TikTok or Reels. Which one is better for library marketing?
I came across some new research that will help you determine where to spend your precious energy and time on library marketing. The answer is revealed in this episode.
Plus, kudos go to a library that showed authenticity when it made a mistake on New Year’s Day!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And thanks for watching!
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How many spam Facebook messages have your library’s Facebook page gotten? Lately, they’ve been downright scary.
They tell you that your account is at risk of being suspended because you’re violating regulations. They make it seem like your library has done something wrong and they try to pressure you to respond. And they are a security risk.
I’ve learned a technique to stop these messages. I’ve used it on NoveList’s Facebook account and it works.
I’ll show you exactly how to do it in this episode.
Plus, kudos go to a library from a library marketer who admires their work.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. And 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:
There is one very simple tip that you can use to increase the organic reach of your library’s posts on LinkedIn, YouTube, and Facebook (and X, if you still use that). And honestly, when I heard about this tip, I felt like smacking myself. How did I miss this? It’s so easy. I’m going to share it with you.
Plus we’ll give kudos to someone doing great work in library marketing.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
One of Paul Wellington’s first library experiences was not a pleasant one.
Growing up in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, his parents occasionally took him to the Milwaukee Public Library, but it wasn’t a big part of his life.
“In high school, I distinctly remember visiting a branch after school,” recalls Paul. “I was not allowed to use a computer since I didn’t have a library card. I felt very unwelcomed, with little interest in returning. But little did I know libraries would become a big part of my life just a few years later!”
If you pay attention to library social media, you have seen Paul’s work. He is currently the social media specialist for the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library (CHPL), working on the team I used to lead!
Paul’s work received national attention earlier this year when he posted this now-famous TikTok showing how holds are gathered at the library. The post has, as of this publication, a whopping 3.7 million views, 599,000 likes, and has been shared nearly 25,000 times.😮
“I came across the idea when I saw a duet of a woman mimicking the person in the original video on TikTok,” explains Paul. “The next week, I proposed the idea to staff at a branch, with the realization that finding a volunteer was a long shot. Surprisingly, Kelwin (the Cincinnati Library staff member in the TikTok), agreed to mimic the person in the video. Cue the hilarity!”
“I thought the clip would receive a few thousand views, and I was really shocked at how quickly it went viral, including on other social media platforms.”
Paul Wellington
“Some other posts that have performed well are the Taylor Swift visit and Pedro Pascal as libraries posts. I shared the Taylor Swift TikTok a few days before she visited Cincinnati, and I hopped on the Pedro Pascal trend after seeing a post from Vancouver Public Library.”
Working for a library was not Paul’s first career choice. He originally pursued a degree in architecture at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. During the spring of his first year, he got a job as a circulation aide at the Milwaukee Public Library.
“I was promoted to Circulation Supervisor at a branch in 2016,” says Paul. “During the height of Covid in 2020, physical circulation was slow, and I asked to assist the Marketing department with Facebook and Instagram. I loved managing social media, which eventually led to my current position as the Social Media Specialist with CHPL.
“My favorite part of managing social media for CHPL is thinking of creative ways to promote the library, whether it’s through humorous text, videos, or memes,” shares Paul. “My least favorite part, and this is something I’ve started recently, is editing captions for our YouTube videos. While very tedious, it’s important that CHPL makes its content accessible to everyone!”
I can say from experience it is difficult to manage social media for a library like CHPL, which has 41 locations and serves a population of 800,000 residents county-wide. Paul has the library’s five strategic priorities, which are guiding principles for deciding what he posts on social media.
“Within these priorities, I focus on promoting the library’s events, services, and resources,” explains Paul. “Each day I share 4-6 posts on Facebook and Twitter, and 1-2 posts on other platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads), so there are plenty of opportunities to promote the library offerings.”
“I would say one key to success is capitalizing on social media trends and events in your local community. If you’re able to incorporate the library into this type of content, you’re setting yourself up for success.”
