Online Outreach: Marketing for Libraries

Fantastic, and highly practical discussion of methods for marketing the library’s services to the online community.  Their suggestions included free and for a fee methods.

General Tidbits

• Need to be marketing things that are worthwhile to customers
• Interaction needs to be on your library’s web site–the rest of the web is like this
• Library jurisdictions are blurred–in the online community, everyone is your library’s customer

Marketing Methods

Findability

Search Engines

• Search for variations of your library’s name
• Ensure that your library’s name is always at the top of search engine results
• Get beyond the major search engines, to include the smaller and metasearch engines
• Buy “AdWords” from Google (costs money)–for example for town searches, travel information searches, etc.
•  Buy search engine optimization (SEO) (costs money)–consultant does the work

Library Directories on the Web

• List your library on sites such as:  Libdex, MapMuse, Libraries411

Blog Search Engines, And Others

• List your library’s web site with (for example):  technorati, Feed Submitter, Robin Good’s List, RSS Specifications
• List your library’s web site on Wikipedia [NOTE:  SDCL is already there!]
• List your library with wikimapia (add locations for your library branches)
• Add library events to Eventful.com

Participating in the Online Community

Blogs and Forums

 The speakers stressed as a caveat that this isn’t participating specifically to market your library, but to become a part of the online community this blog/site/forum represents.  Be careful not to be heavy-handed in your participation.  [Polly:  Example:  constantly jumping in..."did you know our library has..."  But basically, as you become known in the online community, then, sharing what the library has.  Know, too, that this will take a while to nurture.  This really is no different that when you're beginning to make connections in the offline world at schools, community centers, etc.] 

Also, the speakers mentioned that libraries should shift their resources in the virtual community as needed to where people are.  For example, the trend now seems to be people moving from myspace to using facebook more.  [Polly:  again, this isn't that different from what we do in the off-line community; people's interests and where they "meet" changes.]

• Join and participate on local blogs, technology blogs, Blogdigger, etc.:  meet up with the virtual community on Flickr; add tags to others’ Flickr postings for your local zip code, town, create a library Flickr account
• Be present where it’s warranted (e.g. high schools, cultural institutions, etc.)

What Are People “Saying About Your Library”

• Links to Your Web Site:  in Google, TYPE:  link:www.sdcl.org; this shows who’s linking to your site
• Social Review Web Sites:  what are your customers saying when you’re not around
  • yelp.com, citysearch.com, judysbook.com
• Find mentions of your library in: Google News and Yahoo News; Icerocket.com; feedster.com (for example)

Your Virtual Presence

• Create library profiles on:  myspace, facebook, Flickr, Ning
• Post your library’s best practices on:  librarysuccess.org

Examples of Library Sites/Services to Model

• Contra Costa Teen Page:  something new is featured all of the time on this web page
• Hennepin Library Book Space:  reader’s advisory page
• Tutt Library:  creates Facebook flyers announcing things such as the library’s hours (for teens/others in the virtual community) [Polly:  kind of like an online bulletin board]

Touting the Library’s services in other ways

• Librarians participating in online question/answer services to promote/educate the role of and expertise of library professionals:
  • askmetafilter.com, allexperts.com, ziki
  • Slam-the-boards movement:  librarians volutarily responding to questions as experts, identifying themselves as librarians, so customers know what expertise and services are available to them for free from their local library; this event happens every 10th of the month
• Newsletters:
  • Invest in newsletter software (costs money)
  • Get email addresses from your library’s ILS (i.e. online library catalog system); send emails periodically to your customers–but don’t overdue so becomes spam.
    • Having paper sign-ups for customers interested in receiving electronic newsletters tends to be more effective than general electronic emailings to all customers
    • Accompany electronic mailings with a more personalized “Hi this is [your name] from [your library]….”

Wifi Directories on the Web

• List your library on directories listing wi-fi services such as:  wififreespot.com, wifihotspotlist.com, wifi411
• Have a fun message as your default message when customers logon to your library’s wi-fi service

Geographical Search Engines, Phone Directories

• List your library locations on sites such as:  frapper.com, feedmap.com

Is your library listed in the online phone directories?

