YouTube is the second most popular search engine, behind Google (which owns it). As a marketing tool, video can be very powerful, especially among Millennials and teenagers, who tend to be very visual learners. Video is also a medium in which they are very comfortable. More than one in four Internet users between 12 and 17 record and upload video to the Web, according to a recent Pew Research Center Study. So, it’s worth adding finding ways to add it to your marketing mix.
Blogs
How Public Libraries Can Work with the Media
Ask your neighbor how they find out about local community news, and they will likely tell you there are two common ways. They either hear it from someone else in town (word of mouth) or they read or hear about it in the local media. So, it’s critical for public libraries to reach out and develop relationships with local reporters and editors.
New Study Offers Nuanced Look at Millennials
There are nearly 79 million Millennials, and they may not be who you think they are. A common misconception is that people in this group, which encompasses those between the ages of 16 and 34, are all alike. But a recent study by marketing firm Barkley USA in partnership with Boston Consulting Group shows that there are indeed differences.
Tips for Creating an Effective Survey
Surveys are an important tool to help you shape your public library marketing or communications strategy.
“How To” Tech Tips and Resources
Patrons often ask library staff for help with technology. Fortunately, the Web offers many resources to help people learn how to use their new smartphone or even program their DVR.
The first step toward finding how-to information on the Web is to know how to search effectively, and of course, librarians are expert at this task.
Tips for Creating Your Public Library’s Social Media Policy
If social media is part of your public library marketing plan, then you should create a social media policy. Social media policies govern the use of social networks by your employees on behalf of your public library. A policy can protect your public library from misstatements and errors in communications.
There’s an App for that Public Library
By now, everyone is familiar with Apps, programs that can be downloaded to your smartphone or tablet. Apps can help you find the nearest restaurant, beat your friends at word games, even move money from your bank account to a friend’s.
Facebook Timeline Helps Market your Public Library
Facebook will roll out its new Timeline to all business pages on March 30, so if your public library has a Facebook page, you should be thinking about how to update it. The good news is that Timeline has plenty of new features that make it easier to market your public library on Facebook. Are you ready?
Email Marketing for Public Libraries: Guides to CAN-SPAM Laws and Permission Marketing
In our Public Library Marketing 101 webinar last month, we briefly covered some best practices in email marketing for public libraries. One of the chief concerns – and annoyances – for everyone with an email address is the overwhelming amount of spam email that we get.
As a result of the flood of advertisements clogging email boxes, the CAN-SPAM Act was passed in the United States.
Marketing Your eBook Collection
The launch of the new Apple iPad got me thinking again about eBooks and the dramatic changes in the way people are now consuming books. The lines that stretched around the block for the new iPad indicate that public libraries will see increasing demand for eBooks.
Tips to SEO Your Public Library Website or Blog
If a blog is part of your public library’s marketing strategy, it’s critical to optimize your copy so that search engines can easily find it. SEO – or search engine optimization – is the practice of incorporating search keywords into the headline and lead paragraph.
Visually Market Your Public Library With Pinterest
The latest social network to be catching fire is Pinterest, a virtual pinboard for images of things people love. Launched in March 2010, it already has more than 15 million users. Currently, Pinterest is invitation only, and I’ve only just begun to explore it myself.
