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!
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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!
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Did you know that there’s a trick you can use to increase the number of followers on Facebook and LinkedIn for your library’s page? It’s pretty easy. And it only takes about 10 minutes once a year!
I’m going to show you how to do it in this episode of The Library Marketing Show. Plus, I’ll give kudos to a library for a simple but impactful book display idea.
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!
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
My former employer recently purchased sponsored content in the local newspaper to educate the Cincinnati community about all the library has to offer. When I saw the ad, I knew exactly what they were doing: Trying to drive more use of the resources they spend so much time and money curating for the community.
I’m frustrated by the fact that many regular community members are unaware of the existence of these databases. It’s great if you have the money to promote them. But most libraries have no advertising budget. So, how do they drive the use of the databases?
This is a marketing problem I want to address with this post. It’s vitally important for your library to boost usage of your databases so you can make the case to keep the budget you’ve set aside for them! A year-long promotional plan with strategic key messages can help you build awareness and turn occasional database or library users into regular users who rely on your library for information.
This plan goes beyond the normal “Did you know we had that?” campaign. It focuses on the core problems each database solves for your community. This method will effectively explain to your community why the database is essential to their life. Here’s how to do it.
Identify the problem the database solves
Your first step is to set aside time to play with the database yourself. This “playtime” is how you’ll uncover the real value of the database.
Pretend you’re a curious patron exploring it for the first time. What features catch your attention? What tools are easy to use? What specific problem does this database solve for your community? Is it saving students time on citations? Helping job seekers prep for interviews?
Write the problems down as you explore the database. Those problems will be the focus of your campaign. This will keep you from promoting the database with language that sounds generic, like “access to great information.”
Generic benefits are too vague to meaningfully connect with or interest your patrons. They don’t address the real-life needs of your community. And they make your library marketing sound like every other piece of marketing content out there in the world.
Call the database by its name and tie it to your library
Patrons usually have to sign in to the database using their library card, and that action can create a separation in the mind of your patron between your library and the database.
Using the name of the database builds name recognition for the resource. And, with a consistent, deliberate effort to add your library’s name to each database, (“NoveList Plus at the Maple Tree Library” or “Consumer Reports from the Maple Tree Library”), you will begin to create a connection in your patrons’ minds that solidifies all that your library provides.
Promote one database each month
Create a simple month-long campaign for each of these databases. Consider:
Who is the ideal patron who will benefit from this resource? This is your target audience for the month.
What channels are best for reaching your target audience? Focus your library promotions on those channels only.
Set goals for the month. How much of a usage increase will you be aiming for? This number will likely be different each month. Be sure to write your goals down and check at the end of the month to see if you’ve accomplished them.
12-month database promotional plan
I’ve put together a calendar of promotions to get you started. I’ve also identified the problem each database solves and suggested two potential key messages for your campaigns. Don’t you have one of these databases? Feel free to substitute any resources you wish for any month!
January: Homework Help Database (e.g., HelpNow, Tutor.com)
Problem it solves: Students get help with homework they might not receive at home due to busy caregivers, the cost of private tutoring, or a lack of subject expertise. These databases also typically offer test prep and FAFSA help.
Potential key messages:
Homework help is one click away. Get free online tutoring, test prep, and more—all from the comfort of home.
Test prep without the stress. SAT, ACT, and more—no expensive classes are required.
February: Full-Text Academic Research Databases (e.g., JSTOR, Academic Search Premier)
Problem it solves: Gives users access to credible, peer-reviewed sources with no unreliable websites or paywalls.
Potential key messages:
Say goodbye to paywalls. Find full-text articles for your next paper—free with your library card.
Need solid sources without the stress? These articles are 100% human-written and citation-ready—no AI, no trouble.
March: LinkedIn Learning or Career Skills Services
Problem it solves: Free training in business, tech, and creative skills for career growth.
Potential key messages:
Learn new skills. Land the job. Free classes in Excel, coding, communication, and more.
Your next promotion starts here. Learn in-demand skills on your schedule, at no cost.
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A viewer wants to know if her library should have a separate Instagram account for her teenage audience. It’s a great question!
I’m going to share some pros and cons. And spoiler alert… my “cons” list is longer than the “pros” list… in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, I’ll give kudos to a library that took a popular meme and made a funny and effective social media post relevant to their audience.
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!
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Nothing is worse than working on library promotional content, only for somebody to tell you it’s no good. 😔
How can we gracefully accept and incorporate criticism of our library marketing? I’ll give you some tips in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
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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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
If you’ve spent any time in the library marketing space, you are likely to know John Jackson. John is head of Outreach and Engagement at the William H. Hannon Library at Loyola Marymount University. His love of libraries started with his mother’s volunteer work.
“My mother volunteered in a small church library in Florida,” recalls John. “As a child, I often spent my weekends helping build book displays or checking out materials to patrons. I knew about OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and bib records before the age of 12.”
