, connects emotionally with users and shows the library’s impact on real lives. These stories are more memorable than stats or service lists.
Storytelling helps your community to see how others are using the library and imagine how they might use the library too!
4. Meet your audience where they are.
Use the channels your patrons prefer. And remember, you don’t have to be on every channel. You just need to be on the right ones.
The channels you choose should match the preferences of your primary audience segments.
Teens and college students? Think TikTok and YouTube Shorts.
Parents and caregivers? Facebook groups and email are the best way to reach this audience.
Adults over age 65? In-person outreach and local newspapers or printed newsletters can be most effective.
Most importantly, don’t try to build an audience on the channels your patrons don’t use. How do you know which channels your audience prefers? Use metrics (see #8) and surveys to pinpoint where your energy will be best spent.
5. Consistency builds brand recognition and affinity.
At the Fourth of July parade two weeks ago, I instantly recognized the library’s entry coming down the street, even without my glasses. How? The color scheme of their banner and vehicle! (As an aside, I was sitting right in front of one of the branches, and the cheering that rose from the crowd when the library drove by warmed my heart.)
You can have the same impact. Use your brand logos, color palettes, and tone across channels. Patrons should instantly recognize your library’s content, whether it’s on a digital sign, flyer, or Instagram Story.
I know this seems like a constraint to some of my more creative readers, but the discipline pays off with instant brand recognition.
Beyond your brand colors and logo, remember to name your services clearly and tie all services to your library (e.g., “Consumer Reports from Maple Tree Library”).
6. Empower your advocates.
Your best marketing tool might be your most loyal library users. Feature them in campaigns and encourage user-generated content. When your superfans talk about how much they love the library and how it impacts their lives, people will listen!
Encourage staff to promote programs on their own social media (with branded templates or messaging prompts).
And provide your Friends group or foundation with a marketing kit: shareable graphics, key talking points, and event blurbs.
7. Always be repurposing.
Library marketers are asked to create a lot of content! Just like you may do in your home, you can reuse and recycle some of that content to help ease your workload and ensure your best content is seen on multiple channels. You can do that by:
Repurposing blog posts, newsletters, and program guides into social media snippets, videos, or infographics. Share this content with local media and community partners.
Turning book displays into short videos for social media by adding trending audio and creative elements like stickers.
Clipping moments from author talks or storytimes for Instagram Stories, YouTube Shorts, or TikTok videos.
Breaking down long blog posts into carousel posts or pull quotes for your homepage, digital signs, or social media posts.
8. Measure what matters.
Your metrics are key to guiding your marketing strategy. And listen, I’m the first person to admit I can easily go down the rabbit hole of data and measure everything.
But my boss coaches me to only spend time measuring the things I need to help make the decisions that will guide my future library marketing actions. That means I don’t obsess over likes and followers.
Instead, I track engagement metrics like watch time on videos, shares of social media posts, and read time on blog articles. I also urge you to use UTM codes like Bit.ly and Google Analytics to track campaign sources, so you know which channels are driving traffic to your library and which pieces of content resonate most with your community.
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:
Meta is, once again, making it more difficult to promote your library on Facebook and Instagram. I’m going to give you the latest social media update on this and show you one tiny little workaround that may or may not help you, depending on how you manage your social media. That’s all ahead in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, kudos go to a library that was the site of a serendipitous experience for a local reporter!
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you 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, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Hashtags. They’re not dead, but things are changing, and the way we should use them is also changing.
There’s a new article from the Content Marketing Institute that outlines the changes to hashtags. I’m going to go through it with you so you don’t have to, and give you some hashtag-specific tips for each social media platform in this episode of the Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to half a dozen libraries that won a big award.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you 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, enter your email address. Then, click 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
Ray Holley, the communications manager for Sonoma County Library, is fascinated with economic development and planning. When he took his current job at the library in 2018, one of the first questions he wanted to answer was… what is the return on investment of a library?
Ray commissioned a respected local economist to conduct an independent study of the library system’s economic impact. The result? A headline-grabbing finding: For every $1 invested in the library, the community received $3.42 in return.
