ASRT minutes, November 17, 2016
Attendees:
Kelly, Springville Road
Shannon, Hoover
Leslie, BPL Central
Laura, BPL Southern History
Lutheria, Springville Road
Jonathan, Avondale
Maura, Trussville
Katie, EOM
Deidre, Bessemer
Roy Williams, BPL
Shannon, Hoover
Leslie, BPL Central
Laura, BPL Southern History
Lutheria, Springville Road
Jonathan, Avondale
Maura, Trussville
Katie, EOM
Deidre, Bessemer
Roy Williams, BPL
“Good promotion is like
Chinese food. When it's done right, it's slightly enticing and pleasantly
satisfying. And shortly after it's finished, you want to go back for a little
bit more. Creating good promotion can be like preparing Chinese food. You may
or may not have all the right tools and skills. If not, then you probably want
to order out to get it. But you'll choose your vendor carefully, to be sure
that you'll get just the right flavor combination that you're looking for.” Computers in Libraries Vol. 23 No. 5 — May
2004
Simple
approach: Have a rotating screensaver
promotion of in-house programs and promotions.
More
involved: Partner with local shops to
make promotion of library events a shared community plan.
v Mango
Languages: Newly expanded by JCLC – get
the word out to targeted audiences.
Emphasize how Mango also focuses on different ways of learning, i.e.
English for Hindi speakers, English for Chinese speakers, etc.
v Facebook:
o
Why not have Facebook contests to raise the #
of “likes” for your library FB page? Ask
library-related questions and give away something simple.
o
Experiment with Facebook LIVE – very trendy
right now.
o
Check out FB groups such as “You Know You
Grew Up In Birmingham…”
o
Cross-post and update information regularly.
o
Look for ways to post patron testimonials –
very popular.
o
If appropriate, pay for a FB ad to push an
event or program.
v Checks
& Balances:
o
Always have another person, if not more,
proof what you are putting online or what you put on a simple flyer. Mistakes can cost you!
o
Create a “checklist” for your own use to make
sure you hit all the right things for your promotion:
§ List
each outlet of promotion
§ List
all dates that you post
§ Check
for any calendar conflicts
§ Add/change
as needed
v Roy
Williams, Director of Public Relations for BPL
o
Submit programs 60 days in advance
o
Don’t forget to include the Evance
information so that it can get posted
o
Below, you’ll see a 101 course on posting
your events to AL.com
o
Consider your event for Roy’s radio
program, Biz Talk with Roy Williams. Biz
Talk With Roy Williams Radio Show Background - Airing Saturdays 7:30-8 pm on
WAGG 610 AM, live-streaming at www.610wagg.com
v Other
ideas for promotion:
o
Elizabeth Swift can do an Eblast, but these
are reserved for BIG events. All
requests go through her. An Eblast is
when specific patrons are sent emails for events according to their email
addresses in Sierra.
o
Use ReferenceUSA to create an emailing list
of new residents. Use something free
like Mailchimp.com to create an emailing list giving new patrons information
about their branch library.
o
Utilizing the Chamber of Commerce might prove
beneficial when reaching out to your area businesses.
o
For programs aimed at the Hispanic community,
contact HICA (Hispanic
Coalition) at 205-942-5505, introduce yourself and ask for the best contact
information for your needs. Or, their generic email address is info@hispanicinterest.org.
v Websites to check out:
o
New Marketing Trends: Marketing ideas for Nonprofits and Libraries: The M Word helps librarians learn about
marketing trends and ideas. http://themwordblog.blogspot.com/
v Hoover
now subscribes to Ebsco’s NoveList Plus.
As a result, we also get “LibraryAware” which provides ways to create
and publish marketing materials for events or just to post a booklist. INVESTIGATING: With a new partnership between Bibliotheca
and NoveList, we are researching the possibility of providing patrons RA at
checkout. How it works: as patrons check out on Bibliotheca
self-checkout machines, the information would be read by NoveList and
recommendations based on the books checked out would appear. For more advanced self-checkout machines, the
patron will be able to follow a link to place a hold on those recommendations. (This is similar to what Barnes & Noble
has when you pay for your books. A list
of recommended books appear on your receipt.)
Upshot: Anytime you can give a
patron their ROI, they are instantly your champion!
Don't forget to join the group "ALA Think Tank" on Facebook to share/inform ideas on librarianship. Also there is a group called to
Don't forget to join the group "ALA Think Tank" on Facebook to share/inform ideas on librarianship. Also there is a group called to
Library Marketing and Communications Conference Group -- might prove useful!
AL.com
Posting 101
November
2016
From
Roy L. Williams, Director of Public Relations at Birmingham Public Library and
CEO of Williams Writing Solutions, Birmingham, AL
When you do postings on al.com you need to do three
things:
1. Set up an account on al.com using an email address - I
have one set up under personal email & another using work email
2. Create a user name - example – mine at work is
BirminghamPublicLibrary
3. Create a password
The AL.com link to register, sign in and post releases is:
http://blog.al.com/press-releases/index.html
The AL.com link to register, sign in and post releases is:
http://blog.al.com/press-releases/index.html
Also you can post calendar items and photos on al.com
To post items on City Scene or other calendars on al.com
go to
Or email photos@al.com
Roy L. Williams
Director of Public Relations
Birmingham Public Library, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203
Work Phone: (205) 226-3746 Work cell (205) 568-0067, Personal cell (205) 572-1359
Work E-mail: rlwilliams@bham.lib.al.us, Personal Email Biztalkwithroy@gmail.com
Director of Public Relations
Birmingham Public Library, 2100 Park Place, Birmingham, AL 35203
Work Phone: (205) 226-3746 Work cell (205) 568-0067, Personal cell (205) 572-1359
Work E-mail: rlwilliams@bham.lib.al.us, Personal Email Biztalkwithroy@gmail.com
**Below is an example of a post I did on Oct. 9, 2016 -it
takes up to 24 hours to get on though I got one up in 2 hours Friday using my
home email after work one did not go through - I suggest you set up accounts on
both work email and personal email account as a backup
Bards
& Brews to close out 2015 Eat Drink Read Write festival, posted Friday,
Oct. 9, 2015
