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I Spent 3 Hours in a Room Full of Curious and Committed Library Staff: Here Are the 4 Things I Learned From Them!

Teenagers and young people in the 1950s in a library. Some are sitting at a table looking at magazines, while others search through the card catalog.
Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

This past week, I spent three-plus hours in a room with 38 library marketers.

We worked together on all those pieces of library marketing that we don’t normally have time for.

We identified our libraries’ strengths and weaknesses. (My weakness: spelling).

We named our libraries opportunities and threats. We set SMART goals.

We identified our target audiences (hint: your audience is not everyone!). And we talked about measuring promotions to replicate success.

These are the fundamentals of library marketing. These are the building blocks that ensure your marketing will be successful.

This was the first-ever pre-conference workshop for the Library Marketing and Communications Conference, which returned in all its in-person glory. Shoutout to the dozens of readers who took the time to say hello to me!

I told the group that I knew, without a doubt, that I would learn something from them. And I did.

A room full of library marketers, sitting at tables and waving at the camera.
My 38 new best friends

Here are the four things I learned from this fantastic, dedicated, intelligent, creative, and curious set of library marketers.

Library marketers need time to think.

We are all doing too much.

We must make print collateral, send emails, schedule social media posts, attend meetings, make press releases, do outreach events, and then attend more meetings.

I asked almost everyone I met at LMCC how things are going at their library. And I lost track of the number of times the response was, “It’s been a little nuts.”

The idea of setting aside time to consider what is to be done, how it will be done, who will do it, and how it can be more effective, is an entirely foreign concept to most libraries. 

We don’t give our employees the time to work through strategic planning. There is no rest. At many libraries, the marketing is done by librarians who also have other duties. There’s never any time to breathe.

And then we wonder why it’s so difficult to create successful library marketing and communications.

That happens because we never take the time to do all the fundamental work that is necessary to ensure our marketing is effective. We’re building houses without foundations.

So, the workshop gave these library marketers permission to ignore email, text messages, chats, and outside distractions. They got three hours to focus solely on building the foundations for strong library marketing.

It’s important to create that space for yourself as a library marketer. I know it’s difficult. If you can’t attend a workshop, you can set aside time on your calendar, like you would for a meeting, to do this important background work.

Put your phone in a locked drawer. Turn off your chat program. You can even leave your physical workspace if you need to. When I worked at the Cincinnati Library, I would hide in the stacks when I needed to do this work.😉

Library marketers face the same struggles.

We did a SWOT analysis exercise, where each library marketer identified their library’s strengths and weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. And then we shared as a group.

How many of these do you recognize as your library’s weaknesses and threats?

  • A marketing team made up of one person, trying to do ALL the promotions
  • Difficulty getting people to take an action, like place a hold or register for a program after they engage with marketing
  • Having too much to do
  • Having no identifiable library branding
  • The approvals process
  • Threats to funding

The list goes on.

During this exercise, the library marketers in the room began to realize that they are not working alone on an island. There are thousands of library staffers out there who understand their struggles because they face those same difficulties. They felt truly seen.

Library marketers have a lot to celebrate.

As much as we struggle to do effective library marketing, we also have many, many, many wins to celebrate. We should be proud of:

  • Our social media engagement
  • Our impactful partnerships
  • The fact that people open and read our emails more than they do for any other industry!
  • We have so much great content to promote.

We don’t do enough celebrations in library marketing. That’s one of the reasons I started giving out Kudos in The Library Marketing Show and began recognizing libraries via #LibraryoftheDay.

You can help. When you see a library doing great marketing work, give them a shoutout on social media. Better yet, email them to let them know you noticed their amazing promotion. You can also nominate a library for Kudos on The Library Marketing Show.

A little bit of celebration goes a long way to boosting morale for library marketing. We can be each other’s cheerleaders!

Library marketers thrive when they have a friend.

Most of the attendees of the pre-conference session told me they are introverts. But when I asked this room full of strangers to pair up, the room got super noisy!

