More libraries are receiving Instagram collaboration requests. But figuring out which partnerships make sense isn’t always easy.
Some collaborations can expand your reach and strengthen community connections. Others may feel off-brand, unclear, or difficult to evaluate.
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I share four questions to help you decide when your library should accept an Instagram collaboration request, how to protect your brand, and how to recognize opportunities that are genuinely worth pursuing.
Plus, a library marketer receives kudos for their work transforming their library’s connection to the community.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
If you’re sharing your Instagram posts to Stories to boost reach, you’re not alone. But it may not be helping you in the way you think!
According to Instagram’s head, this common tactic doesn’t actually increase reach the way many marketers assume.
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I break down what’s really happening with the Instagram algorithm, what this means for library marketing, and what you should do instead to make sure your posts are seen and engaged with.
Plus, a kudos nomination comes in for a library that’s busting myths about libraries!
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
Photo courtesy Cincinnati & Hamilton County Public Library
Lauren Tolman learned to read when she was just three years old.
“Books have been part of my life since I was little,” she explains. “My family made weekly trips to our local public library. I tore through Arthur,The Baby-sitters Club, Little House (on the Prairie), and any series I could get my hands on.”
“As a kid, my dream job swung between ‘mermaid’ and ‘librarian.’ The librarians at my local branch sat at this big wooden desk surrounded by paperback spinner racks, and they’d read to kids on carpeted risers. I visited the library again thirty years later… the same desk, the same brown carpet, the same happy library noise.”
Lauren’s first library job was as a shelver. In her 20+ year career, she’s been a page, a story time performer, a clerk, a children’s librarian, and a supervisor. Now, she’s the Communications Specialist in the Marketing Department at Utah Valley University’s Fulton Library.
Lauren and two other staff members market the library to the school’s 47,000 students. Lauren supervises the department full-time and handles project management, social media, and campus outreach. Her work is complemented by a part-time graphic designer and a part-time copywriter.
Lauren says the most effective channel for reaching her audience is Instagram. The library appears to have a formula down that works well for their audience. All the videos are short-form with a healthy dose of humor.
The library is also really, really good at putting its own, unique twist on trends, as they did for this video. (You will remember when this song was all the rage on Instagram and TikTok videos!)
But beyond social media, Lauren and her staff have other ways to reach students on campus.
“Our staff is our best ‘channel,’” shares Lauren. “They talk with students constantly through instruction sessions, resource fairs, research help, circulation desk interactions, etc.”
“Students love seeing other students in marketing. We also work with peer mentors, ambassadors, and other student leaders who help share our posts or pass along information to their programs.”
Recently, Lauren and her team worked through a library campaign refresh with new branding, colors, iconography, and more, called “Find It at the Fulton Library.”
“We aim for a new brand campaign every 3-4 years to keep our image fresh and current for our students,” explains Lauren. “The process can take 6-9 months, as we work with our campus marketing, communications, and photography departments to produce all the materials.”
“They help us with concepts and developing a brand kit with colors, fonts, and more to help maintain a consistent look among all of our deliverables. They also help us with student lifestyle photoshoots, giving us a high-quality photo library to use throughout the next couple of years.”
As you can see, this new brand has a vintage feel, while being fresh and colorful.
But not everything is all fun and games for an academic library looking for promotional success. Like most library marketers, there have been times when the strategiesy Lauren has tried just didn’t land with her audience.
“I will say I’ve had many disappointments where social media posts or Reels get low engagement,” explains Lauren. “It always seems to be the ones that are really informative or take forever to make that turn out to have the lowest interactions. That can be frustrating, but I try to learn from it. If even one student is helped by the content, that’s great. And there are always other channels to try to share that information!”
To that end, Lauren has some advice for libraries of all sizes and types when it comes to marketing.
“Get to know your audience, what they care about, where they hang out, what they struggle with. Lead with approachability and benefits. Our audience likes to feel seen and have their problems solved.”
“Track your results, even informally. This will help you figure out your strengths and weaknesses, and the direction your content should go. And don’t be afraid to experiment with types of content, even the casual kind. While we keep our language kind and professional, students love it when we go a little unhinged or use pop culture references in our content.”
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Next week, I’ll wrap up the series with tips for Facebook.
Instagram for libraries
According to the 2025 Super Library Marketing survey, 93 percent of libraries say they post to Instagram, making it the second-most-popular social media platform for library marketing. However, the number of libraries using Instagram dropped by 5 percentage points in 2025.
I have a few guesses as to why this happened:
Some libraries faced privacy concerns about using Meta-owned platforms.
Instagram’s increasing emphasis on paid ads makes it difficult for libraries to reach their community organically.
Budget cuts mean fewer staff, which may have led some libraries to scale back their Instagram use.
The inability to insert links into posts remains a major downside for Instagram users.
Instagram is the most popular app for 18-24-year-olds, a key demographic for libraries.
The average Instagram user now spends 33 minutes a day on the platform. But, for 18-24 year olds, the average time spent on Instagram per day is much higher, at 53 minutes per day.
How much success can libraries expect to see on Instagram?
Reels: The average engagement rate is 2.46 percent, according to Sprout Social.
Carousel posts: According to Social Media Today, the average engagement rate is 2.4 percent.
Stories: Stories are shown to existing followers, so they’re not a tool for discovery. It’s difficult to get Instagram to give up engagement rates for Stories. However, Sprout Social says the average engagement rate is generally lower than for other types of content, at 0.8 to 1.2 percent.
