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Be the Social Media You Want To See in the World: Advice on Building Community From a Library Marketer

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

Erica Freudenberger really, really loves her job.

“I have the best job in the world!”

For the past six years, she’s been the outreach, engagement, and marketing consultant at the Southern Adirondack Library System. Erica works with 34 member libraries in four counties, as well as two correctional facilities and four county jails.

Like many of you, she is responsible for providing high-quality library services.

“My position allows me to do a wide range of things, from onboarding new directors to working with community partners to install Narcan Emergency Kits for public use in our libraries to curating a personal history of the pandemic through our Leaving Our Fingerprints on History Project,” explained Erica.

So, it’s a wonder that she has any time at all left for library marketing. But Erica is responsible for the system’s monthly newsletter and social media promotion.

And her work on social is drawing praise from fellow library marketers. On the Libraries and Social Media Facebook page, one fellow marketer said, “I am here for the brilliance of the social media team/individual at Southern Adirondack. Amazing curation and writing and quantity. It’s been fun watching their reach and followers grow over the year.”

“My philosophy in all things, not just social media, is to build relationships and community,” explained Erica. “Social media is where people go to be entertained and learn something.”

“But the focus can’t be just pushing out content. We must give people a reason to visit our page, so they check in regularly.”

“One of the things that makes me happiest is when I see our followers interacting with each other – finding common interests or challenging someone’s take on things. There’s a conversation that we’re convening.”

As you can imagine, Erica has a limited about of time to dedicate to social media. So, she chooses to post to the platform with her library system’s most prominent established audience: Facebook.

“When I was a library director, I found out how long it took to develop a robust social media presence,” said Erica. “When you lead small, rural public libraries, you do all the things and don’t have much time to focus on something like social media.”

“Since most of our libraries are small and rural, I use our Facebook account to aggregate content they can use on their social media accounts as filler – in between the posts about their programs and services.”

“We don’t want to push content but invite people in to build community. I focus on finding a library or literary memes, or what I consider library-adjacent posts (cats and dogs!), or things that are nerdy and fun. It’s about creating a community of people who enjoy our page, so when we post advocacy messages, we’re reaching a much bigger audience that trusts us.”

Erica says social media is a vital part of the formula for success for libraries.

“We live in a chaotic, information-saturated world,” said Erica. “It can take a lot of work to get your message out, and part of any advocacy strategy has to include social media.”

“I think libraries are getting better at marketing, but we tend to hide our light under a bushel rather than share the great work we’re doing. And in our neck of the woods, local newspapers are few and far between, so the best way to reach people is where they’re already spending time, which tends to be social media.”

Even with her expertise in social media, Erica continues to look for ways to improve her reach and drive more connections for her member libraries. “I would love more time to strategize and devise an evil plan to dominate social media,” shared Erica.  “In the best of all possible worlds, I’d create a social media calendar and be more intentional in our content and posting.”

For Erica, it’s easy to find libraries that inspire her. “There are a ton of libraries doing great stuff,” said Erica. “I love what the Stillwater Library does – they take historical items from their collection or community and ask people to respond to what it is with wrong answers only. And they do a lot of great puns.”

“ I steal stuff from our member libraries, including the Bolton Free Library, Argyle Free Library, and the Caldwell-Lake George Library (to name a few) regularly. I love Waikato District Libraries, Dexter District Library, Friends of the Barbara Rose Johns Farmville/Prince Edward Community Library, Librarian Memes – any library page I come across. There are so many doing incredible, creative work!”

And Erica wants to share a piece of advice for anyone working in social media library marketing. It’s something she learned from a presentation by a marketing librarian from the Portsmouth Public Library in New Hampshire, “Be the social media you want to see in the world. That’s what I live by. Be silly, have fun, and help spread the word about the vital work public libraries do each day.”

More Advice

There’s New Advice for Libraries About Posting to Social Media but… Should You Actually Take It?

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How to Manage Your Library’s Social Media Promotions in Ten Minutes a Day!

Watch the video here

The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 183: Are you the only person handling your library’s social media promotions? Do you have about 1000 other tasks you need to complete at work each day?

You don’t have to sacrifice your library’s social media presence just because you’re short on time. In this episode, I’ll show you how to manage library social media in ten minutes a day or less!

