Meta is, once again, making it more difficult to promote your library on Facebook and Instagram. I’m going to give you the latest social media update on this and show you one tiny little workaround that may or may not help you, depending on how you manage your social media. That’s all ahead in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, kudos go to a library that was the site of a serendipitous experience for a local reporter!
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!
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Hashtags. They’re not dead, but things are changing, and the way we should use them is also changing.
There’s a new article from the Content Marketing Institute that outlines the changes to hashtags. I’m going to go through it with you so you don’t have to, and give you some hashtag-specific tips for each social media platform in this episode of the Library Marketing Show.
Plus, we’ll give kudos to half a dozen libraries that won a big award.
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!
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Ray Holley, the communications manager for Sonoma County Library, is fascinated with economic development and planning. When he took his current job at the library in 2018, one of the first questions he wanted to answer was… what is the return on investment of a library?
Ray commissioned a respected local economist to conduct an independent study of the library system’s economic impact. The result? A headline-grabbing finding: For every $1 invested in the library, the community received $3.42 in return.
Ray knew this would make for great press coverage. He strategically timed his pitch, used an existing relationship with a reporter, and landed a feature story on the front page of the paper. That story sparked ongoing conversations about the value of libraries and gave the library system a powerful stat they continue to use in marketing and advocacy efforts.
As a former newspaper editor, Ray knows how to frame a story in a way that earns coverage. In a recent panel for the online event“Putting Principles Into Practice,” organized by the Library Marketing Conference Group, he joined me and another former journalist–turned–library communicator, Leslie Marinelli of Forsyth County Public Library, to share insider tips on how libraries can achieve better media coverage.
Libraries have great stories to tell. But getting the media to listen isn’t always easy. Here are the top 10 practical tips that Leslie, Ray, and I shared for getting your library into the news.
1. Know your media market size, so you can tailor your approach to press coverage.
Knowing whether you’re in a small, medium, or large media market helps you tailor your approach and your expectations.
To determine the size of your media market, you need to identify your Designated Market Area (DMA). DMAs are geographic regions determined by the reach of local television stations and are used to define local television and radio markets.
You can find your DMA by consulting Nielsen’s DMA rankings, which are based on population size and the reach of broadcast signals. The top 25 cities on the list are considered large markets. Medium markets are numbers 25-100 on the list. If your area is listed at number 101 or lower, you are in a small market. Why does this matter?
Small markets may be more receptive to informal pitches, good stories, and contributor-written columns.
Medium markets might have a mix of overworked reporters and community-focused outlets. Relationship-building and persistence are key in these markets.
Large markets typically have more gatekeepers and higher competition for coverage. You’ll need a strong angle, professional press materials, and sometimes long-term relationship nurturing to break through.
2. Learn what’s truly newsworthy.
Tip from Ray: “There’s what library staff think is newsworthy, and then there’s what reporters think is newsworthy. Your job is to bridge the gap.” How do you do that?
Focus on stories that have a community impact, emotional appeal, or broad interest.
Think strategically. Don’t pitch everything. Pitch what’s most likely to get picked up. Look through your local newspaper, magazine, radio, and TV stations to see what stories they normally cover. And check their social media accounts to see which stories receive a lot of engagement. They’re more likely to respond to your pitch if they think it will draw attention to their platforms.
Highlight grand openings, author visits, new services, renovations, or impactful patron stories. Those are usually sure bets for press coverage.
3. Personalize your pitches.
Tip from Leslie: “I don’t send out very many formal press releases. I prefer casual emails — sometimes with emojis — and it works better for my small market.” Leslie talked about this approach in depth in this post.
Know your market (see tip #1). It can help you decide how best to approach reporters. For example, in smaller communities, informal, friendly outreach can be more effective than polished press releases.
Use conversational language.
Personalize your email to each journalist, especially if you’re targeting a larger outlet.
4. Build relationships with reporters.
Tips from both Ray & Leslie:
Read or watch the media in your market. Know who’s covering what.
Reach out with thanks, praise, or helpful information, even when you’re not pitching a story.
Say yes when reporters ask for quotes or information and respond quickly.
Ray reads the paper every day and sends personal follow-ups after he sends his press releases. Leslie has even gotten coffee with the editor of her local paper. And when I worked at a library, I often invited reporters for a personal, behind-the-scenes tour to get to know them and vice versa!
5. Pitch less, but pitch better.
Tip from Ray: “Too many press releases can cause outlets to tune you out. Be strategic.”
Avoid sending releases for every single event, especially small, localized programs.
