I have a bummer of a report to share with you today. However, it’s imperative because it may impact the way you use your library’s social media accounts to promote other content offerings from your library.
Buckle up! We will dive into that in this episode of The Library Marketing Show.
Plus, kudos go to a library that uses email to show off its accomplishments and prove its value to key stakeholders.
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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Not long ago, I got back in the social media game posting for the company I work for, NoveList. Very quickly, I remembered how difficult it is to get organic reach on regular Facebook feed posts!
But then I learned two little tricks that take me about 30 seconds a day. They work! So I’m going to share them with you in this episode
Plus, kudos go to a library that got national press coverage for an initiative to get people back into their physical branches.
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:
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:
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!
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:
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:
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
I won’t bury the lede on this post. I will no longer be promoting Super Library Marketing on Twitter/X. And I hope that you and your library will stop promotions there too.
I’ve been debating this move for a while now. I am keenly aware of the challenges libraries face when reaching their community. Libraries need every single free resource at their disposal to effectively promote their library.
But you don’t need Twitter/X. Not anymore.
The number of libraries that use Twitter/X for promotion fell an astounding 17 percentage points this year, according to the 2023 Super Library Marketing Survey.
Only 38 percent of libraries are currently actively marketing on Twitter/X. I hope this post convinces them to stop.
The platform’s promotional effectiveness continues to plummet. It sincerely is no longer a beneficial use of your time.
And the man who runs it has made changes that allow hate speech, trolling, and abusive behavior on the platform. He’s reinstated numerous banned accounts and freely allows posts from climate deniers, anti-vaxxers, as well as antisemitic dog whistles.
In fact, on Friday, December 15, as I was writing this piece, he published this Tweet.
I don’t want to support that, and I don’t think your library should either.
Statistics to support a Twitter/X exit
If you want to see numbers, here are the latest statistics from What’s the Big Data.
Twitter is the 7th most popular social media platform worldwide and has far fewer users worldwide than any other social network we’ve covered in the recent Social Media Guide for Libraries.
10 percent of Twitter users account for about 92 percent of the Tweets shared on the platform. Most users aren’t active. They visit to consume content rather than interact with it.
Only 33 percent of Twitter users come to the platform to follow brands and companies.
Elon Musk, Twitter’s current owner, has imposed limits on the number of Tweets and direct messages your library can send in a day, as well as the number of accounts your library can follow.
Other library marketing experts agree: It’s time to leave Twitter/X.
Ned Potter splits his time between being Faculty Engagement Manager: Community + UX at the University of York and running freelance workshops on library marketing and social media. He’s worked in the academic library world since the mid-2000s. He was featured on this blog in 2022.
Ned recently published a piece laying out several reasons he believes libraries should leave Twitter. He echoed my concerns, including hate speech, misinformation, and Musk’s behavior.
Ned has worked with libraries across the world and says he does have mixed feelings about leaving Twitter/X.
“I have found the librarian community to be fantastically open, generous, and curious,” said Ned. “I really value my networks online too, which is why I’m so sad to have been driven to leave Twitter!”
Laura also wrote a recent post calling for libraries to leave Twitter. Her reasons include the platform’s focus on monetization and the fact that so many people have left the platform. Laura also believes libraries’ public perception may be damaged if they continue to post on Twitter/X.
She admits this is going to be a difficult move for some organizations.
“I have heard from some that they plan to address their libraries’ administration about it,” said Laura. “I suspect it will be an uphill climb.”
Ned says he can understand that pushback. But he has some good advice for staff members who want to make the case to their supervisors.
“I’d point to statistics,” advises Ned. “You absolutely see the reduced numbers of likes, impressions, and link clicks happening on the platform. So we’re not achieving the things we’re on social media to achieve, like driving behavior and influencing perceptions of the library.”
“I’d also point to the potential reputational harm of being on a platform run by someone so seemingly intent on causing harm and being so openly hostile to almost everyone.”
“But I’d also focus on the positive – leaving social media platforms can be incredibly liberating. If it frees up your creative energies to be spent on, for example, Instagram instead, that account is going to benefit hugely from that! You’ll see engagement levels skyrocket, and your impact increase.”
