In this episode, we’ll share the latest social media platform headlines and break down what they mean for libraries. That includes a new scheduling feature for Instagram, a new, easy way for your Facebook followers to find your content, and new data on the use of Twitter by Gen Z.
Kudos go to the Invermere Public Library. Watch the video to find out why they were nominated by author Elinor Florence.
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 video tip for libraries each week.
Thanks for watching!
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I check my holds list on my library’s website pretty much every single day.
This is no lie.
At my library, each cardholder has a dashboard. You can see all the items you’ve put on hold and how many cardholders are in line in front of you.
You can also put books, DVDs, and CDs on a “for later” shelf. If you’re like me, you’ll check that shelf religiously.
After checking my print item holds, I open the Libby app and check the status of all the audiobooks I’ve put on hold. I try to guess which audiobook has the best potential to be made available at the exact moment I finish my current audiobook.
That’s totally normal, right?
I promise you that there are thousands, nay, tens of thousands of readers who partake in this same obsessive routine. Libraries who capitalize on that obsession get higher circulation numbers. And the more people engage with your collection, the more they are likely to engage with other parts of your library.
That’s why I am an advocate for robust and strategic collection promotion. But most library marketing teams spend their energy and resources promoting programs.
75 percent said promoting programs and events. A mere FOUR PERCENT said promoting their collection.
(Excuse me now while I have a short cry).
These libraries are missing a crucial fact about their cardholders.
People want the collection items. That’s why people get a card. And that’s the main way people use their card once they’ve got it.
The Public Library Survey Report‘s latest data, released in August, showed that there were 2.2 billion items circulated in 2019, about seven items per person in the United States.
By comparison, there are almost 125 million program attendees at public libraries. If each of those attendees only attended one program, that would account for only 38 percent of the total population in the U.S.
And most libraries spend significantly more on their collection than they do on anything else. Library Journal’s 2021 Budgets and Funding Survey shows that libraries spent 11.2 percent of their total budget on materials in 2020.
I am certain the data for other countries is similar.
If your library is putting resources into your collection, you must promote it. That’s the truth no matter what size library you work in.
But my gosh does it seem intimidating. Where do you start? And how do you get the most bang for your buck, in terms of circulation success?
Here are four easy things you should do right now to promote your collection. Because it’s what your community wants and needs from you.
Create FOMO with email.
Last month, I spoke to a self-described “library fan” who confessed to me that she often buys books because she didn’t know her library had new titles for checkout.
Most people don’t even think about turning to the library when their favorite author releases a new book. A concentrated collection marketing effort will change that.
Holds are a promotional opportunity. And the Fear of Missing Out (FOMO) is a real and tangible driver of promotional success.
So, promote your titles, especially new titles, using email. Include a line telling your cardholders that they are getting a jump on the holds list. Your most avid cardholders will pounce at the chance.
You can start small. Send an email once a month promoting three titles. Include a link to your catalog that will allow people to check that title out in whatever format they prefer.
All you need to do is include the book jackets, a short annotation, and a link. There are email programs designed specifically for libraries that make this process super easy.
You can also create a list of titles that aren’t new, but that are related by story element to the new titles which are the primary focus of your email. Give cardholders the option to check out these older titles while they wait for the newer titles.
Make sure you track holds and checkouts of the titles you promote in your email. That will give you some data to help you make decisions about what to promote next month. It will also be proof of the effectiveness of your work.
In my experience, one email a month can drive a circulation increase on average anywhere from 125 percent to 375 percent!
Strategically “upsell” your collection
Upselling is a sales term in which customers are encouraged to buy a more expensive version of a product than they originally intended.
Libraries can upsell too. We want our cardholders to end up checking out more items than they originally intended!
To do that, we must always be thinking of ways to offer other collection items to patrons as they checkout.
For instance, if you are running your library’s drive-thru window and a patron comes to pick up their hold on a memoir by a rock star, you can encourage them to log onto your library’s website to listen to that musician’s streaming music.
Or maybe you notice a patron bringing a stack of Regency-era books to your checkout desk. Suggest that the patron also check out DVDs of movies like “Pride and Prejudice”.
