The Library Marketing Show, Episode 171: In this episode, I’m going to share an example of a marketing campaign from the makers of the game Monopoly.
This campaign uses a very specific technique to get at the emotional motivation for playing the game. What does that have to do with library promotions? Watch the video to find out!
Kudos in this episode go to a group of Alabama libraries.
👏 I do a lot of bragging about libraries. But I can’t see everything everywhere, and I’m certain I’m missing some of the best #LibraryMarketing examples. SoI need your help! You can share anonymously if you like. Thank you!
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 subscribe to this series to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.
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The Library Marketing Show, Episode 170: In this episode, I’ll reveal the single most important question that you should ask every library guest. This question is the key to revealing your most effective library marketing tactics.
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 subscribe to this series to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.
Also, I have a special request: I want to hear your best advice for library marketing in 2023! What did you learn this year? What are you excited to try next year? Share your thoughts for a future Super Library Marketing post.
Thanks for watching!
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The Library Marketing Show, Episode 169: We have news that could have an impact on your library’s social media strategy.
First, TikTok is testing audience insights, which give you a deeper look into your audience. We’ll talk about the features that could be a regular part of your data very soon.
Plus a new study from Pew Research Center uncovers how teens view social media use. And there are lots of takeaways for libraries.
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 subscribe to this series 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.
The Library Marketing Show, Episode 168: This episode is another must-watch for any library that posts on Twitter.
Elon Musk’s takeover of the social media platform has thrown Twitter into chaos. And many libraries are seriously thinking about deactivating their accounts.
I’ll share three things to consider before you make that decision. PLUS: I’ll share an alternative to deactivating your Twitter account.
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 subscribe to this series 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.
The Library Marketing Show, Episode 166: This episode is all about click-thru rates for digital promotions!
This topic was suggested by a viewer named Lily who says, “We have a super high open rate and super low click-through rate. Could you talk CTRs?” I sure can!
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 subscribe to this series 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.
Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
This past week, I spent three-plus hours in a room with 38 library marketers.
We worked together on all those pieces of library marketing that we don’t normally have time for.
We identified our libraries’ strengths and weaknesses. (My weakness: spelling).
We named our libraries opportunities and threats. We set SMART goals.
We identified our target audiences (hint: your audience is not everyone!). And we talked about measuring promotions to replicate success.
These are the fundamentals of library marketing. These are the building blocks that ensure your marketing will be successful.
This was the first-ever pre-conference workshop for the Library Marketing and Communications Conference, which returned in all its in-person glory. Shoutout to the dozens of readers who took the time to say hello to me!
I told the group that I knew, without a doubt, that I would learn something from them. And I did.
My 38 new best friends
Here are the four things I learned from this fantastic, dedicated, intelligent, creative, and curious set of library marketers.
Library marketers need time to think.
We are all doing too much.
We must make print collateral, send emails, schedule social media posts, attend meetings, make press releases, do outreach events, and then attend more meetings.
I asked almost everyone I met at LMCC how things are going at their library. And I lost track of the number of times the response was, “It’s been a little nuts.”
The idea of setting aside time to consider what is to be done, how it will be done, who will do it, and how it can be more effective, is an entirely foreign concept to most libraries.
We don’t give our employees the time to work through strategic planning. There is no rest. At many libraries, the marketing is done by librarians who also have other duties. There’s never any time to breathe.
And then we wonder why it’s so difficult to create successful library marketing and communications.
That happens because we never take the time to do all the fundamental work that is necessary to ensure our marketing is effective. We’re building houses without foundations.
So, the workshop gave these library marketers permission to ignore email, text messages, chats, and outside distractions. They got three hours to focus solely on building the foundations for strong library marketing.
It’s important to create that space for yourself as a library marketer. I know it’s difficult. If you can’t attend a workshop, you can set aside time on your calendar, like you would for a meeting, to do this important background work.
Put your phone in a locked drawer. Turn off your chat program. You can even leave your physical workspace if you need to. When I worked at the Cincinnati Library, I would hide in the stacks when I needed to do this work.😉
Library marketers face the same struggles.