Plus we’ll give away kudos to the Niles-Maine District Library.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

And please subscribe to this series on YouTube or follow me on LinkedIn to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.

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:

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10 Tips to Make The Most of Your Next Library Marketing Conference

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

My phone has a folder just for conference apps. And perhaps this is super nerdy, but I get a sense of thrill from moving an app from the folder to my homepage. It means it’s time to attend a conference!

Conferences, in whatever form they take, give you space to step away from your normal work tasks and learn, network, and get re-energized.  

And for those of us working in library marketing, conference attendance is vital. Promoting your library means you have to balance a number of skills, like creative writing, data analytics, and project management. We need ongoing training and inspiration to do our best possible work. Conferences help you do that!

But, to get the most out of the experience, you’ll need to do more than show up and take notes. Here are my top 10 tips to help you get the most value out of your next conference.

Pick your sessions in advance.

Before you get into the car, train, or plane to travel to the conference, decide on which sessions you’ll attend. Most conferences offer sessions in tracks. Those are a series of related sessions designed to give you an in-depth and multi-layered education about one area of librarianship.

You may be expecting me to recommend that you always attend sessions in the marketing, communications, or outreach track. And I do… but only if your library is sending more than one person to the conference.

If you are traveling solo, choose your sessions based on the needs of your library. Think about the coming year and the kinds of challenges that may lie ahead for your organization. Then pick the sessions that will help you to meet those challenges.

For example, this year at LibLearnX, I attended a session on strategic planning for libraries. I knew that I needed to learn more about the process so that I could encourage libraries to add communication initiatives to their strategic plans.

If you’re on the fence about a session or are having trouble choosing between several speakers running at the same time, do some research on the speakers. Look on YouTube to see if you can find their past presentations. Check their LinkedIn profile, blog, or website. Their presentation style and willingness to share valuable information with their audiences may help you make your final decision.   

Sign up for notifications.

Most conferences will send you notices through email or their app (or both) with helpful info, including places to eat and have fun when you’re not in a conference session. They may also alert you when sessions are added or dropped from the agenda. These can be valuable time savers.

Connect with fellow attendees and speakers on social media before you go.

Start checking the conference hashtag a few weeks before the conference to see who is attending and what they’re excited about. That excitement is contagious!

You might also find Facebook and LinkedIn groups connected to your conference where you can meet attendees in advance. Connecting with conference attendees and speakers ahead of time makes it less intimidating to walk into an event full of strangers.

And while you’re at it, update your LinkedIn profile. You can bet people you meet at the conference will be checking you out.

And you never know… you may find your next boss at the event. I was hired by NoveList in 2019 after meeting my current manager at the Library Marketing and Communications Conference!

Practice how you’ll introduce yourself to new people and have a few conversation starters at the ready.

You’ll be surprised how fast you can freeze up in a room full of strangers. So even though it feels weird, figure out what you’ll say to introduce yourself and then come up with three questions you can ask someone you’ve just met to help get a conversation going.

Can’t think of any good conversation starters? You can steal mine! Of course, they are all library marketing questions.

  • What’s the best way you’ve found to send messages to your community?
  • What social media channels does your library use to communicate with your cardholders? Which one works best for you?
  • How does your library measure your marketing and promotion success?

Get familiar with the venue and pack your conference tote bag.

Try to arrive on the day before the conference so you can go to the venue. Figure out where the exhibit hall, session rooms, food booths, and restrooms are located. Knowing how to get around can help ease your nerves.

If the conference has early check-in, take advantage of it. The registration desk is always busy on the morning of the first day of a conference. You’ll be glad to avoid the lines and get right into your sessions.

The night before the conference, pack a notebook and pens or your laptop, some business cards, a small snack, your water bottle, and a phone charger into a tote bag or backpack. But be sure to leave room for freebies you’ll pick up in the vendor hall.

Take notes in sessions. 

You might be tempted to skip this step, given that many speakers make their slides publicly available after the presentation. But you’ll absorb more of the information if you take notes.

Ask questions of the speakers. 

If you are in the midst of a session and you have a question about the material, write it down. Most conference sessions include a question and answer time at the end of the session.