There were smiles. There was laughter. There were conspiratorial looks and nods of understanding. It was magical.

And it occurred to me… sometimes we just need someone who understands our work.

You may be wondering how you can find a library marketer to be friends with. One way is to join the LMCC Discussion Group. You can also join the Library Marketing Book Club.

Or you can message me on LinkedIn. Tell me a little about yourself and I’ll introduce you to a library marketing buddy.

Let’s support and encourage each other. When we work together, we strengthen the library industry and, most importantly, do a better job of providing service to our communities.

More Advice

Stop What You Are Doing! Before You Launch Another Library Event or Service, Take These 5 Steps to Define Your Promotional Strategy

Call It What It Is: Toledo Public Library Explains Their New Brand Strategy

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2

Your Patrons Are Not Goldfish! The Powerful, Scientifically Proven Reason Why Your Library Should Aim To Hold the Sustained Attention of Your Community

Photo courtesy Cincinnati and Hamilton County Public Library

When I was a child, my first pet was a goldfish.

I named it Goldie. Totally original, I know.

Goldie lived in a glass bowl decorated with neon-colored rocks and a tiny treasure chest that opened and closed to release bubbles. I’m sure when I brought her home from the pet store, she thought she’d landed in some kind of 1980s pirate hell.

I liked to watch Goldie swim around her bowl. And she liked to watch me.

When I did my homework or practiced my instrument or danced around my room to Phil Collins, she swam to the side of her bowl and stared at me. She could do this for hours. It would have been creepy had she not been a fish.

The statistic that some say ruined marketing

In 2015, large news organizations, including Time, The New York Times, and The Telegraph reported a single, mind-blowing finding from a new study by Microsoft.

The average human being’s attention span has shrunk to just eight seconds, about the same as a goldfish.

By the way, in researching this post, I found this great blog post from the University of Melbourne about the intelligence of goldfish. Their attention span is way longer than eight seconds.

The reports were grossly inaccurate

It turns out that the news organizations were not actually quoting the results of the Microsoft study. A BBC reporter investigated the origin of the goldfish statistic in 2017.

“All those references lead back to a 2015 report by the Consumer Insights team of Microsoft Canada, who surveyed 2,000 Canadians and also studied the brain activity of 112 people as they carried out various tasks. However, the figure that everyone picked up on – about our shrinking attention spans – did not actually come from Microsoft’s research. It appears in the report, but with a citation for another source called Statistic Brain.”

Simon Maybin, BBC World Service

The goldfish comparison has since been removed from Statistic Brain. And the original study from Microsoft is no longer listed on their website.

But it was too late. The damage was done.

Marketers were told to create short, scannable promotions, use clickbait titles, and make sure our blogs and videos were “snackable.” Promotions began to all look the same.

Nothing stood out. Everything we created lacked depth and interest. And people actually paid less attention to us.

A better way to promote your library

It’s true that humans have difficulty dealing with distractions. But it’s also true that when we are consuming quality content, we can focus.

There are two kinds of attention. Transient attention is a short-term response to a stimulus that temporarily attracts us or distracts our attention. It comes into play when you read a billboard or a sign, or watch a TikTok video.

Then there is sustained attention. This describes your ability to focus on something for an extended period.

We use sustained attention when we binge-watch an entire season of Stranger Things in a single day, read a good book cover to cover in one sitting, or attend a concert, play, or sporting event.

Sustained attention is where great experiences are found. It is also the basis for information processing and cognitive development. It is where real connections are made.

That means that if you can engage your cardholders’ sustained attention, your marketing will be memorable. And memorable marketing is more effective.

How do we do this exactly?

There are circumstances in which you will need to create short promotions that appeal to transient attention. Social media is a perfect example. So are printed signs. A few, well-written but interesting sentences, and an eye-catching design are required for those formats.

But many of your library promotions should aim for the sustained attention of your cardholders. Blog posts and videos are perfect examples.