Always follow mass press releases with personalized outreach to key contacts.
When a brand-new library branch opened at Forsyth County Public Library, Leslie wrote a formal press release, and she packed it with everything a reporter might need: quotes with emotion, accurate stats, and ready-to-use details. That preparation led to multiple front-page stories, including this one, and a professionally produced video by the local government, something Leslie couldn’t have done on her own as a one-person team.
6. Time your pitches well.
My rules of thumb:
Big events (e.g., author visits, renovations): Send your release 4–6 weeks out, with a reminder a week before.
New services: Send your release 1–2 weeks ahead.
Awards: Send your release 1 week ahead. If you want to send it earlier, include an “embargo notice” which specifies that the news outlet can’t publish or air anything about the story until a specific date. Newsrooms will honor embargoes.
And always include:
High-resolution images or video that the press can use to add visuals to the story if they can’t get a reporter to the scene.
Human-sounding quotes. For example:
Corporate-speak quote (what not to do): “You can see our dynamic approach to customer service is essential to our strategic initiatives.”
Human-sounding quote (what to do instead): “We’re adding an online, real-time reading recommendation service because we wanted to do a better job of helping people find the books they want.”
Clear, simple language. As you write, you’ll want to avoid jargon, focus on benefits to the public, and make it easy for reporters (and readers) to understand. For example:
“The library is opening a brand-new branch with more space, updated technology, and a dedicated children’s area to better serve the community.”
“This program gives families a chance to enjoy a free movie night together, right at the library.”
7. Write the story yourself.
Media outlets are short-staffed. If you can provide a full article or press-ready content, your chances of getting coverage go up, and you control the message.
Leslie prepares a media packet to distribute at every Library Board meeting, complete with pertinent figures, dates, quotes, and the correct spellings of people’s names so that it’s easier for her local reporters to write stories about the library. This saves her reporters from having to go digging for information, and it leads to much more accurate news stories, which is a win-win for both the library and the newspaper.
Bonus: Offer to write a monthly column for local papers or magazines. Leslie turned her proactive event roundups into a recurring feature!
8. Be your own news channel.
Tip from Ray: “We break our own news via newsletters and email. It gets our message out without relying on the press.”
Start a blog or email newsletter and communicate directly with your community. Ray’s library has an entire news page with newsletters and blog posts to make it easy for reporters and stakeholders to see the latest library news.
Share bite-sized stories with elected officials, nonprofits, and other community partners.
Build a “partner relay” list to quickly spread info during closures or tech issues.
9. When things go wrong, work to control the narrative.
If negative press is brewing, you’ll need to move quickly.
Ray says that when a change in how content was communicated upset some internal staff, one of them contacted the press, claiming the library was turning its back on DEI values. He immediately pulled together a response team, wrote talking points, coached his colleagues, and scheduled a call with the reporter, who happened to be someone he had previously hired!
Because he acted fast and came prepared, the story was successfully reframed to highlight the library’s expanded and ongoing commitment to DEI. It ran as a positive feature instead of a negative exposé. Some other tips include:
Have talking points ready, as Ray did.
Role-play interviews with your spokespeople.
Use your own platforms to clarify or correct the record.
On that last point, while I was working in marketing at the Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library, one of our biggest challenges was the lack of accessibility in several of our historic Carnegie-era branches. We knew renovations were needed and were preparing to ask voters to approve a levy to fund them.
Just as we were in the planning stages of the levy, a Vietnam veteran went to a local news station and shared that he couldn’t access his neighborhood branch because it had no elevator or wheelchair ramp. (Here’s that story.) It was true, but it didn’t mention our plans to renovate the branches.
Instead of ignoring the coverage or going on the defensive, we reached out. I invited the veteran to return to the library for a follow-up story, this time focused on what it would mean to him if he could fully access library services. We recorded an interview and shared it on the library’s YouTube channel.
That heartfelt video helped us take control of the narrative and became a key part of our campaign messaging when it came time to ask the community to vote “yes” on the levy.
10. Show gratitude.
Tip from Leslie: “Send thank-you notes. Nobody gets them anymore, and reporters remember.”
Praise good stories, thank writers publicly and privately, and copy their bosses when appropriate. It builds goodwill and earns more coverage next time.
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What if I told you that posting less frequently on social media could actually help your library reach a wider audience? I know it sounds backward, but I think I’m on to something here, and I’ve got some data to prove my theory!
So we’re going to talk about why fewer posts lead to more engagement in this episode of The Library Marketing Show. Plus, we’ll give kudos to a library system that just released a beautiful and tangible way for patrons to take a piece of the library with them wherever they go!
