The Library Marketing Show, Episode 154: In this episode, I will share how your library CAN compete with Amazon for readers!
A study by two researchers from Portland, Oregon shows us why readers prefer Amazon.
But libraries can win those readers back with some simple changes. I’ll show you what the researchers said libraries need to do to compete with Amazon.
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!
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Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
Imagine for a moment that you are walking down a city street, minding your own business when you see the clown Pennywise.
That’s right. The terrifying lead character from the Stephen King film “It,” remade and re-released in 2017, is hanging out in your city.
Now, what if I told you that the reason this horrifying clown was roaming the streets was to promote a library event?
Yea, that’s the reaction I had too.
But a library in St. Petersburg, Russia really went this route. And you know what? It worked.
The library used the wandering horror film character as a chance to draw attention to their Stephen King Festival. Someone dressed as Pennywise “would walk through the city, frightening passers-by and informing them about the upcoming festival.”
Honestly, I would never have approved this when I was working as a marketing manager in a library.
But it worked for this library. Because the media found out about the Pennywise clown stalking pedestrians. The clown, and the library, were covered in the press. We’re talking about dozens of outlets.
And that’s how people found out about the event. That led to record attendance. The library said 800 people showed up for the festival, more than four times what they had expected.
How do you draw attendance without scaring your community
Promoting your library is difficult. Events, renovations, new services, and additions to your collection cost money. They come with high expectations and goals. They require months of planning. The pressure to prove the value of your work to your community is high.
But there are things you can do to increase the likelihood your library gets noticed. This list does not include having someone dressed as a horror character wandering around your city or town.
But you know, I’ve learned a lesson from reading about the Friends Library. Sometimes you must be bold to get results.
Use storytelling to capture attention.
The first step is to think differently about the way you promote your library to the world. You want to capture the attention of your community, your cardholders, and the media. Telling a great story is a powerful and effective way to do this.
Your promotions need to do more than list off the details about your library. You want to set up the reason why your community should use your services. You want a memorable, compelling way to convey the valueof your work.
A simple storytelling formula begins with the people.
Talk with the library staff and community members about whatever you are trying to promote. If you’re focused on a big event, follow the organizers around for a bit as they attend meetings, make calls, and get materials ready for the big day.
Interview a community member who is benefiting from the event, service, or collection item. If you are promoting a project that involves a partner or sponsor, get an interview from those organizations.
You don’t have to do a full-length Barbara Walters-style interrogation. You can ask a few simple questions that will add color and humanity to your promotion.
Here are some interview tips.
Write down your questions ahead of time.
Ask open-ended questions like, “Why did you sponsor this event?” or “Tell me why the library is offering this new service to our community.”
Actively listen and ask follow-up questions.
End the interview by asking if there is anything else the interviewee wants to say that you haven’t covered.
Once you have all your interviews, it’s time to write.
Focus on the characters, not the library.
Put all the quotes you want to use into your document. Then, work the details of the event into your story where it’s appropriate. Before you know it, you have a compelling piece that you can use to promote your event on social media, in email, and in print.
Guille-Alles Public Library is on the island of Guernsey, just off the coast of Normandy. And they work with Storybook Dads, a charity that helps incarcerated parents stay connected to their families by recording a bedtime story for their children. The Library’s Outreach Team has been working with Guernsey Prison for several years to provide books and readers’ advisory support for people convicted of crimes on the island.
To show the value of their work and to make sure their community knew about this project, the library wrote a compelling story. It featured interviews with library staff and incarcerated fathers.
The logical place to put this story is on your library blog. Another option is to create a landing page on your website and post your story. You want your work somewhere where you can easily share a link, preferably on your own website.
Housing your story on your website has an added benefit. You’ll also be rewarded by Google, which will pick up you keywords in your post and start showing the post in search results for anyone looking for those keywords. Google doesn’t catch keywords on PDF or Word document press releases posted to a website.