These pieces of content should be as long as they need to be to tell a good story. That means you can create a video that runs 8 minutes or write a blog post that is more than 1000 words, as long as they are interesting and compelling. They must also contain two key features.

  • Emotion: The joy of finding a book, the fear of not getting a job, the frustration of another night of homework without any help… these are all emotions felt by our library’s customers. Other people can relate to these experiences and empathize. Emotion activates many portions of the brain, including the sensory, memory, and empathy sectors. The more active the brain is while consuming content, the more likely it is that the listener or reader will remember the story.
  • Conflict and a resolution. Your sustained attention marketing must include some conflict and a problem or situation that is resolved. Without conflict, your story risks being flat and unmemorable.

How to get started

Pick one tactic to focus on. Your print or online newsletter is a perfect place to start. Take six months and watch as your audience transforms.

I’m speaking from experience here. In my former library job, I turned our print program calendar into a magazine filled with stories.

It took our community members about 10 to 15 minutes to read the magazine. That’s time they spent thinking about the library, empathizing with the patrons and staff in our stories, and committing our stories to memory.

And guess what happened? Our circulation increased. Database usage grew. Our brand awareness grew. We passed a levy to fund renovations to old libraries.

Podcasts are also a perfect example of long-form library content that holds attention. Most episodes last between 20 to 30 minutes. That’s an invaluable time in which you are talking directly to your community!

Your cardholders aren’t goldfish. They are real people with attention spans that can be used to our advantage. You can help them to make a lasting and meaningful connection to the library with longer, interesting, memorable content.

Further Reading

Ditch the Formal Document! How One Library Turned Their Ordinary Annual Report Into a Storytelling Masterpiece That Connected With Their Community [ARTICLE]
Your Library Should COMPLETELY Ignore These 4 Pieces of Promotional Advice! Plus What To Do Instead for Real Results. [ARTICLE]

Latest Book Review

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2

Direct Foot Traffic in Your Library Branch Using These Six Secrets for Helpful Wayfaring Signage

Photo courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

There is a romantic notion attached to wandering the stacks of the library, aimlessly lost in a sea of books for hours on end.

But for a portion of our community, efficiency is the name of the game. They’re hoping to pop into your branch, find what they need, and get out as quickly as possible.

This is especially true in the Next Normal. Some community members just don’t feel comfortable spending a lot of time inside our buildings.

That’s where wayfaring signage comes into play.

Wayfaring signs help direct human traffic, making it easy for people to navigate our buildings. But the signs can do more than move bodies.

Wayfaring signage is a key marketing opportunity for libraries. An efficient and well-planned system of directional signs will make it easier for visitors to discover new or underused portions of your collection or services.

Unfortunately, for many libraries, wayfaring signage is an afterthought. Creating the best signage seems intimidating.

But now, when library buildings are just reopening for full service, we have an opportune time to reimagine and reshape the way the public moves through and uses our physical libraries. And this work doesn’t have to be complicated.

Here are six tips to help you create the traffic flow that is best for your community, your staff, and your library statistics.

Start with a signage audit.

Your first step will be to go through your library and make a list of all the wayfaring signs you currently have. Take photos to go with your list so that you can have an accurate record of your current signage situation.

Next, study how people are using your space. Pick an hour each day for three days and sketch a “heat map” of people entering and exiting your library. You’ll use a blueprint or map of your library. Watch how people enter the building, move through the space, and exit. As they move, trace a line on your map to indicate where they’ve been.

Using your heat map, you’ll be able to see how your current signage is affecting the way people move through your branch. This will help you identify which parts of the building are underused. You can start to imagine how to configure your new signage to move people into those key areas.

For instance, if you have a heat map that shows people are drawn to your computers and your holds shelf but are missing your Makerspace or your fiction collection, you’ll want to consider how you can use wayfaring signage to change the traffic pattern and draw people to those underused spaces.

Less is more. 

It seems counterintuitive, but you don’t want to label every single shelf in every single section of your library. Too many signs are a distraction–the eye doesn’t know where to look and the brain gets overloaded.