• Check sites such as:  askcity.com, yahoo!local, googlemaps

Other Suggestions

• Is your library participating in SecondLife.com?
• Is your library’s web address friendly and human?  [Polly:  seems like at this point, the speakers mentioned something about web addresses more meaningful such as:  wegotbooks.com, booksandmagazines.com (my examples, can't remember specifically what they suggested)]
• Is your library doing Instant Messaging reference service?  This type of service is free, and easy to do.
• Is your library doing text messaging?  Examples:  for holds, overdues
• Make your dvds, CDs, podcasts, streaming video, etc. findable
  • List on:  YouTube, Google video, Singing Fish, Digitalpodcast, podcast alley
• Transcribe your audio content into text on:  podzinger.com

Services to Baby Boomers and Older Adults

In this presentation, Allan Kleiman, with the Old Bridge Public Library talked about services to older adults–particularly focusing on Web 2.0 instruction.  (Some of you who have attended SJSU library school classes may have had him as an instructor.)  Apparently, he is an expert in services to older adults and has served in an advisory capacity on this topic in different venues.

The interesting thing for me about this particular presentation is considering the older adult population, in particular with regards to instructing them on Web 2.0 technologies.  Certainly, the Baby Boomers are a different type of “senior” and Web 2.0 can have a particular appeal for them, too.

Although he talked about some of the early Web 2.0/web sites focused on the older adult population, he focused in particular on a site he recommended for public libraries to use in teaching their customers about Web 2.0: 

• www.cranky.com:  this search engine (targeted at older adults) produces fewer, non-threatening results on topics of interest to older adults; the search results are good and comprable to Google; the search results are simple–perfect for training beginning older adults to use the Internet; also, this search engine is connected to eons, a social networking site–so can be used as transition to introducing customers to that site, as well.

 Mr. Kleiman said that some of the web trends for older-adult focused social networking sites are:

• Facebook and myspace-like sites targeted for older adults.  Examples of these are:  rezoom, multiply, boomj, maya’s mom
  • In particular, Mr. Kleiman said he was going to try using multiply.com in his older adult computer classes
• Old adage:  “Old People are Sticky” (i.e. loyal to particular products, etc.)  However, this may no longer be true with the Baby Boomers.

Other Tips/Suggestions:

• www.eldr.com:  a site to help boomers and their aging parents deal with aging issues; is also a print magazine
• www.redhatsociety.com:  the speaker said that association-related sites (such as the aarp) are the sites that will definitely been in the virtual world for the long haul; he mentioned this site as an interest for older adults
• http://www.boomerstv.com/:  Internet-only “tv type” programs on issues of interest to Boomers; the shows are available on this web site
• Teaching blogging to older adults:  a great public library-type of class to offer for older adults; blogging keeps minds sharp; provides opportunities to meet people; is online journaling; (sometimes bloggers can even achieve a certain amount of “fame”)
• http://jenett.org/ageless/:  The Ageless Project is a compilation of blogs (all over the Web) in order of birth year

Suggestions for Taking Action at Libraries:

1. Teach www.cranky.com in your library computer classes.
2. Link library web sites to older adult-focused sites, such as cranky.com
3. Join these social networking sites (focused on the older population) to test them out; become a participant
4. Provide feedback to these sites.
5. Plan branch programs such as Wii for Adults (even having teens teach older adults how to play Wii games); speed dating for seniors (he commented on the issue of companionship for older adults)

At the end of the presentation, Mr. Kleiman mentioned that he will be launching a “Senior Space” at his library in Old Bridge, NJ.  This is based on the “Teen Space” concept that is used at libraries.  (He mentioned this would be the first Senior Space in a US library.)

For more information: 

• Mr. Kleiman’s blog is:  http://www.libraryolderadults.blogspot.com/

Reviewed by: 

Polly (SDCL Online)

New Rules of Web Design

Jeff Wisniewski, Web Services Librarian at the University of Pittsburgh did a presentation on new rules of thumb for web site design.

1.  Old Rule: Simplicity

New Rule: Simplicity, but with rich and interactive content–the user’s experience on the web site is important.

2. Old Rule: Content is king.

New Rule: Yes, but design matters a lot.
Novices make decisions about your site by how it looks. If users have a bad view/experience, this perspective will carry on throughout their use of the web site.Professional design = credibility

3. Old Rule: All content is created equally.

 New Rule: Yes, but some is more equal than others.Design for what users are doing.What is your mission? What are people doing on your website? Emphasize these services on your web site.

4. Old Rule: 7 Categories on a web site

New Rule: This is a guideline; depends on the context. If your site is well designed and well labeled

5. Old Rule:  3 click rule

New Rule:  This rule is dead.  Design instead for “scent”.  Users will happily click as long as they feel they are on the right path.

6. Old Rule:  800×600 monitor setting rule of thumb

New Rule:  1024 x 768 is the new rule of thumb.  Other considerations:  what other platforms are people using (e.g. phones, handhelds).  Also, flexible design rather than fixed–% based, rather than absolute.