Laura says library staff who want to leave Twitter should share articles with their supervisors about how companies are reacting to the chaos and actions of Twitter and Elon Musk.
“Provide data about how much referral traffic the library (probably isn’t) getting at this point,” adds Laura. “Remind admins that they really don’t want their libraries associated with an international disinformation mechanism. Twitter isn’t what it was a year ago.”
What to do if your library decides to leave Twitter/X
If your library decides to stop promoting on Twitter, don’t delete your account. Things may change in the future, and you don’t want someone else claiming your handle. Instead:
Pin a post to the top of your profile, letting your followers know that you no longer will be posting on the platform.
Give Twitter/X users an alternative way to find information about the library (ideally, a link to your email opt-in page!).
Remove the Twitter logo from your emails and website.
I’m curious: what are your library’s thoughts about Twitter? Let me know in the comments.
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:
Fact: the effectiveness of social media in promoting your library’s programs, services and collection is declining.
But that is not a reason for despair. One of the best minds in marketing says there is a way to turn your one-off, in-person library events into effective marketing. The idea is brilliant and pretty easy to pull off.
Get the scoop in this episode of The Library Marketing Show. Plus, we’ll give away kudos to a library that did something spectacular and innovative using its Maker Space!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know here.
Subscribe to this blog to receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter youremail 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:
The number of libraries using LinkedIn for marketing remained steady this year. 21 percent of libraries say they post to the platform, according to the 2023 Super Library Marketing Survey.
LinkedIn is my favorite social media platform, personally and professionally. I know what you are thinking: LinkedIn is all about finding a new job, and nothing more.
But I am here to tell you that audiences on LinkedIn are engaged and active. They are positive. And organic reach is better than any other social media platform I’ve worked with. This is true for both for my personal profile and for my company’s page.
And LinkedIn reported record levels of use in 2023. They speculate that many Twitter/X users have moved over to their platform.
OWWL Library System posts regularly to LinkedIn, spreading awareness of its many services, especially its outreach events.
LinkedIn has 728 million users worldwide, much more than Twitter, TikTok, and Instagram.
The United States has the most active LinkedIn users. About 31 percent of LinkedIn’s traffic comes from people in the States.
LinkedIn is more popular among men. Users are 56.3 percent male and 44.7 percent female.
60 percent of LinkedIn users fall between the ages of 25 and 34 years, a prime target market for libraries.
LinkedIn users spend an average of 7 and a half minutes per visit on the platform.
Richland Library cleverly adds info about their resume and career help at the very top of their LinkedIn profile.
How much success can we see on LinkedIn?
These engagement statistics come from Social Insider. This website breaks down stats based on number of followers. Because most libraries on LinkedIn have less than 5,000 followers, these are the statistics I have listed below.
The average engagement rate is 1.53 percent. That’s a higher engagement rate than Facebook or Instagram!
Posts with multiple images get the highest engagement rate at 11 percent.
The average video view rate on LinkedIn is 26 percent, which is pretty darn high!
The LinkedIn Algorithm for 2024
Here are the ranking signals LinkedIn uses to decide who sees your posts.
Followers: According to Entrepreneur.com, LinkedIn changed its algorithm based on user feedback. Users said they wanted to see content from people they follow. (Makes sense!) So LinkedIn will show your posts to your followers first.
Post content: LinkedIn now prioritizes posts that share knowledge and advice. And they look to see whether your library’s posts speak to your specific LinkedIn audience. That means you need to carefully consider the target audience when posting. (More on that below!)
Your authority: LinkedIn not only evaluates your post content… it evaluates your library! It will try to determine if your library is the authority on the subject you are posting about. That means you’ll want to stress your library staff expertise, or the expertise of your presenters, authors, and partner organizations when you post.
Meaningful comments: LinkedIn specifically tells users in their new creator guide that they are looking for longer, thoughtful, more meaningful comments on posts. This means your library will need to think about how to start a real conversation about each post. For example, if your library posts a list of early literacy tips for busy working parents on LinkedIn, at the end of your post, ask your followers: “What advice do you have for other parents?”