If your library is doing a screening of a kids’ movie, be sure to have an abundant number of books for kids in the same genre so that your patrons can leave the movie with a stack of books to read at home.
Look for every opportunity to encourage your patrons to check out more materials.
Harness the power of an eye-catching book cover.
Publishers understand the psychological impact of a good book cover. They spend a ton of money and research to pick the most engaging cover. We can use that to our advantage when we promote collection items.
On digital platforms, you’re trying to get people to stop scrolling as they move their feed. And a beautiful book cover works great for this purpose.
You can also put this concept to work for in-person book displays. Put your books face out. You want people to be drawn in by the beauty of the book cover.
Let someone else pick the items.
Delegate the selection of items to promote to the people who know what they’re doing–your collection or materials selection department.
Or ask the general staff of your library for recommendations. Librarians love it when you ask them what they’re reading. Your biggest problem will be whittling down the answers!
You can also crowdsource collection promotions from your followers. Ask people to share their book recommendations with you on social media or by emailing you.
You can even ask them to record a short video of themselves making their recommendations. Then you can share that content! You can even make a poster or sign featuring a photo of your patron and their book recommendations.
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page.
In this episode, in light of last week’s Facebook and Instagram outage, we’ll look at the term “rented land.” And I’ll give you some alternatives to putting library marketing content on “land” that your library owns. 🙂
Kudos go to Sayville Public Library. Watch the video to see why they’re being highlighted.
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 video tip for libraries each week.
In this episode, I’ll dive deeper into one of the big takeaways for libraries from Content Marketing World 2021. This is a concept that marketing expert Jay Baer explained during his keynote and for me, it was the most relevant takeaway for libraries from this year’s conference.
We’ll also share kudos for an amazing library promotional video. Watch the video to see which library we’re highlighting this week.
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 video tip for libraries each week.
Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page.
Last week, I felt like a groundhog venturing out of its hole after a long winter of hibernation. But groundhogs only hibernate for five months, and I’ve been in lockdown for 19 months.
I went to Content Marketing World, a global marketing conference run by the Content Marketing Institute. You’ve heard me talk about it (a lot!) here on the blog before. It’s the conference where I get the most inspiration. I come away with pages and pages of practical tips. And this year was no exception.
I listened to the top experts talk about the ways the pandemic has changed consumer behavior in email, social media, and engagement with brands. I will be bringing you more of those insights, and what they mean for libraries, in the coming weeks.
But I’m eager to share the top seven takeaways with you right now. These big ideas will impact the promotions you do for your library in the coming year.
Jill says you may hear from many experts that you need to be measuring certain key data points. And there are many things you can learn from data.
But, your library should focus on tracking and measuring the data points that will show you if you are meeting your strategic goals. And Jill gives you permission to ignore the rest.
Lesson #2: Email is a community builder.
Dennis Shiao, Founder of Attention Retention LLC, and Ashley Guttuso, Director of Marketing for Simple Focus Software.
According to Ashley and Dennis, the purpose of a newsletter is not to promote your events and services. It is to build trust between your library and your community.
I’ll be translating more of their tips in the coming weeks. But for now, here’s a challenge from Ashley and Dennis: Create a newsletter that’s habit-forming, one that your audience gets excited to read whenever you send it.
The first step to doing that is to make your email newsletters opt-in. Ashley and Dennis have data to prove opt-in newsletters are more effective because readers are intentionally choosing to receive your information.
Lesson #3: We have to stop forcing our content on people. Instead, we must work to be invited into their lives.
Jay is an amazing author and speaker, and his keynote gave me a lot to think about.
He used the analogy of a castle and a moat to explain why people might be ignoring your promotions. Here’s how it works.
Our audience lives in a castle. Marketers are always trying to take over the castle by putting out lots and lots of promotions.
But the audience has built a moat around their castle to protect themselves from the onslaught of content. The moat is when your community unsubscribes or deletes your emails, or bounces out of your virtual programs, videos, or website after only a few seconds.