If you find it too intimidating to ask a question of a speaker, approach them after the session. They’ll be happy to talk with you one on one.

Give yourself a break.

I made one big mistake at my first post-pandemic in-person conference. I went from session to session without any breaks all day long! It was exhausting and I never had a chance to reflect on what I was learning.

So now, I make a commitment to myself to take a lunch break every day of each conference I attend. If I can, I take my food outside of the venue or I visit a nearby restaurant and eat while going over my notes. The breaks help me to regain focus for my afternoon sessions. 

At the end of each day, go through your notes and compile a summary.  

Head back to your hotel and spend about 20 minutes just writing a few paragraphs about what you’ve learned, who you met, and how these ideas can translate into your library marketing work.

The time you spend putting your notes in order will also help to reinforce what you learn. It will also prompt you to start thinking about ways to put those new nuggets of knowledge into practice at your library!

Put what you’ve learned into practice—do not skip this step!  

When you return home, I want you to set aside one hour on your calendar as if it were a meeting. During that time, review your notes and pick two or three things you’ve learned at the conference that you can do at your library.

For example, maybe you learned ten new tips to get more subscribers for your email newsletter. Choose a few of the tips and make a plan to actually try them!

Try to do this within a week of returning, when the material is fresh in your mind and your enthusiasm and energy are high.

More Advice

The Secret To Tell Compelling and Memorable Stories About Your Library That Make People Cry!

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Nightmare Scenario: No One Shows Up for Your Library Program. 😨 Here Are 3 Ways To Make SURE That Never Happens Again.

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The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 182: I recently saw a Tweet that broke my heart.

A library staffer put together a great program but… no one showed up. I know how much work goes into those programs.

How can you make sure this doesn’t happen to you? I’ve got three tips to use right now before you plan any more library programs.

Plus we’ll give away kudos to Loutit District Library.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

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:

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How to Promote Your Library’s Next Event in Just 5 Minutes a Day!

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The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 181: You are a solo librarian. You have only five minutes every day to promote your library. WHAT ON EARTH DO YOU DO?

That was a question submitted by one of you in the Super Library Marketing survey a few months ago. The answer to this question is the focus of this episode.

Plus we’ll give away kudos to public libraries in two states.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

And please subscribe to this series on YouTube or follow me on LinkedIn to get a new weekly video tip for libraries. 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:

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The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How Two Neighboring Libraries Teamed Up To Create a Fake Rivalry Video for Promotional Success

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

Tamara Murray moved around a lot as a kid. But her family settled in Westerville, Ohio when she was 11 years old. She’s lived there ever since and now works for the library she used as a youngster.

“The Westerville Public Library was the first place I went after getting my driver’s license to return my (ahem, overdue) library books and pick up the newest Steven King novel,” recalled Tamara. “I still remember the glorious sense of freedom I had on that warm spring day, driving down the road towards the library.”

Tamara graduated in 2001 from Miami University (Ohio) with a degree in Creative Writing.  While struggling to find a full-time job, a friend suggested she look into librarianship.

“I kind of hated the idea at first,” admitted Tamara. “I was worried it would be boring. But I took her advice to apply as a volunteer, just to get a sense of what it was like. And when an opening came up in the Outreach Department where I was volunteering, I was encouraged to apply.”

“From there, I earned my MLIS from Kent State University and have now held numerous positions at the Westerville Public Library – Outreach Associate, Adult Services Librarian, Web Content Librarian, and now as Marketing Manager.” 

The Westerville Library marketing staff consists of Tamara and two staff members. They’re extremely agile. Projects, services, and other initiatives are often conceived of and implemented on short timelines. They are always experimenting with new things.

One day, Tamara spotted a Columbus Metropolitan Library (CML) digital billboard while driving. It was positioned on the border of where CML and Westerville’s library district meet. Tamara mentioned it to her Executive Director, Erin Francoeur.

The two hatched a plan to create a friendly rivalry piece about CML encroaching on Westerville’s “home turf”. They approached CML to brainstorm the idea.

“Our initial thoughts were that we could pretend to hack or graffiti the CML billboard,” recalled Tamara. “Then we also considered filming a guard whose job it is to ‘patrol’ the border between our two districts and creating a fictional history around that idea.” 