Use your signs to point customers to underused areas. And consider leaving the other spaces blank. If a space is already popular and your customers know how to reach it, it likely doesn’t need any wayfaring signage.

Rely on a simple, consistent design.

Your library’s brand is your starting point for great wayfaring signage. Your logo use, color selection, font style, and wording should all be within brand guidelines.

Next, decide whether you’ll incorporate symbols, arrows, words, or a mix of all three. Moderation is key, but a well-placed arrow can help ease confusion and build confidence in your timid customers. 

If your library has more than one branch, standardize wayfaring signs and signage terminology for all locations. Your customers will know exactly what to look for, no matter which branch they visit.

If your library doesn’t have clear branding, remember this: good signage isn’t fancy. It’s functional. Use a simple, accessible font in a neutral color like white or black with a plain background to make the sign pop. A clean, simple design will also add longevity to your signs and keep them from looking outdated.

You’ll also want to ask yourself whether your signs convey friendliness and helpfulness. Exclamation points, capitalized letters, and red font or a red background may come off as angry or unfriendly.

Ditch the library jargon.  

In 2012, a reference librarian at the University of Berkley reviewed more than fifty library usability studies to pinpoint library terms that are generally not understood by the customer. His review uncovered problems with terms like “database”, “e-journals”, “periodical”, “serial”, and “reference.”

Whenever possible, we should be clear when we create our wayfaring signs. Instead of saying “reference”, you can use the word “research.” Instead of “periodicals”, say “magazines.” 

Change the sign above your reference desk to say, “Ask us a question here!” The sign at your circulation might read “Check out your books here!”

Train staff to help with wayfaring.

Staff who know to look for signs of confusion in a community member are providing good customer service.

If an employee spots a customer who walks around directionless for a long time or who keeps looking around, staff can delight and surprise the cardholder by gently approaching them and offering to help find what they need.

It sounds simple but there is such an emphasis in our society on self-sufficiency that we often forget, sometimes our customers just need a little extra help.

Be flexible.

Good signage is always a work in progress. Wayfaring signage can be updated, taken down, or added to as your community needs change.

Re-evaluate your signage every 2-3 years. If you find that you need to make some changes, and you began with a simple, consistent design, it will be easy to correct any issues and create new traffic patterns that benefit your library and your community.

You May Also Want to Read These Posts

Five Excellent Ways To Improve Every Sign in Your Library

What I Learned About Library Marketing From an Amusement Park

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Fight for Your Ideas! Four Tips to Help You Get the Green Light for New Library Promotional Ideas

Photo of librarians, courtesy Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County

It’s sometimes insanely hard to get any new marketing ideas to pass approval in a library.

If there is a silver lining to the COVID-19 pandemic, it’s that the crisis helped libraries to see that there are new ways to market and promote their library. It’s opened the door for experimentation.

Even so, presenting a new marketing or promotional idea is sometimes challenging and intimidating for library staff. I know this because every time I talk with librarians at conferences or in one-on-one consultations, they ask, “How do I get buy-in for this great promotional idea with my supervisors and co-workers?”

Here are the four things you can do to gather support and approval for your great new marketing and promotional ideas.

Tell me about a time you had to pitch a library promotional idea. What was the idea? Did you get a yes or no? What did you learn from the experience? Share your thoughts in the comments.

Thoroughly research and prepare your pitch.  

Before you pitch a new idea, do your research. You’ll want to present a clear, concise, and strategic case for your idea. Include the following information in your pitch:

  • How the work benefits your community and cardholders.
  • How the work ties into your library’s overall strategy and goals.
  • How the work will get done by staff.
  • The timeline for implementation.
  • What the success measures will be.
  • What the long-term goals of your promotional idea will be.
  • How you will handle problems that may arise.
  • The data to back up your claims.

Here’s an example pitch that includes these points.