7. Old Rule:  Colors:  using 24 bit color rendering

New Rule:  not necessarily as important anymore; optimize images for the web.

8. Old Rule:  scrolling is bad

New Rule:  …not necessarily.  Users will scroll if there is a clue that something is below.  (e.g. New York Times web site uses “the cutoff” look–a staggered content break, so that it’s apparent there is more information.)

9.  Old Rule:  Keep it above the fold.

New Rule:  …maybe.  In general, it can be a good idea.

Other Tips:

1. Overall, check design standards, normal design conventions, user expectations that have been established (whether on your web site or typical of other sites).  See also “Jakob’s Law”.  (NOTE:  the following web site includes information on this:  http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9605.html

2. Redesign Your Website–constantly; design revisions should be iterative and evolutionary.  Revolutionary change is disruptive for users.  Use A/B testing process to try out changes in advance of implementing.  (NOTE:  See the following website for more information on this:  http://www.marketingexperiments.com/improving-website-conversion/ab-split-testing.html) 

3. Follow established web conventions (e.g.  Home (upper left); banners (should be clickable); navigation areas (top and left); Contact Us links)

4. Support all Internet browsers…for basic web site content.  Then, make more value added content available for newer browsers/versions–progressive enhancement.

5.  Do not need to have text only versions of web pages.  With XHTML and CSS, the separating of text and layout no longer necessitates this need.

6. Only use tables for tabular data.

7. Top of the web page is not prime real estate.  (Experts have called this “banner blindness” because people don’t tend to look above a web page’s main heading.)

8. Because pop-ups are frequently blocked, don’t use second browser windows for important web site content.

9. Flash shouldn’t be used too often; particularly not for intruductions to web sites.

10. Mouseover menus are a problem because they are not scannable and prevent users from getting an overview of a web site.

11. Sometimes is ok to use links that open in new browser windows, however, let users know in advance. 

12. If you are using “Auto Forward” breaks, set the auto forward to 5 – 10 seconds, so that customers can use the Back arrow if they want to.

13. Photos of people on your web site increases trust.  However, real people–not models and staged situations.  Additionally, if the photos are labeled, users see this as even greater credibility.

For more information, see the presenter’s Powerpoint

Reviewed by:

Polly (SDCL Online)

 

Buzz Words 2007

Web 2.0 and all things “social networking” were among the buzz words I heard repeatedly at Internet Librarian 2007. I’ve also listed a few former buzz words that have now basically become commonplace–even as we continue to learn more and experiment with them!

In my list below, I’ve also included web applications that were frequently mentioned during the course of the conference, too:

Buzz Words

• Second Life
• Avatar
• Content creators (as opposed to strictly Internet users)
• Mash-ups
• Drilling down (navigation) vs. upfront Boolean or Advanced Searching in WebOPACs
• Viral Marketing

Mainstream Words (formerly Buzz words)

• Wiki
• Blog
• RSS

Web Applications Frequently Mentioned

• CSS Zengarden
  • Of interest to budding web developers
• Slideshare.net
  • Fantastic site for displaying, sharing your Powerpoint presentations with others, and commenting on each other’s Powerpoints (i.e. essentially enabling Powerpoint blogs); this is only one of a number of such free web sites offering this type of capability)
• bliptv.com
  • This seems to becoming an increasingly used site; has downloading ability, something YouTube doesn’t offer. Audio and video hosting capabilities

Reviewed by:
Polly (SDCL Online)

Conference Discussion Nuggets 2007

The following are some ideas/opinions that seemed to particularly reflect the themes and discussions occurring at this year’s conference:

From keynote by the Director of Pew Internet and American Life Project “2.0 and the Internet World”:

• Internet has penetrated about 93% of US households.
• 77% of college students play games online.

From “Online Outreach: Marketing for Libraries” presentation:

• Library web sites need to be marketing something worthwhile.
• Interaction is needed on library web sites. The rest of the Internet is interactive; users expect this on web sites.
• There is a blurring of jurisdictions on the Web. Basically, online, everyone’s customers are your customers, too.

From “New Rules of Web Design” presentation:

• Content is king on web sites….but design matters a lot!
  • Professional design = credibility
• The 3 click rule is dead. Users will happily click, as long as they feel they are on the right path.
• Scrolling is not bad…as long as there is some sort of clue that there is content below the top half of the web page (i.e. above the fold).

From “Cranky? Boomers & Older Adults Are Greying the Internet” presentation:

• With the increase in the older population, libraries need to teach Web 2.0 technologies in their customer classes. Move beyond just intro to email and intro to computers.

Reviewed by:
Polly (SDCL Online)