“After we realized that the billboard was only scheduled to be live for a short time, we brainstormed other ways we could represent a rivalry using our current spaces. It occurred to me that a simple ‘apples to apples’ comparison would allow us to highlight our differences and similarities in a way that would be a win-win for both libraries.”

The group decided to create a video using library cards as the main characters, fighting over which library was cooler. They added googly eyes to the library cards to give them personality and made them seem more like real characters in the story. 

“The hardest part was figuring out how to add the googly eyes to the library cards in a way that wouldn’t look messy,” laughed Tamara. “I’m always thankful for the ingenuity of our children’s librarians who suggested sticky tack.” 

The actual filming took less than an hour. Connor Dunwoodie, Digital Storyteller Specialist at CML, visited each highlighted location and filmed clips with a helper to model the library cards. 

“Connor previously worked as a news reporter and anchor and has a gift for visualizing the space and getting the shot on the first try,” said Tamara. “Connor then took the video footage, edited it together, added sound and text, and made it live within 48 hours.” 

Tamara and her counterparts at CML were hoping the promotion would spark engagement from those who already know and love both libraries. They also wanted to reach new potential patrons who live near the border of the two districts, an area that both systems refer to as a “library desert.”   

“As a single branch medium-sized suburban library, we don’t think of ourselves as direct competition with the 22-branch Columbus metropolitan system,” explained Tamara. “We both are amazing in very similar and very different ways. In Ohio, we are lucky to share state funding for public libraries, which creates some built-in camaraderie since we’re not competing with each other for basic funding.”  

Tamara and her team continue to do great work, creating fun promotions and highlighting how the library helps patrons (more on that in a future post!). Tamara says she finds inspiration for her library marketing campaigns nearly everywhere she looks.

“We’re marketed to almost everywhere we go, and I try to take note of what marketing is effective with me personally, as well as what’s effective with my friends and family members,” she shared.

“I ask a lot of questions. ‘Where did you hear about that?’ ‘Why did you buy this product instead of this product?’ It helps to understand what channels, graphics, and calls to action are the most effective.”   

More Advice

There’s New Advice for Libraries About Posting to Social Media but… Should You Actually Take It?

“Pure Chaos”: A Library Marketer Reveals How She Turned a Scavenger Hunt for Six Baby Dinosaurs Into a Promotional Win

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Your Library Needs To Be More Like Walmart! How To Build Marketing Success Like a Giant Retailer (Without Sacrificing Your Integrity).

Watch the episode here

The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 180: How many times have you or someone at your library said, “We just want to make sure everybody in the community knows everything the library has to offer.”

That, my friends, is the wrong mindset for library marketing. You need to be more like Walmart, believe it or not! I’ll explain in this episode.

Plus we’ll give away kudos to the Westerville Public Library.

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

And please subscribe to this series on YouTube or follow me on LinkedIn to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.

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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The Secret To Tell Compelling and Memorable Stories About Your Library That Make People Cry!

Watch this video

The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 179: There are a series of Facebook ads that I have actually watched in their entirety… something I have NEVER done before.

So what does this have to do with you? In this video, I’ll reveal the secrets so your library marketing can have the same impact on your audience.

Kudos in this episode go to SIX libraries in Canada!

Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.

And please subscribe to this series on YouTube or follow me on LinkedIn to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.

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:

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Library Reveals Inner Secrets of Award-Winning Marketing Campaigns… Now You Can Replicate Them!

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

A woman in a blue shirt walks dejectedly through the library, head down, shoulders hunched.

She waves at patrons coming in and out of the building, but no one notices.

She places one lonely hand on the window to the world outside as the sound of melancholy music plays in the background.

Soon the music swells, and the woman walks through the front doors of the library, skipping across the lawn as she makes her way to the parking lot. Why is she so happy?

The woman represents public Wi-Fi, and the video is her library’s creative, engaging announcement that Wi-Fi is now available outside of the library building and in the parking lots.

It is this kind of out-of-the-ordinary yet effective video that first drew my attention to Prince William Public Libraries. The library serves a population of about 437,000 residents and has 12 locations.

This video, and dozens more like it, are the work of the library’s Office of Communications and Marketing. The creators not only work at a library but also have a deep and lifelong connection to libraries.