Here are the updated Instagram ranking signals according to Sprout Social. Note: Nearly ALL the Reels ranking signals have changed in the last year. Also, Instagram now uses the same ranking signals for the Feed and Stories. That’s a huge change. (Gotta love social media!)
Instagram Reels Ranking Signals
Engagement velocity: The more likes, comments, and shares you can get on your video within the first hour of posting, the more reach you’ll get.
Completion rate: The more people watch your Reel all the way through, the more reach you’ll get.
Audio trends: Using trending audio will increase your reach.
Content quality: Edit your Reels in an app like Edits to post without a watermark. Never repost your TikTok videos directly from TikTok to Reels. Doing so will suppress your reach.
Consistency: The algorithm rewards accounts that post regularly.
Instagram Feed and Instagram Stories Ranking Signals
Content popularity: Instagram will reward you for getting engagement quickly, for tagging other people or organizations, for tagging the location, and for the timeliness of the post. However, here’s something to consider: Instagram tries to avoid showing too many people from one account to users in a row. So, that means you don’t want to post too often on Instagram!
Relationship: The algorithm will show you feed posts and stories to people who normally engage with your content first. The more your followers interact with the post, the more often they’ll see your content and the more reach you’ll get outside your library followers.
Behavior: Instagram tries to predict how likely someone is to spend time reading your post, commenting, liking, resharing, or tapping on your library’s profile picture for more information.
4 ways to get the best organic reach for your library’s Instagram account in 2026
#1: Lean into searchability.
Instagram is increasingly functioning like a search engine. Users, especially younger users, will use the search bar to find what they need, like “cozy books for winter reading” or “family activities near me.” Here’s how to make sure your library’s content gets seen:
Write captions using natural language. Think about how you would say what you want to say if the person were standing in front of you at the desk. For example, “Looking for cozy books for winter reading? Here are our five favorites!” Try to avoid stuffing your captions with keywords.
Use alt text for accessibility and to optimize search results. For feed posts and Reels, you’ll find the alt text box under “Advanced Settings”. You cannot add alt text to Stories unless you add it straight to the screen using captions or a text overlay.
Add the location tag to every post.
Be super strategic with hashtags. Use 3-5 relevant ones, such as #WinterReading #CozyBooks #PinetreeLibrary
#2:Prioritize video, but be strategic about it.
Reels are a priority for Instagram, so they need to be one for you, too! However, the algorithm doesn’t care as much about how many videos you post. It favors watch time and completion rates.
To boost your videos, you should:
Keep your Reels under 30 seconds to boost completion rates.
Add captions and on-screen text for accessibility and silent viewing.
Use trending audio when appropriate.
End with a call to action asking viewers to “Save this Reel for your next visit to the library!
#3: Post when your audience is active.
This year, timing will be critical because the algorithm prioritizes newer content. You’ll want to:
Use your insights and check often to find the peak engagement time for your account. Then, schedule your posts during those windows.
Post to Stories right before your scheduled feed or Reels posts to keep your account active and visible.
Share your feed or Reels post to your Stories once it’s live to ensure your followers see it and engage with it, which will boost your reach.
#4: Have fun with interactive micro-content.
The Instagram algorithm favors interaction signals because they indicate that people are interested in your content. To help boost this signal, you can:
Add polls, quizzes, and emoji sliders in Stories.
Use carousel posts with prompts to swipe through all the pictures to get to something exciting at the end of the carousel.
According to Sprout Social, the average best time to post to Instagram is between 9 a.m. and 1 p.m. local time. But as always, check the insights on your library’s account. Post when you notice your followers are engaging most often with your content.
And remember that being consistent is key. Pick a schedule that your library staff can stick to.
Every year, Meta releases its Holiday Playbook. It’s full of strategies designed to boost engagement and sales. And while we’re not selling anything at our libraries, many of these ideas translate really well to the work we are doing!
In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I pulled out five practical tips from the playbook that you can start using right away on Facebook and Instagram.
Plus, discover how one library’s short-form video garnered over one million views!
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
FYI: The Super Library Marketing Guide to Social Media in 2026 launches on November 17. Be sure to sign up for emails so you don’t miss a single section.
Does it ever feel like you’re chasing every new marketing trend that pops up? 🐿️
New platforms, new tools, changing audience habits — it never ends! But here’s the good news: you don’thave to chase every shiny thing to be an effective library marketer.
In this week’s episode of The Library Marketing Show, I’ll show you how to stay focused, strategic, and ahead of the curve, without losing your mind.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
We’re just eight weeks away from a brand-new year, which means it’s officially prediction season!
Every marketing guru seems to have a list of what’s coming next, but don’t worry — I did the homework for you. I went through 36 predictions for social media in 2026, and in this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I’m breaking down the top five that actually matter for libraries.
FYI: The Super Library Marketing Guide to Social Media in 2026 launches on November 17. Be sure to sign up for emails so you don’t miss a single section.
Plus, I received a kudos nomination for more than a dozen libraries that collaborated on a huge project. You’ll want to hear about that.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
Instagram is revealing some secrets for increasing engagement on your posts. And one of these tips was a total shocker to me!
We’re going to talk about how to put these new tips to work for your library’s social media marketing strategy in this episode of the Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library that’s highlighting staff talent in a very unusual way.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
A viewer wants to know if her library should have a separate Instagram account for her teenage audience. It’s a great question!
I’m going to share some pros and cons. And spoiler alert… my “cons” list is longer than the “pros” list… in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, I’ll give kudos to a library that took a popular meme and made a funny and effective social media post relevant to their audience.
Do you have a suggestion for a future episode’s topic? Do you want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here. Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog, and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address. Then, click the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page. You can also follow me on the following social media platforms:
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 