If you are not allowed to post your story on your own website, you can post your story on Facebook or on LinkedIn as an article. Both social media outlets offer you plenty of space. Facebook gives you 60,000+ characters, which can be roughly 8-10,000 words. LinkedIn articles give you twice that amount!
Share your story link everywhere.
Your library has an available audience on a variety of platforms. Now it’s time to make sure they read your story!
Send an eblast to your cardholders and include the link.
Share the link on your other social media platforms.
Make bookmarks that include a few sentences teasing your article and a shortened URL. Insert those bookmarks in all your holds and checkouts leading up to your event. Share the bookmarks with your partner organizations.
And send a link to your story to your media contacts in a personalized email. I know it takes longer to send an email to each media contact than to send one mass email, but it’s worth it.
Here are some tips for writing the perfect pitch to journalists by email.
Keep the body short but personalized. Address the journalist by name.
Keep the subject line short and simple but intriguing.
Get to your point quickly and include the link to your story.
Explain why news of your upcoming event is beneficial to that media outlet.
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The Library Marketing Show, Episode 153: In this episode, I will try to put to rest a question that continues to permeate the library marketing world.
Libraries are defenders of truth, democracy, and privacy. And in that noble quest, they sometimes hurt themselves by repeating the false myth that they cannot send emails to their patrons because it’s an invasion of privacy.
Email marketing is not an invasion of privacy. I’ll explain why and what you can do even if there are laws (not privacy-related!) that limit the amount of emails you can send.
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 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.
The Library Marketing Show, Episode 152: In this episode, I’ll share two major changes coming to Twitter AND two major changes coming to Instagram. These four headlines will have an impact on the way you promote your library.
Kudos in this episode go to the Douglas County Library. Watch the video to see 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 weekly video tip for libraries.
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.
How many times have you been asked the question: which do you prefer most, print or digital books?
For me, the answer is… yes. Both.
I am not unusual. The Pew Research Center questions Americans about their reading habits and preferred book format every year. The survey for 2021 shows there are plenty of readers just like me who read both print and digital formats. Here are the topline numbers:
75 percent of adults in the United States read a book in some format over the last year.
33 percent say they read both print books and eBooks.
Nine percent say they only read eBooks or audiobooks.
And, although libraries don’t sell titles, book sales provide more evidence of our readers’ format preference.
Sales of print books increased in 2021 by about 9 percent.
eBook sales decreased, but that was to be expected after skyrocketing during the 2020 pandemic.
Audiobook sales continue to rise, up six percent in 2021 over the previous year.
The bottom line is that readers love to read. When they’re searching for a title, many readers want to get their hands on it in whatever format it’s available, as quickly as they can.
Who are these cross-format readers?
One email company I know has a name for people who read both digital and print books. They call them “transitionals”. But I think that’s not an entirely accurate way to describe cross-format readers.
First, most people are not transitioning from one format to the next. They are using both.
Secondly, that term lends an air of credibility to the notion that your print and digital collection are two separate things that need to be marketed in two separate ways. But they are not.
The collection is the collection, no matter what format our community members use. And the reasons they read both digital and print formats are opportunities for our marketing.
Remember, if your community is checking out books in all formats, circulation numbers will increase for your library. And you’ll be fostering a deeper level of engagement for these readers.
They’ll become dependent on your library for their reading material. And they’re more likely to volunteer, donate, and advocate for your library.
Cross-promote readalikes using context clues during in-person interactions.
Most people who visit your physical library branch are there to check out print. But you can cross-promote readalikes in digital formats to these readers.
To do this, look at your current print circulation statistics. Identify the three genres or topics of physical books most often checked out by your patrons. Next, create a bookmark or a quarter sheet flyer with three readalike suggestions for each of these topics. Specifically suggest your readalikes in a digital format.
Or, instead of suggesting three specific titles on your print piece, create a booklist of readalikes in digital format on your website. Your readalike bookmark or flyer should include a shortened URL link that leads to your online booklist.
When you see someone checking out print materials that might match your digital readalikes, hand them your digital readalike bookmark or flyer. Or slip the bookmark or flyer into holds.