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!
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Did you know that there’s a trick you can use to increase the number of followers on Facebook and LinkedIn for your library’s page? It’s pretty easy. And it only takes about 10 minutes once a year!
I’m going to show you how to do it in this episode of The Library Marketing Show. Plus, I’ll give kudos to a library for a simple but impactful book display idea.
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!
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Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
My former employer recently purchased sponsored content in the local newspaper to educate the Cincinnati community about all the library has to offer. When I saw the ad, I knew exactly what they were doing: Trying to drive more use of the resources they spend so much time and money curating for the community.
I’m frustrated by the fact that many regular community members are unaware of the existence of these databases. It’s great if you have the money to promote them. But most libraries have no advertising budget. So, how do they drive the use of the databases?
This is a marketing problem I want to address with this post. It’s vitally important for your library to boost usage of your databases so you can make the case to keep the budget you’ve set aside for them! A year-long promotional plan with strategic key messages can help you build awareness and turn occasional database or library users into regular users who rely on your library for information.
This plan goes beyond the normal “Did you know we had that?” campaign. It focuses on the core problems each database solves for your community. This method will effectively explain to your community why the database is essential to their life. Here’s how to do it.
Identify the problem the database solves
Your first step is to set aside time to play with the database yourself. This “playtime” is how you’ll uncover the real value of the database.
Pretend you’re a curious patron exploring it for the first time. What features catch your attention? What tools are easy to use? What specific problem does this database solve for your community? Is it saving students time on citations? Helping job seekers prep for interviews?
Write the problems down as you explore the database. Those problems will be the focus of your campaign. This will keep you from promoting the database with language that sounds generic, like “access to great information.”
Generic benefits are too vague to meaningfully connect with or interest your patrons. They don’t address the real-life needs of your community. And they make your library marketing sound like every other piece of marketing content out there in the world.
Call the database by its name and tie it to your library
Patrons usually have to sign in to the database using their library card, and that action can create a separation in the mind of your patron between your library and the database.
Using the name of the database builds name recognition for the resource. And, with a consistent, deliberate effort to add your library’s name to each database, (“NoveList Plus at the Maple Tree Library” or “Consumer Reports from the Maple Tree Library”), you will begin to create a connection in your patrons’ minds that solidifies all that your library provides.
Promote one database each month
Create a simple month-long campaign for each of these databases. Consider:
Who is the ideal patron who will benefit from this resource? This is your target audience for the month.
What channels are best for reaching your target audience? Focus your library promotions on those channels only.
Set goals for the month. How much of a usage increase will you be aiming for? This number will likely be different each month. Be sure to write your goals down and check at the end of the month to see if you’ve accomplished them.
12-month database promotional plan
I’ve put together a calendar of promotions to get you started. I’ve also identified the problem each database solves and suggested two potential key messages for your campaigns. Don’t you have one of these databases? Feel free to substitute any resources you wish for any month!
January: Homework Help Database (e.g., HelpNow, Tutor.com)
Problem it solves: Students get help with homework they might not receive at home due to busy caregivers, the cost of private tutoring, or a lack of subject expertise. These databases also typically offer test prep and FAFSA help.
Potential key messages:
Homework help is one click away. Get free online tutoring, test prep, and more—all from the comfort of home.
Test prep without the stress. SAT, ACT, and more—no expensive classes are required.
February: Full-Text Academic Research Databases (e.g., JSTOR, Academic Search Premier)
Problem it solves: Gives users access to credible, peer-reviewed sources with no unreliable websites or paywalls.
Potential key messages:
Say goodbye to paywalls. Find full-text articles for your next paper—free with your library card.
Need solid sources without the stress? These articles are 100% human-written and citation-ready—no AI, no trouble.
March: LinkedIn Learning or Career Skills Services
Problem it solves: Free training in business, tech, and creative skills for career growth.
Potential key messages:
Learn new skills. Land the job. Free classes in Excel, coding, communication, and more.
Your next promotion starts here. Learn in-demand skills on your schedule, at no cost.
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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!
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Nothing is worse than working on library promotional content, only for somebody to tell you it’s no good. 😔
How can we gracefully accept and incorporate criticism of our library marketing? I’ll give you some tips in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? 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:
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
If you’ve spent any time in the library marketing space, you are likely to know John Jackson. John is head of Outreach and Engagement at the William H. Hannon Library at Loyola Marymount University. His love of libraries started with his mother’s volunteer work.
