In this episode, I have three whopper social media headlines to share.
First, there is new insight into the Facebook and Instagram algorithm. What does this mean for your library? We’ll talk it through.
The second headline is making me reconsider the advice I give to libraries. And the third piece of news is about a change that will make it easier for you to make your library promotions accessible.
Want to learn how to transcend social media algorithms? I’ve launched a self-paced course called Conquering Social Media: A Strategy for Libraries. And readers of my blog can use the discount code SUPERLIBRARYMARKETING at checkout to get 20 percent off!
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.
And subscribe to this series to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.
Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page.
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
Effective internal communication is incredibly important to the success of any library. But it’s hard to do successfully.
Last week, I shared advice from libraries that have had success communicating with staff and stakeholders using tactics like email. But a friend of mine went about it in a slightly different way.
He used his storytelling skills to improve communication between his marketing team and other library staff members. And in doing that, he built support and unified his library around common promotional goals.
Jacksonville is a large library, with a main location and 20 branches. Chris’s team manages all the marketing for the system, including the website, social media, podcast, graphics, and volunteers.
“Our work is governed by three things,” explains Chris. “Requests for marketing assistance from other departments (Public Services, Learning Services—centralized programming, and others), an annual promotional calendar that we create with input from Library Leadership and Library staff, and the needs of the Library Director to meet the library’s strategic and operational goals.”
Like many libraries, the marketing department at Jacksonville Public Library operated on an order-taking model. Library staff would request flyers, posters, bookmarks, social media mentions, or digital slides for an event or service they wanted to promote.
Those requests were often not what the audience would respond to. And Chris and his staff were left to talk their co-workers into finding a way to reach their target audiences.
“This built up a lot of conflict between marketing and the rest of the library,” remembers Chris. “People felt like we enjoyed declining their requests and were either finding ways to do less work or doing just the things we liked doing.”
Chris says his department realized the form that library staff was using to make requests was part of the problem.
“They were looking at it like an order sheet (because that’s what we gave them) and focused on the stuff, not what they were trying to actually achieve,” explains Chris. “So, we created a new process where instead of the order form, they fill out a questionnaire that asks:
What problem is this solving for the customer that wants this?
What does success look like for this thing?
Who is the target (and it can’t be everyone)?
This new focus helped the marketing department improve things, but Chris says the change wasn’t easy for everyone on the library staff.
“Many of the folks we work with had been doing the other request process for so long that it was very hard for them to give it up,” he recalls.
Then Chris had an idea. He asked for some time at the monthly manager’s meeting to review the process, ask about pain points and gaps, and share marketing’s vision for how promotions could improve at Jacksonville Public Library. There were also some misconceptions about marketing’s role that needed to be addressed.
“There was a long list of things,” says Chris. “There was a clear lack of trust with our internal clients. It needed to be addressed head-on.”
So, Chris carefully crafted a presentation that would give his coworkers a clear understanding of how his department worked to support them and the library. When the day arrived, he was a mix of emotions.
“I was worried that they weren’t going to receive what I had to say well,” recalls Chris. “But (I was) also excited because I was confident that I was going to show them lots of things they probably didn’t even realize we were doing to promote things, and I had data and results to back up the methods we use.”
“I used some of the tactics that Dr. JJ Peterson from Storybrand talks about in this podcast about speaking,” said Chris. “I started by saying that this is how they might feel when they are trying to get messages to customers – they’re shouting and shouting but getting no reaction.
“I said that we in Community Relations & Marketing often feel that way too, and I’m going to tell them what things we do to make that better. I also acknowledged that they might feel this way when working with us.”
“Next I set the situation: where we are, where we need to get to and how we can help each other meet these goals will follow. I talked about how important email is to get the right messages to the people who have the problem that we can help them solve.”
Chris used examples to explain how email marketing is working for his library, emphasizing the importance of collecting addresses to build their subscriber list. He also explained how the library and marketing can work together to solve problems for their community. And he positioned marketing tactics, like bookmarks, the website, blog, and flyers as ways to provide an exceptional customer experience.
“I saw a lot of head nodding, got a few laughs, a few looks of ‘oh, I get it now!’ recalls Chris. “I felt like this was making sense, especially the opening where I talked about their frustration with customers and with the marketing department. That frankness really seemed to help disarm everyone and set up a good conversation.”