“My grandma worked at Mountain View Public Library,” remembered Emily Bickers, Media Specialist. “I loved to bother her after story times as a toddler. We would get frozen yogurt and I would babble about the book to her. It was my first book club!”

Communications and Marketing Director Rachel Johnson grew up north of Baltimore. “Going to the library was a regular trip for me as a kid,” she recalled. “I remember what the old library looked like so vividly, and then the library was renovated with completely new construction on the same land when I was in my late teens. I have no idea why the renovation stands out in my mind more than the many visits, but that’s what I remember most!”

And Michaela Hamiary Janotova, who serves as the library’s Public and Media Relations Specialist,  grew up in Slovakia, in Central Europe. “As a child, I enjoyed school and loved reading and writing,” she said. “But I think my favorite memories involving libraries are being created now.”

The marketing team at Prince William Public Libraries includes writing, graphic design, media relations, digital communications and social media, and videography professionals.  

The library uses video for many library promotions. “We mainly rely on YouTube to be our video repository,” explained Rachel. “But our statistics show that utilizing other social media – like Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram – helps us to further amplify our messaging to reach more audiences.”

Continued Rachel, “When asked what my favorite video is, it’s so hard to choose a favorite. There’s a special place in my heart for our 2021 Summer Reading Promotional video. While it’s nothing ‘special,’ the story behind it is.”

“Emily produced this video less than one week after starting with Prince William Public Libraries. We were deep into the pandemic – I hadn’t even met her in person yet – and she came along and produced this fun, engaging video that aligned so much with our mission and values. Her skills and expertise made me really excited for the future of video production and what we could do to reach even more people in our community through digital storytelling.”

“My favorite is PWPL’s Wi-Fi Has Left the Building!,” added Emily. We created that shortly after I joined PWPL and it showed me that my boss, Rachel, was not only down to have some fun with silly ideas, but willing to star in them!”

“My favorite video is RELIC: Don’t Be Left in the Dark,” said Michaela. “It’s very different from all the other videos. It’s special, like the service it promotes. “

Many libraries are intimidated by the thought of video marketing. Videos feel difficult to produce; they’re perceived as expensive to create and time-consuming. But Emily wants librarians to know that there are a lot of tools out there that can make video creation much easier, faster, and cheaper than in years past.

“Most computers and many social media apps now come with built-in video editing tools,” she pointed out. “Also, do not be afraid to use templates or stock footage to make your vision a reality even if you are pressed for time or funding.”

Last year, the library organized a Staff Day. It was a big deal. “After three years of overcoming challenges, adapting, and finding new ways of serving the community, staff deserved recognition and an opportunity to meet in person and socialize,” explained Michaela.

“One drawback of having a large library system is that staff does not get a lot of chances to get to know each other or what each department does – a fact that was exacerbated during COVID,” said Emily. “We wanted to create a video that would highlight what each department does and how they all work together.”

And so, they did. The library’s video was so incredible that Prince William Public Library won a Gold Viddy Award in the category Non-Broadcast Short Form Videos. The Viddy Awards is an international competition recognizing excellence in creating, producing, and delivering videos. It’s put on by the Association of Marketing and Communication Professionals (AMCP). 

The marketing team at Prince William Public Libraries has won a host of other awards in the past two years for other videos, a strategic marketing campaign, and a magazine. They admit they have a lot of rich fodder for great promotions. But the team does have a secret ingredient to creating campaigns that resonate with audiences… fun!

“The Office of Communications and Marketing has the expertise and resources to create fun, engaging campaigns because there are always exciting, positive efforts happening in our libraries,” said Rachel.

The marketing team looks to their fellow library staff and the outside world for inspiration. “Our evolving community and creative librarians are a great source of inspiration,” said Michaela. “There is so much going on to draw ideas from, and we ensure that we find the most effective ways of reaching the target audience.”

For Rachel, it’s… “Social media! There are so many clever librarians and library staff throughout the country – it’s inspirational. We also closely follow other trends in social media and create our messaging based on those trends.”

More Advice

5 Easy and Surefire Ways To Decide What Videos You Should Create for Your Library’s YouTube Channel

Was It a Fluke? What a Viral Instagram Video Can Teach You About Library Social Media Promotions

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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