Here are four ways to get the best organic reach for your library’s LinkedIn posts in 2024.
Target the LinkedIn audience with relevant promotions.
Your library will need to consider the promotions you post to LinkedIn because the audience has different expectations than they do for other platforms. But as you can see, the list of promotions that will work on LinkedIn is long!
Library promotions to consider on LinkedIn
Patron stories
Renovation projects
Helpful resources for working people with children, like homework help, test prep,
Small business resources
Stories of your library’s outreach initiatives
Collection marketing of career or self-help titles
Big author visits
Book club resources
Maker Space promotions
How to suggest a purchase
Behind-the-scenes stories of library staff
Genealogy resources
Laptop kiosks
Holds lockers.
Special Collections
Grant writing resources
LinkedIn is a perfect place for you to talk about the impact of these programs on your community. LinkedIn is also a place where your library can build partnerships, fundraising, and legislative support.
Newberry Library uses LinkedIn to promote its collection and more by sharing its blog posts.
Don’t share links in your posts.
Sharing external links in your LinkedIn posts can limit your reach. According to Social Media Examiner, a post with links to content, including your library’s website or catalog, will barely get 50% of normal reach.
LinkedIn does this because it doesn’t want users to leave the platform to visit other websites. Also, LinkedIn claims that users “visit the platform to stay updated with their personal network. Leading them to other pages and sites isn’t the experience users want.”
However, I am calling baloney on this. This is not my personal experience, and it doesn’t appear to be the wishes of my personal and professional followers.
So here’s how I approach links.
I do share links to my blog in my personal posts.
My company also shares links to our blog in our company posts.
If I recognize outside organizations and partners or share links to websites other than my own in my posts, I share those links in the comments of the post.
There is an obvious downside to sharing links in the comments. If you are using a scheduling app or LinkedIn’s native scheduler for your posts, you must remember to go back in and add the links to the comments after the post is published. But, in my experience, this method works for boosting organic reach.
Create posts of varying lengths and types.
Try mixing up the length and type of posts this year, to see which ones work well with your audience. Does your audience prefer a few lines or longer text? Do they like one, bold graphic or a carousel of photos? Are they excited by videos? Do they go wild for polls? Have some fun with your content.
LinkedIn will also boost your posts when it sees that you are offering your followers a variety of content types and lengths. The platform views that strategy as fresh and relevant.
A successful post from Omaha Public Library featuring a carousel of high-quality images.
Keep your publishing schedule consistent.
LinkedIn doesn’t require a round-the-clock publishing schedule like Instagram or Twitter/X. But it does value consistent posting.
So, whether your library decides to publish every day, every other day, or even once a week, your followers will come to expect your content regularly. That consistency builds trust, which boosts the organic reach of your posts.
Choose a schedule that makes sense for your library and stick to it for a month. (Scroll down for recommendations on how often and when to post). Watch your insights to see what days and times give your library the best engagement results. Then, make those parts of your publishing schedule.
Orange County Library System posted its Library Card Sign-up Month promotional video natively to LinkedIn and got great results.
Maybe also try…
Republishing specific portions of your library newsletters to LinkedIn Newsletters: LinkedIn Newsletters readership tripled in 2023, with more than 500 million total subscriptions. That’s a huge number.
And your library can take advantage of this trend while not putting too much of your content on the rented land of LinkedIn.
So, here’s what I recommend. Take your regular library email newsletters and pull out the content that is relevant to your LinkedIn audience. If you end up having a longer list of relevant content in one month, whittle your choices down to the 2-3 pieces that you think would be most interesting to your LinkedIn followers. Then publish that on LinkedIn Newsletters.
But… use the newsletter as a tool to gather new subscribers to your library emails. Add a call to action to the end of your LinkedIn newsletter, like, “Want more great library news like this? Subscribe here.” Add a link to your opt-in page, and voila, you’re building your email subscriber list–which your library owns and is not subject to any algorithm.
When to post on LinkedIn
Influencer Marketing Hub recommends posting three days a week on LinkedIn in the mornings, at the start of the workday, roughly 8-10 a.m. That’s a great schedule for smaller libraries with limited staff.