You’ve determined that Facebook is not giving you the results you want when you promote individual programs. Registration and attendance at programs have been unchanged or decreasing in the last six months, despite the many posts you create. Instead of using social media, you want to start a targeted e-newsletter sent to the people who frequent each branch in your system. You believe these targeted emails will be more effective because they will reach the audiences most likely to attend these programs.

Your pitch will begin by explaining the problem using data. Include registration, attendance figures, and Facebook engagement figures especially clicks on your registration or event information links. Show how the Facebook posts are getting very little engagement and lead to no increase in registration or attendance.

Next, explain how the move to branch-specific e-newsletters will be better for your community and cardholders because it will offer information about events happening in their neighborhood that are specific to their wants and needs. Look for wording in your library’s strategic plan that will make it clear to senior leaders that you are working to fulfill the strategic goals by offering community-based access to information.

Next, make the case that e-newsletters are a more efficient use of your time because they will be more effective and targeted. Again, be specific when you talk about how long it takes to create a Facebook post versus an e-newsletter.

Now, talk about the ways you’ll measure success for your new e-newsletters: increases in registration and attendance, plus open and click rates on the emails. Be specific and use numbers. This will show that you are confident that your new idea will work.

Spend a few moments talking about your long-term goals: how many new subscribers do you want to get in the first six months or year? How much would you like to see registration and attendance grow? What other library services can you imagine promoting using your e-newsletters?

Layout a timeline: when do you think you can launch your first e-newsletter? How long will it take to grow your subscription list? How often will you send these e-newsletters?

Finally, talk briefly about problems you may encounter and how you’ll handle them. What program will you use to send the e-newsletters? Who will create them if you’re sick or on vacation?

Review and rehearse.

Review your plan several times. It’s a good idea to leave a few days in between each review of the plan, to let your ideas marinate. You may think of new benefits or pitfalls during those breaks. You’ll want to be fully prepared to answer any questions and defend your idea with confidence.

Next, practice presenting your idea to a friend at your organization. Choose someone you trust to give you honest feedback about your idea and your presentation.

You might also consider recording your pitch on Zoom or another video recording program. Check to make sure you are speaking slowly and clearly. Evaluate your tone of voice, eye contact, and body language during your practice pitch.

Pitch strategically.  

Find a time when your supervisor won’t be rushed. They’re more likely to listen to you when they have time to truly consider your idea.

Pick the right day of the week for your pitch. For example, Mondays are often busy and stressful for bosses. Your supervisor may be more negative at the beginning of the week and it’s likely not the best day for your pitch.

When you pitch, be mindful of your body language. If you are sitting in a chair, don’t pivot back and forth nervously or jiggle your legs. Sit still, but upright, and with confidence.

If you are standing, try separating your legs about shoulder-width apart. This is a “power” pose that will help you maintain good posture and will subconsciously give the impression that you know what you are doing… even if you don’t feel that confident!

If the answer is no, don’t necessarily give up. 

A “no” doesn’t have to mean the end of an idea, especially if you think it’s beneficial to your library and customers. There are no bad ideas–just ideas whose time has not yet come.  

Write yourself a note in your work calendar to revisit the idea in six months. Keep your eyes open for new opportunities to present your ideas in a different format.

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You May Also Want to Read These Posts

Prioritize! How to Decide Where To Spend Library Marketing Time and $$$

Five Creative Ideas to Help You Beat the Blues, Get Inspired, and Create Amazing Library Marketing Campaigns Again!

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Q&A: How a Tongue-in-Cheek Message Sparked Success for Chicago Public Library

Q&A

A few weeks ago, a video by the Chicago Public Library caught my attention. It was part of a series of videos designed to promote a fine amnesty program.

If you haven’t seen them, you need to.

There are a whole series of these videos and personally, I think they’re brilliant–and more importantly, memorable.

And so I contacted Mary Beth Mulholland, Director of Marketing for CPL, who graciously agreed to a Q&A. Mulholland’s educational background is in nonprofits, fundraising and philanthropy. She received her Master’s degree from Indiana University’s Center on Philanthropy (Now Lilly School of Philanthropy) and began her career as a Director of Development and Public Relations for a nonprofit. She began at CPL as a Press Rep and moved into the Director of Marketing role last year.