How does Paul resist the urge or the demand to post about every program or service the library provides?
“The most common requests for social media posts are events, and the library has hundreds of them each month,” says Paul. “A large number of our events are recurring storytimes and book clubs, so I tend to promote other unique events. Library staff understands this process, and I rarely have to deny a requested event promotion.”
Paul spends a lot of time on social media, (go figure!) looking for inspiration. His top four favorite libraries to watch are:
And Paul has one big piece of advice for anyone working on social media for a library.
“It is important to understand the demographics for each platform. For example, CHPL’s Facebook followers have an older demographic, while Instagram consists of a large number of Millennials.”
“Content that works on one platform may not work on another. You can still share the same event, service, or resource across all library platforms, but consider the text and the way it’s presented (photo, graphic, meme, or video).”
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One of the websites I use to learn about social media has just published an industry report. And there are some very interesting details in there that have big implications for your work in library marketing.
I’ll explain how this new data can help you make your library’s social media promotions more effective.
Plus we give away kudos. Watch the video to find out which library is being recognized.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? 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, enteryour email addressand 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:
The #LibraryMarketing Show, Episode 184: A viewer wants to know if libraries should use Facebook Groups to build community. For-profit companies are doing it (or are they??) so why wouldn’t it work for libraries?
I’ll share what I’ve learned in my research. Does your library use Facebook Groups? Let me know in the comments.
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, enteryour email addressand 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:
In this episode, I have three whopper social media headlines to share.
First, there is new insight into the Facebook and Instagram algorithm. What does this mean for your library? We’ll talk it through.
The second headline is making me reconsider the advice I give to libraries. And the third piece of news is about a change that will make it easier for you to make your library promotions accessible.
Want to learn how to transcend social media algorithms? I’ve launched a self-paced course called Conquering Social Media: A Strategy for Libraries. And readers of my blog can use the discount code SUPERLIBRARYMARKETING at checkout to get 20 percent off!
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 Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
For many of us, a hamburger is a delicious sandwich, no matter where you get it. No one can mess them up.
But there are things you can do to make your hamburger exceptional. For me, that means the addition of bacon, cheese, and avocado. I’ll still eat and thoroughly enjoy the hamburger if those ingredients aren’t available. But they make the hamburger go from good, to memorable.
Hamburgers are like marketing. Much of the work you do to promote your library is already good (because I know you’re doing good work!) Now, you’re on the path to maximizing the effectiveness of your marketing.
One of the ways you can ensure success is to make certain your marketing content is the perfect length. It may seem insignificant. But the right number of characters or words for a piece of content can make all the difference.
How do you know how long your tactics should be? I did the research, so you don’t have to.
Ideal length of a Facebook post: 100-259 characters
Research from experts on this one is mixed. Some studies suggest you keep captions at 50 characters or less.
But in my work with libraries, I try to pay attention to engagement rates and post length. And I personally think 50 characters is too short. So, I would suggest you try to write between 100 and 259 characters.
Ideal length of a Tweet: 240-259 characters
Most experts agree that using slightly less than 280 character limit on Twitter is ideal. That gives people the room to quote Tweet your library.
But you can do two other things to improve your library’s Twitter engagement.
Include rich media in your post, like photos, graphics, and video. In fact, multiple photos or a mix of photos and a video will help your Tweet get more engagement.
Use emojis at the beginning of your Tweet to capture attention and stop people from scrolling past your messages.
Ideal length of an Instagram post: 138-150 characters
Fun posts should have shorter captions. Information or educational posts should have longer captions.
There are other caption tricks that help with Instagram post engagement.
Add spaces between your sentences, so they look like paragraphs. Here’s an example from Amherst Town Library.
Weave in plenty of emojis. You can even substitute emojis for words to add character to your post.
Include multiple kinds of rich media, like photos and videos all in the same post, to increase the value.