If you have more time, try posting every day in the morning, including weekends. Spend your weekday posts on more serious topics and use the weekends to engage, entertain, and inform your LinkedIn audience. Watch your audience grow to anticipate each day’s post from your library!
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YouTube remains the third most popular social media platform for libraries, according to the 2023 Super Library Marketing Survey. I’d like to see that number rise. Here’s why.
If you’re thinking about where to devote your limited video energy, I personally recommend YouTube over Instagram and TikTok. I know that’s not conventional wisdom. It comes from my own personal experience.
My YouTube channel gets higher engagement and has been more effective in reaching my audience and getting them to take action than Instagram or TikTok. In fact, I rarely, if ever, get clicks to my website from TikTok or Instagram.
TikTok and Instagram are great for brand awareness. But if you have tangible marketing goals (and I sure hope you do!), YouTube is your platform.
If you don’t believe me, consider this.
YouTube is the second most visited website in the world, bested only by Google. YouTube gets more website traffic than Facebook, Twitter, Wikipedia, Reddit, Instagram, and Amazon combined!
A successful tutorial video from Jessamine County Public Library posted on YouTube.
How are people using YouTube right now?
Here are some more YouTube statistics to consider, according to Sprout Social.
The United States has the second-largest YouTube audience in the world.
Adults in the U.S. spend an average of 46 minutes a day on YouTube.
62 percent of YouTube users log onto the platform every single day.
55 percent of U.S. viewers prefer shorter video content over long videos on YouTube.
77 percent of YouTube viewers are between the ages of 15 and 35 years old.
YouTube viewers skew slightly male. Men make up about 54 percent of the audience.
Here’s the most compelling reason to consider a library marketing strategy for YouTube: Google owns YouTube. YouTube videos are automatically integrated into the main Google search.
I typed “How do I get a library card” into Google and I was served these three videos.
If someone is looking for something that your library provides, and you’ve optimized your videos, it improves the chances that a non-cardholder will discover your library through your YouTube videos.
How much success can we see on YouTube?
I found it very difficult to get updated engagement information for YouTube. Descript says accounts with less than 10,000 followers see an average engagement rate of 5.22%. Every other source I checked either reported engagement rates that seemed way too high to be believable or didn’t list an average engagement rate at all.
However, I did run across a cool new tool in my research. HypeAuditor has a free YouTube engagement rate calculator. Here’s a look at how it rated my YouTube channel.
You’ll need to sign up for an account and potentially pay to get the full report. But the number I wanted, the engagement rate, was free. Run a report on your library’s YouTube channel once a month to track your stats throughout 2024.
The YouTube algorithm for 2024
The YouTube algorithm focuses on one, core goal for the platform: to keep viewers watching videos for as long as possible. Viewers are recommended videos on YouTube and viewers use the search bar to find content.
Here are the four ranking factors that YouTube uses to decide who sees your library’s videos.
Video title and description: YouTube uses the title and description to match your video with viewers who are looking for that type of content. It’s important to be clear about what your video is about, especially in the title. For example, a video titled “Frank Discussion about ‘Let Us Descend’ by Jesmyn Ward” will get you more views than the video titled “Thursday Winter Reading BookClub Discussion”.
Watch time: The amount of time people spend watching your videos is incredibly important. If you create videos that are engaging and you can get people to watch most, if not all of the way through, your videos will rank much higher.
The newness of your video: YouTube will rank your videos according to how recently you uploaded the video. Like most social media platforms, they are always on the hunt for new content. However, in my experience, if you promote a video months after it’s been uploaded and it gets a new round of engagement, then that video will be re-recommended by YouTube.😊
Engagement metrics: Likes, comments, and shares will all work to boost the ranking of your videos.
A fun video with a great title and description from Prince William Public Libraries.
Here are four ways to get the best organic reach for your library’s YouTube videos in 2024,
Find your niche and stick to it.
The expert advice I found in my research all says the same thing: the best way to see success on YouTube is to find a topic that interests your audience and then stick to making videos in that niche.