Mulholland has been a library user her entire life. Now, in her role at Chicago Public Library, she promotes services which reach nearly every neighborhood in Chicago through 80 locations. More than nine million patrons visit each year to check out materials, attend an author or children’s program, use the Maker Lab, view an exhibit or use a computer. CPL has more than one million active cardholders.

Tell me a little about how the idea for the fine amnesty campaign was born. Why did the library decide to do such a sweeping plan?

We decided to do a “Welcome Home” Fine Amnesty to kick off a larger marketing campaign called “Home of the Curious,” created in partnership with FCB Chicago. The last time we did a fine amnesty was for three weeks in 2012, and the results were very successful. During that amnesty, we had 101,301 overdue items, valued at approximately $2 million, returned. More importantly, we had over 40,000 Chicagoans renew their Library card.

During this two-week amnesty, we welcomed home 13,197 patrons to the Library through replaced or updated library cards. We had 33,886 items returned with an estimated value of $819,243. We knew the numbers wouldn’t be as high as in 2012 since we had so recently held an amnesty, and we are happy with the results.

One of the reasons I love libraries is because we are all about access. Our Commissioner, Brian Bannon, and our Mayor Rahm Emanuel are very passionate about CPL providing opportunity and resources to all Chicagoans. Oftentimes fines serve as a barrier to access. As we were planning the Home of the Curious campaign, we decided that another opportunity to wipe fines and welcome patrons home would be a great kick-off to our visibility campaign.

The Home of the Curious campaign, created in partnership with our pro bono partner FCB Chicago, is based on the idea that everyone who walks into the library has something in common – curiosity. There are so many things to explore at the Library, and through this campaign we highlight different programs and resources in which people use the Library, or call the library home. In addition to the ad campaign running throughout the city, we’re featuring the individuals and their ‘titles’ on our website weekly to highlight Library resources and collections. The ad campaign was made possible through the support of the Chicago Public Library Foundation.

In addition, we used this opportunity to do a brand refresh. We updated our CPL logo to better cohesively represent all of our sub-brands.

Tell me about the creation of the videos: What was the objective, who wrote them, how long did it take you to create them, and how much did they cost?

The videos, for me, were the most fun part of the process! We wanted to promote the amnesty and incorporate Library staff so they felt like ambassadors for the campaign. I think the staff enjoyed filming, and I think patrons loved seeing their library staff on camera! I loved that we were able to include sign language, Spanish and Chinese into the videos as well to appeal to our diverse patron base.

Our partners at FCB Chicago helped us create the videos — they were written by a brilliant and fun team over there. The video scripts were out of the box and humorous, while still being authentic to CPL and our purpose.

We did about seven hours of filming and hammered out all the videos in one day. FCB did more work in post-production to incorporate our logo and captions. Because the videos were done on the back-end of some filming work FCB was doing for Chicago Public Library Foundation, they did not cost us a dime! I am so grateful because they helped garner visibility for the fine amnesty, but also built a lot of good will with staff and patrons.

Did your library do any other marketing to spread the message about the fine amnesty program?

We had in-branch info flyers and “Wanted Posters” to promote the amnesty, a website banner and home page post up for the full two weeks, and utilized social media with about 3–4 posts a day spread over Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

In addition, we tried to leverage local press to get the word out about waived fines. Over 50 different outlets covered the fine amnesty program with combined circulation of over 20 million. Coverage included our local TV and radio stations, Chicago Tribune and Chicago Sun-Times, and local Chicago papers like DNA info, Chicagoist, and Red Eye.

Was the campaign successful? How did you measure the success?

I think it was hugely successful. The full Home of the Curious campaign runs through the end of April with ads around the city and website promotion, so we can’t quite yet measure the success of that campaign. However, with the launch of that campaign with the “Welcome Home” amnesty kick off, our circulation increased by 13% in the month of February compared to last year. We also issued over 4,000 new library cards in the month of February in addition to the over 13,000 renewed cards.