It’s been a few months since his presentation, and Chris says he’s seen a positive impact. “Resistance to complete the new request forms has gone down, and my team is reporting more cooperation and less tension than before,” reports Chris. “It’s a long road but the more we keep delivering this message, the better.”
And now Chris’s presentation is part of his library’s new employee orientation. He’s also looking for chances to recognize library staff to foster a sense of community amongst workers and encourage them to find positive solutions together.
Chris has some great advice for libraries that want to make sure all staff understand and value the role of marketing. “Use every opportunity you can to inject your messages whenever talking with staff and leadership and try not to get hung up when people aren’t getting it,” advises Chris.
“Remember that in this scenario YOU are the guide, not the hero. Your staff are the heroes using the strategy and plan to find their success in helping customers. Celebrate every win even if it’s just a fist pump to yourself.”
“Lastly, when you find those staff members who get it, keep them in the loop and ask them for their advice and feedback. You’ll build wonderful allies and advocates.”
He also encourages you to connect with other library marketing staff members in the wider library world. “There is a wonderful community of support out there for those who market libraries,” explains Chris. “You will find that we are all experiencing the same frustrations and will be thrilled to learn of any breakthroughs no matter how small you might think they are.”
“It’s easy to feel like you’re all alone because you’re operating in a sea of people who largely share the same skills, experiences, and goals as each other (but different from you). They may seem like the enemy sometimes, but you can help them reduce wasted time and effort and really make a difference in your customers’ lives.”
“Reach out to Angela, me, and other library marketers and library marketing enthusiasts anytime you feel unsure, frustrated, or just want someone to share in your success. You got this. Seriously.”
Chris was also recently featured on the new podcast, “Library Marketing for Library Marketers“, hosted by Katie Rothley. Listen to his episode.
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In this episode of The Library Marketing Show, I’ll answer a question from the viewer about sharing original content from other creators on social media.
This viewer asked for clarification on the correct online etiquette for sharing content, specifically cartoons or memes, from another page. I have two tips that worked for me when I worked in a library plus advice from experts.
Kudos in this episode go to Saul Hernandez of the Charlotte Mecklenburg Public Library.
Do you have a suggestion for a topic for a future episode? Want to nominate someone for kudos? Let me know in the comments.
And subscribe to this series to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.
Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page.
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
There’s nothing wrong with tooting your own horn.
A few months ago, I received an email from a library marketer nominating her library system for recognition in the “Kudos” segment on The Library Marketing Show. This particular project was so good, that it deserves an entire post.
Rebecca Kilde is the communication and marketing coordinator for IFLS Library System in western Wisconsin. She’s been with the system for five years and has a background in graphic design.
IFLS Library System covers ten counties with 53 libraries, mostly small, rural libraries. The libraries she served were facing a problem.
“My librarians were telling me that their visits weren’t bouncing back up to pre-pandemic levels,” recalled Rebecca. “There was some general confusion about whether libraries were even open.”
Rebecca Kilde, IFLS Library System
“Our libraries were open during almost all the last two and a half years and were important resources for some people in our communities. We didn’t want anyone to miss out on getting support from the library. We wanted our funding bodies to get that message as well.”
In the fall of 2021, Rebecca and her colleagues decided to explore a passport program system-wide. This program’s goal was to get people back into the library after the pandemic as well as educate people about the scope of their consortium services and benefits.
The idea was simple. All the libraries in the system had to have passports and entry forms available and a staff person to stamp passports and collect entry forms.
Setting a goal for any type of promotion is incredibly important to success. Rebecca had three things she wanted to accomplish.
First, Rebecca wanted patrons to experience the benefits of a library card firsthand. “We wanted to show how easy it is to check out and return items throughout our system,” she said. “We also wanted to send a clear message: Libraries are open, and libraries are fun!”
“Our app is new and includes navigation to all our locations in one handy spot, so this was a good opportunity to promote that. For our libraries, we wanted to increase circulation and engagement. A significant factor in support for library funding is having interacted with a librarian, so we built that in. We wanted people to engage with one of our wonderful librarians.”
Rebecca put her background in graphic design to work, creating a logo, a public-facing landing page on the system website, the passport, and marketing collateral.