We did a SWOT analysis exercise, where each library marketer identified their library’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. And then we shared as a group.
How many of these do you recognize as your library’s weaknesses and threats?
A marketing team made up of one person, trying to do ALL the promotions
Difficulty getting people to take an action, like place a hold or register for a program after they engage with marketing
Having too much to do
Having no identifiable library branding
The approvals process
Threats to funding
The list goes on.
During this exercise, the library marketers in the room began to realize that they are not working alone on an island. There are thousands of library staffers out there who understand their struggles because they face those same difficulties. They felt truly seen.
Library marketers have a lot to celebrate.
As much as we struggle to do effective library marketing, we also have many, many, many wins to celebrate. We should be proud of:
Our social media engagement
Our impactful partnerships
The fact that people open and read our emails more than they do for any other industry!
We have so much great content to promote.
We don’t do enough celebrations in library marketing. That’s one of the reasons I started giving out Kudos in The Library Marketing Show and began recognizing libraries via #LibraryoftheDay.
You can help. When you see a library doing great marketing work, give them a shoutout on social media. Better yet, email them to let them know you noticed their amazing promotion. You can also nominate a library for Kudos on The Library Marketing Show.
A little bit of celebration goes a long way to boosting morale for library marketing. We can be each other’s cheerleaders!
Library marketers thrive when they have a friend.
Most of the attendees of the pre-conference session told me they are introverts. But when I asked this room full of strangers to pair up, the room got super noisy!
There were smiles. There was laughter. There were conspiratorial looks and nods of understanding. It was magical.
And it occurred to me… sometimes we just need someone who understands our work.
Or you can message me on LinkedIn. Tell me a little about yourself and I’ll introduce you to a library marketing buddy.
Let’s support and encourage each other. When we work together, we strengthen the library industry and, most importantly, do a better job of providing service to our communities.
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The Library Marketing Show, Episode 165: I need your library’s help forcing a change that will make social media more accessible to everyone.
I’ll explain why your library should use camel case hashtags and how you can join the movement to make camel case the default option for all social media platforms.
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 subscribe to this series 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.
Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
There is a powerhouse of a woman who works as program director for a library system in New York State’s Finger Lakes region.
Suzanne Macaulay began her career as a Children’s Librarian at Henry Waldinger Memorial Library in Valley Stream, New York in 2005. She’s worked at a few different libraries in New York and Pennsylvania but took her current role for the OWWL Library System just three days before everything shut down due to Covid. It’s a job she truly loves.
“Over the summer we were distributing backpacks full of school supplies to Head Start students to help their families prepare for Kindergarten,” remembers Suzanne. “The students’ faces would just light up when they got to pick their new backpack! One student was hugging their backpack so tight, I thought he might never let go–and I was a little nervous they would crush all the items inside! It was really a heartwarming moment.”
OWWL (formerly the Pioneer Library System) stands for Ontario, Wayne, Wyoming, and Livingston—the counties that Suzanne’s library system serves. It includes 42 member libraries scattered across 2500 square miles. The system itself is headquartered in Canandaigua, NY, a small city of about 11,000 residents located 30 miles south of Rochester.
I first met Suzanne at the Association of Small and Rural Libraries conference in 2021, where she co-presented on social media. This year at ARSL, she did twostanding-room-only(!) sessions on library marketing.
“Marketing our services, materials, programs, facilities, and staff is incredibly important,” declares Suzanne. “It helps retain current patrons and acquire new patrons, but also proves the library’s continued value and relevance to taxpayers, funders, and community stakeholders.”
“I think that libraries–especially smaller libraries–tend to be humble because promoting the library sometimes feels like self-promotion. But people don’t know what they don’t know, and we cannot assume that everyone knows about libraries, particularly modern libraries.”