During the two-week “Welcome Home” amnesty, we saw a 1000% increase in our social media engagement. In fact, the day we announced the amnesty, Chicago Public Library was trending on Facebook. That felt like such a win to me — if we can get the public talking feverishly about the Library then I think it’s been a huge success.

In general, the positive feedback we received from patrons and the good will towards the library that the amnesty inspired made it a success. We had a feature on our website where patrons could submit their amnesty stories, and we had a few explain how their fines had prohibited them from using the library. Our staff described how it made them love their jobs because they got to make so many patrons happy by waiving their fines. We got a lot of missing materials returned and put back into circulation, and most importantly, welcomed home thousands of library users.

What’s one piece of marketing advice you’d give to other library marketers about putting together a campaign of this scale?

I think that we need to remember as we promote library services to our cities and our patrons that it’s okay to be a little tongue in cheek or out of the box. It’s okay to break library stereotypes. Our services are no longer just those of library past, so why shouldn’t our marketing efforts evolve too? The videos we created with library staff, the “Wanted” posters in branches and our social media efforts were all a bit untraditional.

I’d also suggest leveraging the resources you have at your disposal. This campaign would not have come together as a success without the pro-bono work of FCB Chicago or the financial support of Chicago Public Library Foundation. Through the strategic partnership with FCB, we were able to build our marketing capacity and work with their very creative team. If working with a large agency isn’t an option, and even if it is, make sure to use the free or inexpensive tools at your disposal like social media. Using our Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram accounts with a calendar of scheduled posts and spending a nominal amount for social media ads and promoted posts increased our engagement and visibility. Make sure your front line staff is on board. In promoting the fine amnesty and making sure that went smoothly, they were a hugely important resource to the campaign’s success.

Finally, be adaptable. There were some bumps along the way, delays in execution and a few logistical challenges. The final iteration of the campaign and amnesty elements looked different in execution than they did during initial planning. Keep an open mind, keep pushing forward, and rally your team around you.

What are you reading?

I just finished A Different Shade of Magic by Victoria Schwab (from our March recommendations list created by our librarians. I trust them more than anyone to steer me in the right direction every month!) and am starting The Nightingale by Kristen Hannah.

If you have any questions or comments or if you would like to write a guest post for this blog, let me know in the comment section below.

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button on the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter and Snapchat–it’s where I talk about library marketing! I’m @Webmastergirl. I’m also on LinkedIn, Slideshare,  Instagram and Pinterest. Views in this post are my own and do not represent those of my employer.

 

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How One Library Is Using Content Marketing to Capture the Imagination

How One

Sometimes, I’m a curious girl.  And about six months ago, a Twitter post featuring this billboard piqued my curiosity.

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It caught my attention because it’s different from any other library billboard marketing campaign I’ve ever seen. It’s a story-driven content marketing campaign, and I found it to be intriguing.

So I switched into journalism mode and went in search of the creator behind the campaign, hoping to pick his or her brain about how the concept was formed.

My search led to me to Jason Tutin, Digital and Learning Development Manager at Leeds Library and Information Service. The Leeds Library is located in the United Kingdom, roughly 200 miles north of London and has 35 locations.

Here’s what I asked Jason about the #whatsyourstory campaign, the strategy, and results.

What did you hope to accomplish–what was the strategy behind the campaign?

The campaign strategy was to change people’s perceptions of modern public libraries. We wanted a campaign that would be fresh, exciting, and high-profile. It was designed to be fun and appealing to adults living in Leeds to inspire them to engage with the library service. We also wanted to align our online and offline marketing so our offer was more ‘joined-up’ across promotional channels. In summary, we wanted to:

  • Engage new and existing customers
  • Raise awareness of libraries in Leeds
  • Develop brand recognition
  • Change perceptions of what libraries can offer
  • Improve online engagement with users through our existing social media accounts and the Leeds Reads blog.