In history, armies tried to get around a moat by building a tall ladder and forcing their way into the castle. Anyone who has watched any historical drama knows this never works. The ladder gets pushed off the castle, and the soldiers never make it inside.
Instead, Jay challenged the audience to “get moativated” and get invited inside the castle by being radically relevant. He pointed out that the word “custom” is inside the word “customer.” People want content that is custom-tailored to them!
I’ll dive deeper into this idea and what it means for libraries in this Wednesday’s episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Lesson #4: Make sure your library is active on social media if you plan to do a PR push.
Michelle says journalists look at your library’s social media, especially Twitter, when they consider covering your library. So, if you are planning to do a major press push, you want to be active on social media before you send out your press release.
Many libraries have scaled down their posts on certain social media platforms because of a lack of engagement. I still believe that’s a good strategy, especially if your library lacks time and resources.
But, if you are planning something big and you’d like media coverage, Michelle says it’s in your library’s best interest to start posting on those platforms again a few weeks before you contact the media. It will increase your chances of getting covered.
Lesson #5: You can’t be remarkable on more than one social media channel at a time.
You may think this piece of advice runs contradictory to lesson #4. But when your library posts on social media with information about an upcoming event or service ahead of a PR push, you’ll be fulfilling a relevant but short-term objective.
Your library’s long-term objective with social media is to build audience engagement and drive people back to your website or catalog. To do that, you must be truly memorable with your social media posts. And to be truly memorable, you need to focus your efforts on one channel, preferably the place where most of your community is engaging.
Start thinking about which social media channel you would use for your library posts if you could only pick one channel. Then, create content that is relevant and remarkable in that channel.
Andrew said the pandemic was a once-in-a-generation marketing experiment that answered the question: What happens when every business in the world is faced with the same disruptive forces?
Then he told the amazing story of a sustainable farm that made an incredible pivot during the first days of the pandemic. They ended up making a huge profit, more than they had projected to make before the pandemic.
And all I could think about was the work of libraries in the pandemic. The services you created and unveiled to the public in a matter of days, including curbside pickup, book bundles, phone reference, take and make craft kits, virtual author events, and so much more, were born out of constraints.
YOU proved Andrew’s point.
I want you to recognize the awesomeness of what you did when you were constrained. Now, think about how constraints on your time and budget may lead to new creative ideas in the future.
Lesson #7: Purpose-driven marketing makes people follow, engage, and get behind your brand.
Jacquie Chakirelis, Director of Digital Strategy, Quest Digital Great Lakes Publishing
Jacquie’s talk made me realize that libraries need to highlight our doing purpose-driven work. She points out that consumers know that they have a voice. And that they are using that voice more frequently to make statements in their decisions to engage with brands who have a purpose.
Our mission statement differentiates libraries from our for-profit competitors. This is the core reason why library patrons feel loyal to your library.
Jacquie encourages you to find stories of how your library has taken a stand on issues in your community. Those stories will activate your community to become loyal fans of your library.
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page.
In this episode, I’ve got three big updates for libraries that will affect your ability to post to social media.
Kudos go to the University of North Carolina Libraries for their free racial equity challenge syllabus.
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 video tip for libraries each week.
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page.
In this episode, we’ll talk through some tips for coming up with a name for your library program or event that will help you with promotion. Yes, this has marketing and promotional benefits! I’ll explain.
Kudos go to the Chesapeake Public Library for telling patron stories on Facebook for Library Card Signup Month.
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 video tip for libraries each week. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page.
In 1960, Kelly Johnson was the lead engineer at a division of Lockheed that made spy plans.
One day, he handed a team of design engineers a handful of tools. Then he told the engineers that they must design a jet aircraft that would be repairable by the average mechanic in the field under combat conditions using only those tools.
At that moment, the popular design phrase “Keep it Simple, Stupid” or KISS was born. It describes the idea that most systems will work better if they are designed simply.
I first heard this phrase in journalism school. Reporters, marketers, ad agents, and public relations employees are all taught the power of simplified language in copy.
Simplified copy is easy to read and understand. It sounds authentic. Conversational copy subconsciously signals to your audience that you are a person, and people like communicating with other people.