Ray knew this would make for great press coverage. He strategically timed his pitch, used an existing relationship with a reporter, and landed a feature story on the front page of the paper. That story sparked ongoing conversations about the value of libraries and gave the library system a powerful stat they continue to use in marketing and advocacy efforts.
As a former newspaper editor, Ray knows how to frame a story in a way that earns coverage. In a recent panel for the online event“Putting Principles Into Practice,” organized by the Library Marketing Conference Group, he joined me and another former journalist–turned–library communicator, Leslie Marinelli of Forsyth County Public Library, to share insider tips on how libraries can achieve better media coverage.
Libraries have great stories to tell. But getting the media to listen isn’t always easy. Here are the top 10 practical tips that Leslie, Ray, and I shared for getting your library into the news.
1. Know your media market size, so you can tailor your approach to press coverage.
Knowing whether you’re in a small, medium, or large media market helps you tailor your approach and your expectations.
To determine the size of your media market, you need to identify your Designated Market Area (DMA). DMAs are geographic regions determined by the reach of local television stations and are used to define local television and radio markets.
You can find your DMA by consulting Nielsen’s DMA rankings, which are based on population size and the reach of broadcast signals. The top 25 cities on the list are considered large markets. Medium markets are numbers 25-100 on the list. If your area is listed at number 101 or lower, you are in a small market. Why does this matter?
Small markets may be more receptive to informal pitches, good stories, and contributor-written columns.
Medium markets might have a mix of overworked reporters and community-focused outlets. Relationship-building and persistence are key in these markets.
Large markets typically have more gatekeepers and higher competition for coverage. You’ll need a strong angle, professional press materials, and sometimes long-term relationship nurturing to break through.
2. Learn what’s truly newsworthy.
Tip from Ray: “There’s what library staff think is newsworthy, and then there’s what reporters think is newsworthy. Your job is to bridge the gap.” How do you do that?
Focus on stories that have a community impact, emotional appeal, or broad interest.
Think strategically. Don’t pitch everything. Pitch what’s most likely to get picked up. Look through your local newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV stations to see what stories they normally cover. And check their social media accounts to see which stories receive a lot of engagement. They’re more likely to respond to your pitch if they think it will draw attention to their platforms.
Highlight grand openings, author visits, new services, renovations, or impactful patron stories. Those are usually sure bets for press coverage.
3. Personalize your pitches.
Tip from Leslie: “I don’t send out very many formal press releases. I prefer casual emails — sometimes with emojis — and it works better for my small market.” Leslie talked about this approach in depth in this post.
Know your market (see tip #1). It can help you decide how best to approach reporters. For example, in smaller communities, informal, friendly outreach can be more effective than polished press releases.
Use conversational language.
Personalize your email to each journalist, especially if you’re targeting a larger outlet.
4. Build relationships with reporters.
Tips from both Ray & Leslie:
Read or watch the media in your market. Know who’s covering what.
Reach out with thanks, praise, or helpful information, even when you’re not pitching a story.
Say yes when reporters ask for quotes or information and respond quickly.
Ray reads the paper every day and sends personal follow-ups after he sends his press releases. Leslie has even gotten coffee with the editor of her local paper. And when I worked at a library, I often invited reporters for a personal, behind-the-scenes tour to get to know them and vice versa!
5. Pitch less, but pitch better.
Tip from Ray: “Too many press releases can cause outlets to tune you out. Be strategic.”
Avoid sending releases for every single event, especially small, localized programs.
Always follow mass press releases with personalized outreach to key contacts.
When a brand-new library branch opened at Forsyth County Public Library, Leslie wrote a formal press release, and she packed it with everything a reporter might need: quotes with emotion, accurate stats, and ready-to-use details. That preparation led to multiple front-page stories, including this one, and a professionally produced video by the local government, something Leslie couldn’t have done on her own as a one-person team.
6. Time your pitches well.
My rules of thumb:
Big events (e.g., author visits, renovations): Send your release 4–6 weeks out, with a reminder a week before.
New services: Send your release 1–2 weeks ahead.