How did you promote it? Was this a fixed-time campaign or is it ongoing?

We developed a human story PR strategy and detailed content strategy for both online and offline media. We wanted it to be about people’s stories and how the libraries played a part in their achievements. The #whatsyourstory campaign was launched in late June 2015. Lamppost banners, a billboard, press and TV coverage, a website, blog posts, and print flyers all accompanied a comprehensive social media campaign. Phase One of the campaign featured two real-life stories from users of Leeds Libraries. Phase Two of the campaign will be launched in early 2016 with two new case studies. We will continue to collect and promote new case studies as part of the campaign.

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Traditional media channels were interested in #whatsyourstory because of the stories of Wayne Levitt and Ma Maposa. These two people provided the inspirational case studies that featured in the first phase of the campaign. #whatsyourstory generated 20 pieces of media coverage including two articles in the Yorkshire Evening Post, a broadcast feature on Made in Leeds TV and many more articles in local publications. The potential audience reach of these media outlets is over two million people.

Did you have a budget?

A maximum budget of £10k (about $14,000) was allocated to the initial stages of this campaign. This included concept, design and plan execution. With a relatively small budget and inspiring content featuring real-life case-studies, #whatsyourstory brought Leeds Libraries to the attention of new demographics. The careful strategic planning of the social media content also resulted in the campaign gaining exposure regionally, nationally and internationally. Online engagement rose dramatically on Facebook, Twitter and the Leeds Reads blog.

Additionally, as the campaign is all about local stories from real-life people it has a longer shelf life. We plan to continue with the campaign over the forthcoming months/year and share more positive experiences from people who have used and benefited from the library service.

What was the response from the community?

In addition to reaching new audiences, we wanted the social media element of the campaign to promote engagement and interaction. Throughout the four weeks of the campaign we had 213 Twitter interactions for #whatsyourstory content and 152 interactions on Facebook. One of the most popular tweets was a photo of Ma’s billboard, which was erected on a popular commuter route between Leeds and Bradford. To date, it has received 65 interactions on Twitter alone.  The campaign received great support on social media from Leeds residents, businesses and organisations as well as other Leeds City Council departments and staff.

The impact of #whatsyourstory reached far beyond Leeds, with positive interactions from Australia, Canada and the USA! Our social media engagements increased throughout the campaign and as a result we gained more followers and raised our social media profile. Wayne and Ma’s stories were posted on our Leeds Reads blog and were by far the most popular posts of 2015, gaining 120 shares on social media.

What did you do with all the answers once you had curated them?

We are using the responses that the campaign generates to find new case studies and engage with new audiences.

Was the campaign successful?

Yes, and this success has been recognized by others in the marketing industry. The #whatsyourstory campaign won the Best Creative Comms award at the ‘comms2point0 UnAwards 2015’. The judges said that the #whatsyourstory campaign was:

“A standout triumph across all criteria, from initial strategy and planning to evaluation and metrics and, of course, that crucial element of creativity. The smart use of storytelling was the highlight and we loved the application of real-life, personal journeys to draw on the emotions, capture the imagination and change the perceptions of the audience.”

Any words of advice for other libraries planning a similar campaign?

Marketing of public library services is notoriously difficult because we offer so much to so many people! We decided that the best way to promote our services would be to have real people advocating on our behalf. Their stories have generated a real buzz around the campaign and have really helped to raise the profile of Leeds Libraries within the city and beyond.

Are you interested in writing a guest article for this blog or do you know someone whose insight would be helpful to my readers? Leave a message in the comments or email me at ahursh@yahoo.com.  

Subscribe to this blog and you’ll receive an email every time I post. To do that, click on “Follow” button on the bottom left-hand corner of the page. Connect with me on Twitter and Snapchat–it’s where I talk about library marketing! I’m @Webmastergirl. I’m also on LinkedIn, Slideshare,  Instagram and Pinterest. Views in this post are my own and do not represent those of my employer.

 

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