“We printed enough for each library to get 25 passports,” explained Rebecca. “(We) sent them through courier as a kit that included a little rubber stamp, a stamp pad, signage, and a master sheet to make entry forms.”
Rebecca worked diligently to provide direction, content, and encouragement to her libraries. Each month, she emailed a marketing toolkit to all the participating libraries. The toolkit contained everything the libraries needed: a focused message; four social media posts with suggested messaging; updated posters; ideas from libraries, and comments from participants.
Some of the libraries took the passport program idea and ran with it. “Ellsworth handed out a water bottle with a bag of fun things that included a goat-milk soap sample from a local producer,” said Rebecca. “Clear Lake created prizes and a drawing of their own for their cardholders; Somerset ran out of their fun swag bags. Lots of libraries created great displays.”
The program was an outstanding success. Rebecca told me that over the course of the program, which ran from April 4 to July 15, participating libraries handed out more than 1500 passports and recorded more than 2800 stamps. Each of those stamps counts as one visit to the library. Nine people visited all 52 libraries!
Participating libraries saw robust circulation of travel-related items featured in library displays. Most libraries invited passport visitors to participate in other activities, like a scavenger hunt for kids in River Falls or library bingo in Menomonie. And they were able to identify some library super fans, who may become influencers in a future campaign.
Rebecca credits several factors for the success of the program, including timing and collaboration. “People were ready to go out and explore,” she explained. “And this was NOT a top-down promotion. It was library-driven the whole way.”
Rebecca has one final piece of advice for libraries looking to put together a successful program. Simplicity is key, she said. “We’re looking for ways to expand what the program offers without requiring a lot of extra work.”
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In this episode, I want to share some good news for libraries about something called Perfection Fatigue.
This is the idea that people don’t want to see your library in its most perfect form. They’re looking for something much more authentic. And that’s good news for libraries! I’ll explain why.
Kudos in this episode go to Escanaba Public 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.
Subscribe to this series to get a new weekly video tip for libraries.
Thanks for watching!
Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email whenever I post. To do that, enter your email address and click on the “Follow” button in the lower left-hand corner of the page.
In this episode, I will share four major social media headlines for libraries. These pieces of news apply to any library using TikTok or Instagram, and they could have major implications for your library’s promotions–in a positive way!
Kudos in this episode go to Berkley 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.
Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library
In my many years of personal and professional social media use, I’ve never gone viral.
Until two weeks ago.
My brief moment in the sun came out of nowhere. And it was so crazy that I wanted to dissect it, to see if there was any lesson I could share with my library friends.
Experimenting with Instagram Reels
For the past few months, I’ve been experimenting with Reels so that I can give the best advice possible to libraries.
I started by creating my own original Reels. I shared recipes, book reviews, and homages to my co-worker. The results were nothing to write home about. I got a couple hundred views and a few likes for each video.
Then I changed focus. I decided to share my favorite genre of TikTok videos. These videos feature lots of home organization gadgets and cleaning products in action. They’re soothing to watch and usually contain some oddball element, like a fake plastic spider in the rice container!
I screen-record these videos. Then, I re-upload them on Instagram with my own narration, pointing out the things I love. I use similar captions and hashtags for every video. Sometimes I add emojis to the caption. I also add close-captioning to all the videos, using Instagram’s in-app creator tool.
Hitting the jackpot
On Sunday, August 14, at 3:30 p.m., I uploaded one such Reel.
This was the fourth Reel in my experiment. The most popular of the last three Reels got 4500 views and 26 likes.
But for some reason, this Reel was magic.
It received 1800 views in the first 20 minutes and a constant stream of likes. It was so wild that I took a screen recording of the notification stream.
Then I looked again at the views 40 minutes after I posted the video, and my jaw dropped.
22,000 views.
For a brief moment, I felt like that most popular girl at the dance.
But it was over as quickly as it started. 60 minutes after I posted my Reel, the notifications abruptly stopped. And the view count halted.
Understanding the Instagram Reels algorithm
The first step in the journey to dissect the success of this Reel is to understand the Instagram algorithm.
The main goal of Instagram Reels is to entertain. As a result, many of the videos that show up in a follower’s feed are from accounts they don’t follow.