You can also cross-promote print readalikes to your digital readers. Most digital format vendors will let you download the email addresses for your eBook and audiobook users.
Pull those lists and then send an email to those digital users promoting readalike titles, both new and backlist, in print formats.
Remember if you live in the US, you are not breaking any laws by emailing patrons, even if they don’t opt-in to an email. In fact, they expect you to market to them.
If they don’t want to receive emails from your library, they will opt-out. The overwhelming majority will appreciate your reading suggestions.
Libraries outside of the U.S. can add a section to their library news email to promote their digital and print collection. Use a link that allows your readers to check out your book suggestions in whatever format they prefer.
Make sure you track holds and checkouts of the titles you promote in your emails. That will give you data to help you make decisions about what to promote next. It will also be proof of the effectiveness of your work.
In my experience, one collection-based email a month can drive a circulation increase on average from 125 percent to 375 percent!
Include a digital option for your physical library book displays.
A patron who visits your library and sees your display may want to read those books in digital format. You can serve that patron by including a small sign or a bookmark with a QR code that allows readers to check out those same books in digital formats.
Offer titles in the format with a shorter wait list.
A few weeks ago, a staffer at my library was helping me search for a book I’d been wanting to read. She mentioned the holds list for the title was shorter for the audiobook version than for the print or eBook versions.
I honestly appreciated that! It’s a simple thing, but it’s good customer service. It gets books into the hands of your patrons more quickly and drives circulation.
Promote the benefits of each format.
In library marketing, we often focus on the title itself. But the format is a promotional opportunity too.
People find it easier to retain information when they read print. Readers also talk about the tangible experience of a print book: the feel and smell of it.
This is an opportunity for you to create experience-based marketing. Talk about the physical and emotional experiences readers have when they read print materials.
Likewise, you can talk about the benefits of digital formats in your promotions. eBooks let readers adjust font and background color for accessibility. They take up less physical space and they’re automatically returned at the end of a loan period. And audiobooks allow readers to get lost in a book while doing something else like exercising or cleaning.
Incorporate these features into your collection promotion. Your marketing will resonate with readers who feel comfortable jumping between formats.
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The Library Marketing Show, Episode 151: In this episode, I’ll introduce you to a new social media platform launched by the AARP called Senior Planet Community.
This is an excellent promotional opportunity for libraries. I’ll share what I’ve learned about this new site.
Kudos in this episode go to the Racine Public Library. 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 weekly video tip for libraries.
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.
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Self-absorbed. Screen-obsessed. Entitled. Lazy. Those are just four of the many stereotypes I’ve heard about young adults.
I’ve raised two Gen-Zers. My daughters, now aged 18 and 22, are hardworking and socially conscious. They set boundaries for their work-life balance. They have an easier time setting down their phones than I do. And they read books from the library.
Their generation and the one before them (Millennials) are the subjects of a study by two researchers from Portland State University. I first learned the results at ALA 2022. This is one of the only studies that shed light on this key demographic’s reading and library habits.
Dr. Rachel Noorda and Kathi Inman Berens’ findings are part of a larger study that included questions about video games, publishing piracy, and TV and movie-watching habits. Noorda and Berens’ drilled down on the results of about 2,000 Millennial and Gen-Z respondents who were part of their original study.
Anyone born between 1981 and 1996 is considered a Millennial. Anyone born from 1997 onward is Gen Z.
Pew Research Center
Noorda and Berens made a lot of fascinating discoveries, some of which I’ll cover in an upcoming episode of The Library Marketing Show. Here are five key implications their research has on your library marketing.
Millennials and Gen Z toggle between virtual and physical spaces.
What this means for library marketing: Don’t make the mistake of thinking that all your promotions aimed at Millennials and Gen Z need to be in the digital space.
92 percent of people in this age group check social media every day. But 54 percent have visited a physical library location in the last 12 months. That compares with 45 percent of Gen Xers (born between 1965 and 1980), 43 percent of Baby Boomers (born between 1946 and 1964), and 36 percent of the Silent Generation (born before 1945).