“One of my favorite memories from that time is traveling with my mom annually to attend a regional conference for church librarians. We’d pack up a U-Haul full of library display materials and then recreate those displays at the conference.”
John landed a job with Loyola Marymount in 2015. The private R2 university has approximately 10,000 students, including those pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees. John says the university has a central marketing and communication unit, with employees who cover all areas of external relations work, including photography, graphic design, social media, and licensing.
“At the library, the outreach team is comprised of three full-time employees: me, a student engagement librarian, and an event manager,” explains John. “We also have part-time student employees who assist with various aspects of our programming and outreach work.”
“The library’s marketing support currently consists of me, a student graphic designer, a student social media assistant, and a student videographer. I should note here that marketing is only a portion of my job. Like most librarians, I wear many hats, including collection development, research support, and faculty liaison responsibilities.”
I reached out to John after seeing one of the videos from the Library Fans series, produced by his library. Links to the full series are at the end of this post.
John says the idea came from a presentation on empathy-centered storytelling at the 2023 Library Marketing and Communications Conference and from the videos produced by the Los Angeles Public Library.
“I wanted to create a series that told true stories of library users and did so using high-quality video production,” explains John. “My goal was to promote the individual ways that students from diverse backgrounds (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, commuter, transfer, first-generation, parents) use the library in their day-to-day lives on campus.”
“I also wanted to show, as a proof of concept, that high-quality video production was worth the investment of time and resources. This was also a way to celebrate and recognize some of our hardcore library users: the folks we see regularly in the building every day.”
-John Jackson
John says his team worked on the video series over one semester. They recruited students who were heavy users of the library and familiar faces in the building. They also asked library staff to solicit nominations.
“Our student videographer, John Mac Menamie, is an amazing cameraman and (thankfully for us) owned all his own equipment,” says John. “We were incredibly lucky to hire him onto our team when he was a first-year student, and it’s been amazing to watch his skill set grow over the years.”
“For each of the shoots, we preselected the location so our videographer could spend a few minutes setting up the camera and lighting before the ‘Library Fan’ arrived. We sent prompts and guiding questions to our interviewees in advance to give them an idea of how the conversation would go, but we did not write a script for each interview.”
John used a trick that journalists often employ. He spent the first five to 10 minutes of the interview in small talk with his subject to help them feel more at ease. John says filming usually takes only 10 to 15 minutes. Then, depending on what the interviewee said, John and the videographer needed to shoot footage, known as B-roll, to match the narrative and cover the edits.
Once the videos are edited, John shares them on Instagram, knowing it is the preferred platform for his students. But he’s also taking this opportunity to experiment on other platforms, like YouTube.
“We know from sources like Pew Research Center that usage of YouTube exceeds all other platforms among traditionally aged college students and in the next generation of 14–17-year-olds,” declares John. “So, I’m hoping to build up our content library there. We already have hundreds of tutorials and event recordings on YouTube, but the Library Fans videos are our first attempts at short form on the platform.”
“Most academic libraries are not breaking records when it comes to social media. We’re not likely to ever be the next Milwaukee Public Library. Because our primary target audience (currently enrolled students) is limited and has a churn rate of more than 25 percent every year at graduation, our socials will not grow over time. So traditional growth metrics like followers, likes, and view counts don’t mean as much to me.”
“I tend to focus on the metrics like watch time, sentiment analysis of comments, and sends or reach. Those are the measures that will answer the question, ‘Did this hit right?’”
-John Jackson
“If I want to get the word out about the library, I rely on email marketing. But if I want to ‘set the vibe’ for the library among our students, Instagram, and in particular Reels, is where I spend my time.”
The library’s videos have performed exceptionally well. As of mid-May, the series has received more than 13,000 views, accounting for 26 hours of watch time. That’s incredible! Now, John has plans to use some of the video content for other promotions.
“Because these videos are already so short, I haven’t been pulling soundbites for stand-alone marketing assets,” explains John. “However, I expect I’ll be using pieces of these videos in future promotional videos: New student orientation videos, for example.”
John says his first piece of advice for any library looking to replicate his success is to buy its own equipment.
“Our videographer graduates this year, and with him goes the camera he used to make these videos,” laments John. “I should have done that from the start, and now I am in the unfortunate situation of having to find funding for our own equipment before the next school year begins.”
John finds inspiration for his work from many different organizations.
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:
Have you ever stared at a piece of library marketing content and thought, should this be a quick update or a deep dive? Let’s settle that today! Here is how to know if you should use short-form content or when it’s time to go to long-form content in this episode of the Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to the subject of a past Super Library Marketing profile who just won a huge award.
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!
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:
Facebook always tries to make life difficult for library marketers, and their security options are no exception. A viewer wrote in to ask if staff can use their work email address to create a profile, separate from their personal Facebook page, to manage the library’s Facebook page.
The answer, and tips on how to keep your library’s Facebook account safe without burdening your staff, are in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library that entices readers and builds book FOMO (fear of missing out!) with a straightforward and strategic column in their local newspaper.
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!
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 