And that’s certainly true with my Reel. Nearly all the likes I received from my Reel were from non-followers. Instagram was showing my Reel to those people because the algorithm predicted that my content would entertain them enough that they would watch all the way through and like or comment on the video.
These predictions are called ranking signals. They are part of every social media platform’s algorithm. The ranking signals for Instagram Reels are:
Recent user activity: Instagram predicts which Reels its users will find engaging by comparing new content with the kind of Reel a user has most recently liked, shared, or commented on.
Interaction history: If an Instagram user interacts with an account, Instagram will continue to show them content from that account, even if they aren’t a follower of that account.
Reel information: Signals about the content elements in a Reel, including the audio, hashtags, and keywords in the caption, help Instagram decide who to serve the Reel to.
Information about the poster: Instagram serves Reels from accounts that post consistent, entertaining videos.
Other factors that can impact the engagement of your library’s Reels
There are a number of things your library can do to try and boost the reach of your Instagram Reels.
Post at the right time
Since interactions are a strong ranking factor in the Instagram algorithm, you need to get as many likes and comments as possible within the first few seconds of posting your content. That’s why it’s important to catch your followers when they’re the most active on the platform.
The perfect timing will be different for every library. Check your Instagram insights to see when your audience is most likely to be using Instagram.
Carefully consider your caption
Write captions that give context or tell a story about your Reel. Consider a longer caption to boost the time people spend interacting with your posts as they read your caption.
Add one or two hashtags to your caption. Hashtags are an important ranking signal as they help the algorithm to understand what content is contained in your Reel.
Finally, add emojis to capture the attention of scrollers.
Interesting content outweighs expert advice on length
Experts say the optimum length of an Instagram Reel is 7 to 15 seconds. However, my viral Reel was much longer, at several minutes.
I’ve been experimenting with Instagram Reels length. I’ve found that length really doesn’t matter, so long as your video is interesting.
Really, it was just plain dumb luck
It’s most likely that my experience had nothing to do with my skill on Instagram. In fact, I’m sure of it.
Going viral on social media is like winning the lottery. You can plan and strategize and spend lots of time creating great content. And you may never go viral. That’s okay!
Going viral will bring you fame and brand recognition in markets outside of your service area. But that won’t increase your circulation or program attendance.
Your library’s goal should not be to go viral. Rather, create engaging content that speaks to YOUR audience and aligns with your library’s overall goals.
Final results and what I learned
In the two weeks since I posted my Reel, it’s received nearly 23,000 views and 609 likes. I got about 15 new followers from the Reel.
I have not seen a substantial increase in the number of visits to my blog. And I’ve got no website traffic or purchases for my day job at NoveList.
So, while it was exciting and interesting, my viral Reel did nothing to help me reach my strategic goals.
And that’s the most important thing to remember about social media. You can’t control who sees your library’s content. But you can create engaging posts aligned with your library’s goals.
Want to learn how to transcend algorithms and get the best results for your library’s social media promotions? I’ve created a self-paced course to help you reach your goals.
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.
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
For many of us, a hamburger is a delicious sandwich, no matter where you get it. No one can mess them up.
But there are things you can do to make your hamburger exceptional. For me, that means the addition of bacon, cheese, and avocado. I’ll still eat and thoroughly enjoy the hamburger if those ingredients aren’t available. But they make the hamburger go from good, to memorable.
Hamburgers are like marketing. Much of the work you do to promote your library is already good (because I know you’re doing good work!) Now, you’re on the path to maximizing the effectiveness of your marketing.
One of the ways you can ensure success is to make certain your marketing content is the perfect length. It may seem insignificant. But the right number of characters or words for a piece of content can make all the difference.
How do you know how long your tactics should be? I did the research, so you don’t have to.
Ideal length of a Facebook post: 100-259 characters
Research from experts on this one is mixed. Some studies suggest you keep captions at 50 characters or less.
But in my work with libraries, I try to pay attention to engagement rates and post length. And I personally think 50 characters is too short. So, I would suggest you try to write between 100 and 259 characters.
Ideal length of a Tweet: 240-259 characters
Most experts agree that using slightly less than 280 character limit on Twitter is ideal. That gives people the room to quote Tweet your library.
But you can do two other things to improve your library’s Twitter engagement.
Include rich media in your post, like photos, graphics, and video. In fact, multiple photos or a mix of photos and a video will help your Tweet get more engagement.