Remember the Rule of 7 marketing principle: it takes an average of seven exposures to your marketing message before a person will act on it. The rule is less about the number. It means you must promote your library services, collection, and events more than once on multiple channels.
You’ll want to check your platform insights to identify the preferred digital platforms for these two age groups. For most libraries, you’ll likely discover that your Gen Z and Millennial patrons prefer TikTok, Instagram, YouTube, and email.
And they love print materials, especially mail! This article has lots of great stats about young adults’ attitudes toward print promotions. It’s clear that postcards, brochures, and magazine-style pieces, must be part of your marketing aimed at Millennials and Gen Z.
For more tips on communication with Gen Z and Millennials, watch this:
Millennials and Gen Z reader get their book recommendations from many places including the public library and online library catalogs.
What this means for your library marketing: Collection marketing and readers’ advisory must be a part of your strategic promotions. We want young adults to turn to your library for expert reading recommendations. That will help your library to build loyal users in these two generations.
Booklists need to be front and center on your library’s website. Book recommendations should make up most of your library’s promotions aimed at young adults. And if your library offers personalized readers’ advisory, you should be promoting it specifically targeted to this generation.
Millennials and Gen Z prefer print, eBooks, and audiobooks… in that order.
What this means for your library marketing: Your collection marketing promotions aimed at young adults should include cross-promotion of titles and formats.
The study respondents told Noorda and Berens that they are deterred from checking out digital items by long wait times. So, if there is a shorter wait list for holds in another format, offer a choice. And include read-alikes in multiple formats when the holds list is long.
Don’t feel conflictedabout promoting both your print and your digital collections. Over time, promoting print and digital offerings on a consistent basis will drive home the idea that your library is focused on the wants and needs of your community.
Coming up next week: Key points about digital and print reading habits that will help you create effective promotions of both formats!
1 in 3 members of this demographic bought a book they first found in a library.
What this means for your library marketing: Author events at libraries drive book sales. But publishers have no idea that we are helping them make money.
Most libraries work with authors, not publishers, to schedule events. As a result, publishers are often unaware of library events’ positive impact on sales. They need to know that your work is having a positive impact on sales for these two generations.
Your library needs to track, measure, and communicate your full impact on book sales back to publishers. Develop a media kit that defines the audience of the event, and the actual monetary value of promotional platforms like email, social media, and press coverage. Once the event is over, send that data to the publisher directly.
Millennials and Gen Z readers are motivated to read by escape, self-improvement, and social connection.
What this means for your library marketing: This study uncovered the psychographic motivations of these two generations. Those pieces of information are the key to compelling marketing messages.
The words you use, the images you use, and the emotions you create with your promotions should be focused on evoking these motivations. Think about how you craft your messages to activate the things young adults care about.
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In this episode, we will answer a viewer’s question.
Margaret Luedke is Programs and Marketing Coordinator at Juneau Public Library in Juneau, AK. She writes, “I am new to library marketing and do not have a marketing background. My library did not have a marketing plan or brand style guide when I started so I am working to develop them now. I’ve found your guides on both topics very helpful! I wanted to ask though, how far do you suggest we take our branding?”
Kudos in this episode go to the winners of the Library Science Tuition Scholarship in Kentucky.
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.
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
A few weeks ago, I learned that, as a 50-year-old, I can technically join the American Association of Retired Persons (AARP).
I have NO INTENTION of retiring for many, many more years (maybe never?!). But in learning about my newfound status, I start to think about how libraries market to senior citizens.
More than 54 million adults ages 65 and older live in the United States, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. That accounts for about 16.5 percent of the nation’s total population. And seniors are expected to outnumber children in the United States by 2035.
Goals focused on seniors require marketing target to seniors
Depending on your library’s overall goals, it may be critical for your organization to focus on attracting and retaining a larger percentage of your community’s older residents.