Ideal length of a TikTok video or Instagram Reel: between 7 and 34 seconds
There is not a lot of data or research surrounding TikTok videos or Instagram Reels. It does appear that, even though the platforms allow you to create videos that are several minutes long, shorter videos lead to maximum engagement.
Ideal length of a LinkedIn post: Less than 210 characters
There is lots of dispute around this recommendation. I’ve picked the median number. And to help with engagement, I have a formula that’s worked well for me.
Construct a good, first teaser sentence, and then put a space between it and the rest of your post caption. This will cause your reader to have to click on “see more.” It works!
Good content on LinkedIn is also important. Videos natively uploaded to the platform get lots of engagement. Also, try polls to increase engagement.
Ideal length of an email: 100 words
Different types of emails should have different lengths. If you’re sending someone an onboarding email, you’re going to need to write more than if you’re sending an email promoting an upcoming event.
There are some scenarios where a couple of sentences is plenty to capture your cardholder’s attention and others where you’ll need several paragraphs to get your full point across.
In general, keep your email text as simple as possible. Be straightforward about the benefit of your library service or collection item or event. And drive recipients to your website for more information.
Ideal length of an email newsletter: 3-4 pieces of information
In my experience advising libraries, email newsletter recipients never click anything past the first 3-4 pieces of content in an email. I always recommend sending shorter, more frequent email newsletters rather than one long monthly version.
If you don’t have control over how long your email newsletter is, you can help engagement by placing the 3-4 most important things at the beginning of the email. If your email provider has a table of contents feature, use that to drive interest to content further down in the email.
Ideal length of an email subject line: either very short (30 characters) or very long (90 characters or more)
It appears that the extreme ends of length catch the attention of the inbox scroller.
Longer subject lines boost response rates, according to Adestra, a U.K.-based email service provider. Its analysis of more than one billion emails showed that subject lines of 90 characters and more produced the highest response rates. They theorize the added characters increase engagement because they can communicate more value to the recipient.
But their research also found that subject lines at 30 characters or less performed well. That’s because the full subject line can usually be seen by the recipient, both in desktop and mobile versions of mail provider apps.
Experiment with both ends of the length spectrum to see which your audience responds to. And keep in mind the other factors that can impact subject line effectiveness.
Ideal length of a YouTube video: Between 7 and 15 minutes
This stat comes from several sources, including Social Media Examiner.
It’s important to let your content dictate video length. A how-to video may need five minutes or more to show the process. An unboxing video can be shorter. If your video is interesting to watch, the length won’t really matter.
Ideal length of a podcast: 22 minutes
Your target audience will really dictate the perfect length for your library. Most research I found recommended 20 minutes for podcasts aimed at listeners who are doing chores or taking short walks, 40 minutes for people commuting or doing longer chores, or 60 minutes for those who want an extended listen.
Ideal blog post length: 2,000 words
That’s a lot of words! For context, the Monday articles here on Super Library Marketing run between 1,000 and 1,500 words each.
So, before you get anxious about word length, remember that quality blog posts will always do well, no matter how long. If your post contains valuable or interesting information that your reader wants and needs, it will do well.
If your blog is less than 2,000 words, there are some things you can do to make it feel meaty to the reader. You may have noticed these tricks in my blog posts.
Present information using bullet points or lists.
Write longer paragraphs at beginning of the article.
Insert scannable headlines.
Include images, especially those that explain concepts or demonstrate your point.
Finally, it’s important to include keywords in your title and frequently within your post. You may notice I use the terms library marketing and library promotion in almost every title and throughout my articles. That’s because I know those are used by library staff searching for help with their marketing.
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In this episode, we have the top three social media headlines. There are huge changes coming to the Facebook algorithm (again!) plus a new feature on Instagram and why you might want to rethink your library’s YouTube strategy. What does this all mean for libraries? We’ll dive in.
Kudos in this episode go to the Lexington Public Library. Watch the video to find out why they’re being recognized.
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.
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 