Awards: Send your release 1 week ahead. If you want to send it earlier, include an “embargo notice” which specifies that the news outlet can’t publish or air anything about the story until a specific date. Newsrooms will honor embargoes.
And always include:
High-resolution images or video that the press can use to add visuals to the story if they can’t get a reporter to the scene.
Human-sounding quotes. For example:
Corporate-speak quote (what not to do): “You can see our dynamic approach to customer service is essential to our strategic initiatives.”
Human-sounding quote (what to do instead): “We’re adding an online, real-time reading recommendation service because we wanted to do a better job of helping people find the books they want.”
Clear, simple language. As you write, you’ll want to avoid jargon, focus on benefits to the public, and make it easy for reporters (and readers) to understand. For example:
“The library is opening a brand-new branch with more space, updated technology, and a dedicated children’s area to better serve the community.”
“This program gives families a chance to enjoy a free movie night together, right at the library.”
7. Write the story yourself.
Media outlets are short-staffed. If you can provide a full article or press-ready content, your chances of getting coverage go up, and you control the message.
Leslie prepares a media packet to distribute at every Library Board meeting, complete with pertinent figures, dates, quotes, and the correct spellings of people’s names so that it’s easier for her local reporters to write stories about the library. This saves her reporters from having to go digging for information, and it leads to much more accurate news stories, which is a win-win for both the library and the newspaper.
Bonus: Offer to write a monthly column for local papers or magazines. Leslie turned her proactive event roundups into a recurring feature!
8. Be your own news channel.
Tip from Ray: “We break our own news via newsletters and email. It gets our message out without relying on the press.”
Start a blog or email newsletter and communicate directly with your community. Ray’s library has an entire news page with newsletters and blog posts to make it easy for reporters and stakeholders to see the latest library news.
Share bite-sized stories with elected officials, nonprofits, and other community partners.
Build a “partner relay” list to quickly spread info during closures or tech issues.
9. When things go wrong, work to control the narrative.
If negative press is brewing, you’ll need to move quickly.
Ray says that when a change in how content was communicated upset some internal staff, one of them contacted the press, claiming the library was turning its back on DEI values. He immediately pulled together a response team, wrote talking points, coached his colleagues, and scheduled a call with the reporter, who happened to be someone he had previously hired!
Because he acted fast and came prepared, the story was successfully reframed to highlight the library’s expanded and ongoing commitment to DEI. It ran as a positive feature instead of a negative exposé. Some other tips include:
Have talking points ready, as Ray did.
Role-play interviews with your spokespeople.
Use your own platforms to clarify or correct the record.
On that last point, while I was working in marketing at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, one of our biggest challenges was the lack of accessibility in several of our historic Carnegie-era branches. We knew renovations were needed and were preparing to ask voters to approve a levy to fund them.
Just as we were in the planning stages of the levy, a Vietnam veteran went to a local news station and shared that he couldn’t access his neighborhood branch because it had no elevator or wheelchair ramp. (Here’s that story.) It was true, but it didn’t mention our plans to renovate the branches.
Instead of ignoring the coverage or going on the defensive, we reached out. I invited the veteran to return to the library for a follow-up story, this time focused on what it would mean to him if he could fully access library services. We recorded an interview and shared it on the library’s YouTube channel.
That heartfelt video helped us take control of the narrative and became a key part of our campaign messaging when it came time to ask the community to vote “yes” on the levy.
10. Show gratitude.
Tip from Leslie: “Send thank-you notes. Nobody gets them anymore, and reporters remember.”
Praise good stories, thank writers publicly and privately, and copy their bosses when appropriate. It builds goodwill and earns more coverage next time.
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:
What if I told you that posting less frequently on social media could actually help your library reach a wider audience? I know it sounds backward, but I think I’m on to something here, and I’ve got some data to prove my theory!
So we’re going to talk about why fewer posts lead to more engagement in this episode of The Library Marketing Show. Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library system that just released a beautiful and tangible way for patrons to take a piece of the library with them wherever they go!
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you 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, enter your email address. Then, click 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 