For example, the Queens Library’s strategic plan specifically says, “The borough is growing older, with its elderly population projected to increase by more than 30% by 2040.” The plan then lists among its goals, a provision for providing a more robust large print collection, as well as a goal to connect the older residents intentionally and strategically with library services.
Today’s senior citizen is not your stereotypical grandma
If your mental picture of an older person is frail, technologically challenged, and dependent on others, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Older patrons are Interested in keeping healthy so they can stay independent at home. And they’re active on social media. More than 70 percent have a Facebook account, and more than 40 percent are on Instagram. And The Guardian recently published statistics that show the number of older people on TikTok is growing significantly.
Particularly during the pandemic, seniors learned to embrace technology. They readily engage with video chats and content on mobile devices. In fact, three out of every four seniors say they depend on technology to help them manage their lives and to stay in touch with family and friends.
More than half of older adults still work at least part-time. They’re more likely to volunteer their time. And the poverty rate is high among this group. 10.5 percent of white Americans over age 65 live in poverty and rates are three times higher for Hispanic and Black Americans.
Getting to know your older patrons
Of course, the older patrons in your service area may have different wants and needs. You’ll need to do is your own market research. A strategic survey targeted at this age group will help your library get concrete data on the makeup and needs of your older population.
You can also consult data provided by the US Census Bureau to build an accurate picture of your older patrons. Finally, conduct focus groups in partnership with senior community centers. You’ll have the chance to get direct feedback on the ways your library can connect with, and serve, your older residents.
Based on what you learn, you should develop a marketing persona to specifically address segments of your older population. And you may find you need more than one persona to capture the essence of your older patrons.
For example, you may find that you have three key groups of older residents: those approaching retirement, those who are retired and active, and those who require assistance from caregivers. These three groups will all have distinct library service needs. They’ll respond differently to your library promotions.
Highlight the things they value
Older folks love to bargain hunt and save money. This is where price comparison and other promotions that highlight the savings provided by a library card can be advantageous for your library.
For example, if you check out kitchen tools in your library of things, a “try before you buy” message drives home the value of the library. Your marketing piece should include the price of one or two kitchen tools, purchased new, to help your older patrons see they can potentially save money by trying the gadgets out first.
Seniors are looking for advanced tech help. Surveys show that people ages 50 and older want to learn how to manage smart-home technology, stream entertainment from sites like Hulu or Netflix, and video chat with friends and family. Programs at your library should address this need.
Focus on communicating the mission, vision, and values of your library. Seniors are more likely to vote and more likely to believe in investments in institutions.
Have a plan to target your older population with value-oriented messages. Build empathy through storytelling and show how your library provides value. You will be rewarded with the support of your older population.
In-person outreach is critical to targeting your older population. This demographic values personal, face-to-face interaction. Partner with faith-based organizations, meals on wheels, senior clubs, and community centers to distribute promotional material and get a chance for those in-person opportunities with your older community members.
Include testimonials and storytelling as part of your marketing strategy aimed at seniors. Older patrons aren’t influenced by sweeping claims or generalizations. They value personal experience, especially from people they can relate to.
More tips to create effective marketing targeted at seniors
Older people love print marketing materials. Seniors grew up receiving advertisements and physical catalogs in the mail. Print is familiar and even nostalgic to this group. They prefer something tangible they can hold in their hands.
Make digital communications accessible and mobile responsive. The Marketing Rule of 7 applies to this demographic. And they do love to sign up for email newsletters and visit websites. So make sure your digital marketing material is accessible to meet the various physical needs of this age group. Use as little text as possible, surrounded by white space and generous margins. Make fonts on your website, emails, and in print material 16 pt. or larger. Increase the size of your website and email buttons for messages aimed at this demographic.
Facebook posts are especially effective for targeting seniors. Regular readers know I’m not a fan of Facebook for marketing. The exception is this. Senior patrons are still heavy users of Facebook. I would recommend experimenting with a focused Facebook strategy aimed exclusively at connecting with your older population.
Examples of great library marketing aimed at seniors
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