“My mother volunteered in a small church library in Florida,” recalls John. “As a child, I often spent my weekends helping build book displays or checking out materials to patrons. I knew about OCLC (Online Computer Library Center) and bib records before the age of 12.”
“One of my favorite memories from that time is traveling with my mom annually to attend a regional conference for church librarians. We’d pack up a U-Haul full of library display materials and then recreate those displays at the conference.”
John landed a job with Loyola Marymount in 2015. The private R2 university has approximately 10,000 students, including those pursuing master’s and doctoral degrees. John says the university has a central marketing and communication unit, with employees who cover all areas of external relations work, including photography, graphic design, social media, and licensing.
“At the library, the outreach team is comprised of three full-time employees: me, a student engagement librarian, and an event manager,” explains John. “We also have part-time student employees who assist with various aspects of our programming and outreach work.”
“The library’s marketing support currently consists of me, a student graphic designer, a student social media assistant, and a student videographer. I should note here that marketing is only a portion of my job. Like most librarians, I wear many hats, including collection development, research support, and faculty liaison responsibilities.”
I reached out to John after seeing one of the videos from the Library Fans series, produced by his library. Links to the full series are at the end of this post.
John says the idea came from a presentation on empathy-centered storytelling at the 2023 Library Marketing and Communications Conference and from the videos produced by the Los Angeles Public Library.
“I wanted to create a series that told true stories of library users and did so using high-quality video production,” explains John. “My goal was to promote the individual ways that students from diverse backgrounds (e.g., undergraduate, graduate, commuter, transfer, first-generation, parents) use the library in their day-to-day lives on campus.”
“I also wanted to show, as a proof of concept, that high-quality video production was worth the investment of time and resources. This was also a way to celebrate and recognize some of our hardcore library users: the folks we see regularly in the building every day.”
-John Jackson
John says his team worked on the video series over one semester. They recruited students who were heavy users of the library and familiar faces in the building. They also asked library staff to solicit nominations.
“Our student videographer, John Mac Menamie, is an amazing cameraman and (thankfully for us) owned all his own equipment,” says John. “We were incredibly lucky to hire him onto our team when he was a first-year student, and it’s been amazing to watch his skill set grow over the years.”
“For each of the shoots, we preselected the location so our videographer could spend a few minutes setting up the camera and lighting before the ‘Library Fan’ arrived. We sent prompts and guiding questions to our interviewees in advance to give them an idea of how the conversation would go, but we did not write a script for each interview.”
John used a trick that journalists often employ. He spent the first five to 10 minutes of the interview in small talk with his subject to help them feel more at ease. John says filming usually takes only 10 to 15 minutes. Then, depending on what the interviewee said, John and the videographer needed to shoot footage, known as B-roll, to match the narrative and cover the edits.
Once the videos are edited, John shares them on Instagram, knowing it is the preferred platform for his students. But he’s also taking this opportunity to experiment on other platforms, like YouTube.
“We know from sources like Pew Research Center that usage of YouTube exceeds all other platforms among traditionally aged college students and in the next generation of 14–17-year-olds,” declares John. “So, I’m hoping to build up our content library there. We already have hundreds of tutorials and event recordings on YouTube, but the Library Fans videos are our first attempts at short form on the platform.”
“Most academic libraries are not breaking records when it comes to social media. We’re not likely to ever be the next Milwaukee Public Library. Because our primary target audience (currently enrolled students) is limited and has a churn rate of more than 25 percent every year at graduation, our socials will not grow over time. So traditional growth metrics like followers, likes, and view counts don’t mean as much to me.”
“I tend to focus on the metrics like watch time, sentiment analysis of comments, and sends or reach. Those are the measures that will answer the question, ‘Did this hit right?’”
-John Jackson
“If I want to get the word out about the library, I rely on email marketing. But if I want to ‘set the vibe’ for the library among our students, Instagram, and in particular Reels, is where I spend my time.”
The library’s videos have performed exceptionally well. As of mid-May, the series has received more than 13,000 views, accounting for 26 hours of watch time. That’s incredible! Now, John has plans to use some of the video content for other promotions.
“Because these videos are already so short, I haven’t been pulling soundbites for stand-alone marketing assets,” explains John. “However, I expect I’ll be using pieces of these videos in future promotional videos: New student orientation videos, for example.”
John says his first piece of advice for any library looking to replicate his success is to buy its own equipment.
“Our videographer graduates this year, and with him goes the camera he used to make these videos,” laments John. “I should have done that from the start, and now I am in the unfortunate situation of having to find funding for our own equipment before the next school year begins.”
John finds inspiration for his work from many different organizations.
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Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 