I know that’s hard advice for libraries to hear and follow. Most library YouTube channels have many playlists with videos covering a wide variety of topics. Many libraries view their YouTube channel like the stacks… a place to store all their videos.
That’s not the approach to take if you want a successful YouTube channel. Your library’s YouTube channel is not meant to be a repository of videos.
Making a commitment to focus on one or two niche topics that your audience is interested in is a better use of your time. How do you figure out your niche?
Dive into the analytics of your YouTube channel. Which videos get the highest engagement? The topics in those videos are your niche. Spend 2024 creating videos about those topics.
If you must store videos on your YouTube channel for use elsewhere, put them in unlisted playlists. If you do that, their lack of engagement won’t count against you in the algorithm.
A San Jose Public Library volunteer put together this incredible video for the library’s YouTube channel. You can ask volunteers and teen patrons to help produce your videos!
Find less competitive keywords to use in your titles and descriptions.
Keywords and key phrases in your video title and description play a huge role in YouTube’s success. There are lots of ways you can search for keywords and key phrases that will boost your organic reach on YouTube. But my hands down personal favorite tool is TubeBuddy. It’s a free Chrome extension that’s easy to use.
TubeBuddy has a feature called Keyword Explorer that helps you figure out your video titles and identifies key phrases to add to your description. Here’s how it works:
I used TubeBuddy to do some keyword research.“Book club” is a very competitive keyword. So TubeBuddy lists the score as fair. If you were posting a video about a book club, you would want to add other keywords that are less competitive, like the title of the book, to rank higher on YouTube.Next, I tried adding the title of the book and the phrase “book club”, and our score made it into the good range. There’s less competition in search but TubeBuddy also says there aren’t many people looking for videos about that book. Finally, I tried “analysis of let us descend” and TubeBuddy’s results show this would be an excellent choice for a key phrase. If I were a library, I’d put this phrase in my title and in my description.
This whole process took me less than five minutes. I do this with all my YouTube videos. It has made a world of difference in my engagement rates.
I made a tutorial to show you how TubeBuddy works and the benefits of using it for your library.
Spend time responding to your viewers.
We know the YouTube algorithm will rank your videos higher if your viewers like, comment, and share your videos. But YouTube also adds a boost to your videos if your library participates in that engagement. It’s very easy and takes very little time. All you have to do is…
When someone comments on your video, reply to them.
Pin a comment.
I know from personal experience that those two simple steps will work wonders for boosting the reach of your video.
This is what a pinned comment looks like. To pin a comment, click on the three-dot “hamburger” menu to the right of the comment and select “pin.”
Promote your videos as soon as you publish them.
Within the first 24 hours of uploading and releasing a video, send an email to your cardholders to alert your audience that the video exists. You can also embed the video on your website or blog. Maybe add a carousel slide to your homepage that leads to the videos. And add a link to your video in your email signature.
These promotions are all designed to get you views as quickly as possible. The more views you get in the first 24 hours after you’ve uploaded a YouTube video, the higher your YouTube video will appear in search rankings.
An absolutely adorable video from Leicestershire Libraries explaining their Summer Reading program.
Maybe also try…
Posting to Shorts: YouTube is reportedly testing a new feature that would let you easily link a Shorts video to a longer video. That would make Shorts an effective way to drive people to your library’s channel.
In case you were wondering how big of a deal Shorts are, Social Media Today reports that there are 50 billion views of Shorts clips every day worldwide!
I am a big personal YouTube user, and I watch all the Shorts recommended to me. The Shorts algorithm appears to be more aligned with my personal video preferences than any other social media platform. If you have the time and energy, experiment with Shorts for your library.
A great Short posted by the Leiden University Libraries.
How often and when to post on YouTube
Consistency is a key component of YouTube’s success. If your library only has the resources to post once a week, pick a consistent day and time to schedule your posting, like Mondays at 9 a.m. Your audience will begin to expect and anticipate the release of your videos.
Influencer Marketing Hub has a cool calculation tool that determines the best time for your library to post videos based on your location. You can boost anticipation by using the “Premiere” feature on YouTube. Here is YouTube’s easy guide for creating a Premiere.
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:
Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 