Librarians are intelligent and sophisticated people. They have a deep understanding and appreciation of complex concepts. They’re driven by accuracy and information. It’s challenging to write clearly when you’re an expert in your field!
But our cardholders may have a difficult time understanding library brochures, posters, blogs, and websites with convoluted and confusing language. They may be tune out if the wording of your promotions isn’t conversational.
Your job as a library marketer is to translate complex thoughts and concepts into a concise and clear language your audience can understand and appreciate. You must present information in a way that the cardholder can understand.
It’s easier said than done, but here is some guidance you can put into practice any time you’re asked to write a piece of library marketing.
Identify your target audience and the action you want them to take.
Before you even write the first draft of any promotion, pinpoint your audience as precisely as possible.
Are you writing for teens ages 13-15? Are you writing for women, ages 25-54, who love to read cozy mysteries? Are you aiming your message at parents of preschoolers who need help finding books to read to their children?
When you’ve settled on your target audience, write a sentence about them at the top of the page. Be as descriptive as possible.
Underneath that, write a sentence that describes the point of your marketing material. Are you trying to persuade someone to try a new service? Do you want to increase participation in a preschool storytime? Are you trying to get teens to enter an art contest?
Once you know precisely who your audience is and what you want them to do after they’re read your marketing material, you’ll have an easier job of writing clearly.
Define unfamiliar or difficult words, titles, or services.
Go through the draft of your material and highlight words or terms that may confuse your audience. Then, find a better way to say or explain those words.
Never take it for granted that your reader has been a lifelong user or follower of the library. Words used by librarians to describe services, programs, catalogs, and databases, which may seem common and every day to you and your staff, may not be so to your reader.
Shorten your sentences and paragraphs.
You may have noticed that, about 18 months ago, I started writing shorter sentences and paragraphs here on the blog. Views rose by 118 percent!
That’s because shorter sentences and paragraphs make it easier for your reader to understand and absorb what you are saying. Long paragraphs look thick and off-putting. Multiple studies show readers will skip lengthy paragraphs. And the Poynter Institute’s Eyetrack Study shows people are more likely to read an entire webpage when the paragraphs are short.
There are two rules you can remember to help you get into the habit of shortening sentences and paragraphs.
Ziomek’s 1-2-3-4-5 rule: Created by Jon Ziomek, a professor at the Medill School of Journalism. The rule says each paragraph must contain: 1 idea, expressed in 2 to 3 short sentences, taking 4 to 5 lines.
Nityesh Agarwal‘s 80-20 rule: You can convey 80 percent of the information in any piece of writing using 20 percent of the words.
Get into the habit of hitting your return key more often. You can also break your writing up using bullet points or lists.
Use online writing tools.
There are lots of free tools that can help you craft sentences that are clear and concise, even when the subject matter is not! They can help you figure out a headline that will draw readers in. They can help you discover just the right word to make your meaning clear.
I often ask my family members to read my writing. If they find anything to be confusing or convoluted, I know I need to change it.
Bonus Tip: Read or listen to the book Everybody Writes by Ann Handley. It’s life-changing. Check your library collection first. If you have Overdrive, you’ll have the audiobook version. You MUST read this. It will make you a better writer.
Do you have tips for writing more clearly or examples where you have taken a complex library concept and simplified it for an audience? Share your experience or questions in the comments.
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This week, I learned a new term used to describe the way the world is transforming in the wake of the pandemic.
“The Next Normal” was coined by workplace consulting firm McKinsey & Company. It describes the changes which continue to emerge in every industry in the post-viral era.
A return to normal after an event like the pandemic is extremely challenging. It calls for libraries to reimagine and reform the work they do to meet their community’s needs in new ways.
Libraries seem to have the most angst about this change with regards to programming.
I have talked with many library staff members who truly enjoy creating and presenting programs. The process brings them fulfillment and purpose. And the idea that the pandemic may have permanently changed the way the public engages with library programming makes them sad and nervous.
I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately.
Change is scary and uncomfortable. But it also gives us an opportunity to approach library programs in a way that is more strategic. We have the chance to make sure our programming is creating deep relationships with our community.