“There can also be this ambivalence in libraries to use terminology that is most often associated with for-profit businesses, and the word marketing can certainly fall into that. However, if hesitant staff begin to view marketing through the lens of What will get people interested or excited about our spaces, services, programs, materials, staff, resources, etc.? I think it will become easier.”
Suzanne knows how difficult it is for small libraries to promote themselves. In her role, she coordinates outreach, consults on youth services, helps secure state aid for library construction, manages continuing education for her libraries, and does the marketing. (I’m exhausted just making that list!) She is keenly aware of the time crunch small libraries face.
She also knows marketing can feel overwhelming, especially because most staff members don’t have training in social media or graphic design. So, Suzanne has some simple and practical advice for small libraries.
Suzanne suggests breaking your promotional campaign into three steps: market, message, and medium.
Market: Who are you trying to target? If it is storytime, your who may be the caregiver of infants.
Message: What do you want this audience to know? Sticking with storytime as an example, the what may be “Join us for books, songs, and new friends at Bouncing Babies every Monday at 10 a.m.”
Medium: How are you going to get the what to the who? For storytime, maybe you’ll decide to send flyers to a local breastfeeding support group.
“Using this format helps the work feel less overwhelming, but it also helps you to be more intentional,” advises Suzanne. “You aren’t randomly posting to Facebook and hoping someone who may be interested sees it. Cross-sharing to social media is fine, but it shouldn’t be the default marketing for everything you are trying to promote about your library.”
“A quick example is our Books by Mail program. Most of the patrons enrolled in this program are seniors and older adults, and many of them do not have email addresses let alone Facebook accounts. Therefore, I cannot use social media as my primary medium. Instead, I mailed flyers to assisted living facilities and nursing homes, sent information to our counties’ Office of the Aging for their newsletters, and issued a press release to the local papers which many of our older patrons still read in print.”
Suzanne is also a big believer in adaptability in library marketing, especially for smaller libraries. She knows that the most effective way to promote your library may change over time.
“I used to be pretty rigid when it came to social media posting,” recalls Suzanne. “Once a week I would sit down and schedule four posts a day for the next seven days.”
“However, the way people began to consume information during Covid changed, and this scheduling system was no longer a good use of my time or always the most effective way to promote the library. Social media became very crowded during Covid, and it began to feel as though meticulously scheduled posts were getting lost in an oversaturated news feed.”
“Now I keep social a little looser and more spontaneous, focusing on quality over quantity. But I am more intentional about other ways to market such as issuing press releases and attending community events, both of which have been successful for us in the past year or so.”
And Suzanne has one more piece of advice for library marketers: get out of the building. “Covid truly did change how patrons interact with the library,” she says.
“Daily routines changed drastically, especially during periods of strict lockdowns followed by tiered reopenings. So, while it was always important for library staff to leave the building, I believe going out and meeting people where they are now is vital.”
Suzanne Macaulay
Suzanne gets her marketing inspiration from other libraries on social media. “Every day my feed is filled with creativity and inspiration,” she declares. “Library Twitter can be fantastic for filling my ‘idea parking lot.’ I think the key is to not only follow or look at other libraries just like yours.”
“For example, some of the best resources I’ve found and passed on to our libraries’ Youth Services staff have been from school librarians. Kelsey Bogan is an amazing example. Several of our (public) libraries switched up their teen spaces using the Dynamic Shelving approach she implemented in her high school library.”
“Look at big libraries, look at small libraries, look at other community groups, look at non-profits, look at businesses and decide what you like and what you don’t like. Approach it with ‘How could this look in our library? How can I scale [up or down]?’ It’s mining for ideas. We can learn so much from each other!”
“I believe libraries are doing incredible work, and it is incredibly important to share that work with others. Shout it from the rooftops! Also: stickers! Stickers are amazing! Give everyone library stickers!”
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The Library Marketing Show, Episode 164: Click the video link above to hear about the top two social media headlines for libraries.
YouTube channels are getting their own handles. And TikTok fires back at Instagram with a new feature. Let’s talk about how these changes will impact library marketing and promotions.
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 subscribe to this series 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.
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 