Use emojis at the beginning of your Tweet to capture attention and stop people from scrolling past your messages.
Ideal length of an Instagram post: 138-150 characters
Fun posts should have shorter captions. Information or educational posts should have longer captions.
There are other caption tricks that help with Instagram post engagement.
Add spaces between your sentences, so they look like paragraphs. Here’s an example from Amherst Town Library.
Weave in plenty of emojis. You can even substitute emojis for words to add character to your post.
Include multiple kinds of rich media, like photos and videos all in the same post, to increase the value.
Ideal length of a TikTok video or Instagram Reel: between 7 and 34 seconds
There is not a lot of data or research surrounding TikTok videos or Instagram Reels. It does appear that, even though the platforms allow you to create videos that are several minutes long, shorter videos lead to maximum engagement.
Ideal length of a LinkedIn post: Less than 210 characters
There is lots of dispute around this recommendation. I’ve picked the median number. And to help with engagement, I have a formula that’s worked well for me.
Construct a good, first teaser sentence, and then put a space between it and the rest of your post caption. This will cause your reader to have to click on “see more.” It works!
Good content on LinkedIn is also important. Videos natively uploaded to the platform get lots of engagement. Also, try polls to increase engagement.
Ideal length of an email: 100 words
Different types of emails should have different lengths. If you’re sending someone an onboarding email, you’re going to need to write more than if you’re sending an email promoting an upcoming event.
There are some scenarios where a couple of sentences is plenty to capture your cardholder’s attention and others where you’ll need several paragraphs to get your full point across.
In general, keep your email text as simple as possible. Be straightforward about the benefit of your library service or collection item or event. And drive recipients to your website for more information.
Ideal length of an email newsletter: 3-4 pieces of information
In my experience advising libraries, email newsletter recipients never click anything past the first 3-4 pieces of content in an email. I always recommend sending shorter, more frequent email newsletters rather than one long monthly version.
If you don’t have control over how long your email newsletter is, you can help engagement by placing the 3-4 most important things at the beginning of the email. If your email provider has a table of contents feature, use that to drive interest to content further down in the email.
Ideal length of an email subject line: either very short (30 characters) or very long (90 characters or more)
It appears that the extreme ends of length catch the attention of the inbox scroller.
Longer subject lines boost response rates, according to Adestra, a U.K.-based email service provider. Its analysis of more than one billion emails showed that subject lines of 90 characters and more produced the highest response rates. They theorize the added characters increase engagement because they can communicate more value to the recipient.
But their research also found that subject lines at 30 characters or less performed well. That’s because the full subject line can usually be seen by the recipient, both in desktop and mobile versions of mail provider apps.
Experiment with both ends of the length spectrum to see which your audience responds to. And keep in mind the other factors that can impact subject line effectiveness.
Ideal length of a YouTube video: Between 7 and 15 minutes
This stat comes from several sources, including Social Media Examiner.
It’s important to let your content dictate video length. A how-to video may need five minutes or more to show the process. An unboxing video can be shorter. If your video is interesting to watch, the length won’t really matter.
Ideal length of a podcast: 22 minutes
Your target audience will really dictate the perfect length for your library. Most research I found recommended 20 minutes for podcasts aimed at listeners who are doing chores or taking short walks, 40 minutes for people commuting or doing longer chores, or 60 minutes for those who want an extended listen.
Ideal blog post length: 2,000 words
That’s a lot of words! For context, the Monday articles here on Super Library Marketing run between 1,000 and 1,500 words each.
So, before you get anxious about word length, remember that quality blog posts will always do well, no matter how long. If your post contains valuable or interesting information that your reader wants and needs, it will do well.
If your blog is less than 2,000 words, there are some things you can do to make it feel meaty to the reader. You may have noticed these tricks in my blog posts.
Present information using bullet points or lists.
Write longer paragraphs at beginning of the article.
Insert scannable headlines.
Include images, especially those that explain concepts or demonstrate your point.
Finally, it’s important to include keywords in your title and frequently within your post. You may notice I use the terms library marketing and library promotion in almost every title and throughout my articles. That’s because I know those are used by library staff searching for help with their marketing.
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Super Library Marketing: Practical Tips and Ideas for Library Promotion 