Here are eight things to keep in mind as you begin to re-create your library programs in the age of The Next Normal.
Be realistic about the hurdles
Before the pandemic, libraries got a lot of program and event traffic from people who walked in to check out a book or browse the collection. They noticed an event or program happening in the library and joined in.
Because of the pandemic, libraries have implemented convenience services, like curbside pickup and book bundles. The community needs those services. But they also impact the number of physical visits to your library and in turn, the number of people who come across a program impulsively.
There is also a significant portion of the community who is not comfortable (yet) with going back to a public indoor space. Others discovered virtual programming during the lockdown and now prefer it.
We must acknowledge that the pandemic may have changed the way people interact with library programming. When you give yourself and your library permission to accept that premise, you can begin to rebuild and reimagine the way your library creates and promotes programs.
Plan fewer, but more quality programs
The Next Normal is a great time for libraries to re-evaluate the programs they offer.
I propose that libraries reduce the number of programs that they do. Instead, spend more money and more time planning quality programs that are unique to your community.
Set your promotional boundaries and stick to them
Library marketers are often expected to promote every program at a library, months in advance. The Next Normal is a great time to set down some ground rules for which programs get promoted and how those promotions will be carried out.
As you are determining the boundaries that will work best for your library, you may have to experiment with how far in advance you promote programs and on what channels.
Remember that your community’s schedule and expectations have changed in the wake of the pandemic. The promotions you did before the pandemic may not work in The Next Normal.
Track the results of your promotions so you can identify those changes and create new ground rules for your promotional work. Once you set those rules, stick to them.
You may be pressured to make exceptions. And there may be co-workers who don’t appreciate the effort you are making to do the best job of marketing for your library. That’s okay.
If you create a plan that puts the interest of your community and your library at its core, you will be successful.
Make promotions part of your program planning
As you begin to put your program together, make it a habit to think about the marketing piece. Ask yourself:
Who will be your target audience?
What is the best way to reach them?
How much time will it take you (or your co-workers who help with marketing) to create the pieces you’ll need to promote your event properly?
What will your event hashtag be?
If there are other library staff who will be involved in promotions, make sure you give them a heads up in plenty of time. For example, if your library has a social media manager, try meeting with them once a month to let them know about the programs you’re putting together.
Choose your promotional platforms carefully.
Community members may ignore promotions because they are overwhelmed by the sheer number of marketing messages they receive. Libraries tend to want to promote everything on all channels. Let’s be more intentional.
If your community actively engages with your Facebook posts, use that to your advantage. Create events on Facebook for your programs so that potential attendees get a reminder as the day of your program draws near. You can also buy Facebook ads or boost your posts to target specific demographics, even if you have a small budget.
If your community prefers interaction on another social media platform, like Instagram, spend your time and energy promoting your events there. Instagram Stories are a great way to build excitement.
Perhaps your library has a receptive and engaged email list. Add a program suggestion to your reading recommendation emails. Or send an email with a program announcement to a targeted audience.
Leverage your presenters
The Next Normal is the time to get as much promotion out of your speakers, presenters, and sponsors as possible. They likely have a ready-made audience that may like to attend your event. Ideally, this kind of collaborative promotion should be a part of your agreement with each participant.
You can make it easy on presenters by sending them a pre-written social media post or blurb for their email newsletter promoting their appearance. Supply them with copy, images, video, print assets, and anything else they need to help you spread the word.
Create some FOMO (fear of missing out)
FOMO is a powerful tool for getting more attendance at your programs. Your registered patrons and past program attendees can provide social proof that your event is going to be amazing. Let them help you build hype.
About a week before the event, send an email reminder or a social media message to everyone who has registered or shown interest in your program. Encourage them to brag that they’ll be attending. Include a pre-written social media message to make it easy to share.
Remember your real goal
At the end of the day, programs should help your library create a relationship with those cardholders. We want them to come to us for all their problems, and all their questions, and all their needs.
This is a more holistic approach than merely counting attendance numbers. Creating that engaged community will make your work worth all the effort.
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Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 