It’s Nov. 15, 2023, and I just realized that I have had five speaking engagements in the last four weeks. What does that mean? Well, first of all, it means that there is a big appetite out there for content, training and professional development about library marketing and communications! Second of all, it means I have been remiss in talking about these and why they are so valuable to me and (hopefully!) the participants.
I’d like to take this opportunity to say a few words about each one, in hopes that it will help paint a picture of current trends and challenges in library marketing and communications.
On Oct. 24, 2023, I spoke about Social Media Strategies for Your Library at the SirsiDynix Connections Summit. This continues to be a popular topic, but I love to see how the discourse around social media has evolved from “what is social media and why does it matter” to “how can we have a meaningful dialogue with our audiences on social media?” I also love how the social media discourse is a snapshot of the time and place we are in. Here are some resources I shared at the end of my presentation:
- 109 Social Media Demographics Marketers Need to Know in 2023 blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-demographics/
- CNET Article: Libraries lean on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram to reel you in cnet.com/news/libraries-lean-on-twitter-facebook-and-instagram-to-reel-you-in
- Rivistas Article: 12 Must Follow Library Instagram Accounts rivistas.com/12-must-follow-library-instagram-accounts
- Matt Anderson Blog: 100 Libraries to Follow on Facebook mattanderson.org/blog/2013/01/31/100-libraries-to-follow-on-facebook
- ALA Social Media Guidance: ala.org/advocacy/intfreedom/socialmediaguidelines
Next I spoke about Strengthen Your Marketing During Challenging Times at the Library Marketing & Communications Conference in Indianapolis on Nov. 7, 2023. This was a wonderful in-person gathering of library marketers and communicators, and we had a great conversation. We talked about some of the challenges facing libraries today, including:
- Library Funding Challenges
- Book Challenges
- COVID-19 Aftermath
- Economy / Inflation
- Safety Concerns
- Increased Needs Among Library Users
I also shared some strategies for strengthening your marketing and increasing your library’s resilience to these challenges. They included:
- Improve your marketing by …
- Removing barriers.
- Enhancing messaging.
- Upgrading your 3 top communications channels: Website, Social Media, Email.
- Strengthen internal collaboration by…
- Improving internal communication.
- Sharing your processes and priorities.
- Building trust and relationships.
Later that day, I gave a virtual presentation called Library Marketing Strategies for Managers for the Maryland Public Library Managers’ Academy. I always love the opportunity to speak directly to library managers adn leaders, because they are so integrally important to the success of library marketing. For these audiences, I always like to start by talking about why marketing & communications matters for libraries, then follow up with strategies for enabling good culture and collaboration so that library marketing – and libraries – can be successful. We also talked about how libraries often measure success in terms of increasing usage, impact and funding; and how good marketing can help contribute to a virtuous cycle.
On Nov. 14, I had the pleasure of co-presenting to Nassau Library System about Putting the “Relationship” in Media Relations, alongside Michelle Boudin, a masterful storyteller and journalist. Michelle is a senior reporter at WCNC Charlotte, and is actively involved in the Charlotte community, working with nonprofits across the region. You can learn more about her and her work at emboldencreative.com. Having Michelle’s perspective was so valuable for libraries who want to work with the media but aren’t sure where to start. And I was able to bring my own insights from the library perspective.
Finally, today I had the opportunity to speak about Shifting to an Integrated Marketing Strategy in a Webinar for Innovative by Clarivate. At the beginning, we asked participants to share their biggest challenges, and they were not surprising – dealing with too much work, not enough staff, trying to reach new audiences, and communicating the long list of services and programs that libraries offer. In the webinar, I encourage libraries to start with an integrated marketing campaign for a single program, project or service; and then use that as a springboard for creating an over-arching Library Marketing & Communications Plan for your library.
I love live speaking, both in-person and virtual, because it’s a wonderful opportunity to be in dialogue with people who do and value library marketing and communications. It may be a cliche, but I really do learn as much from them as they do from me. THANK YOU to these organizations for inviting me to speak, and I hope I have many more opportunities in the months to come!
Cordelia Anderson Consulting 