Web 2.0 Blowout: What You Should Know About Online Marketing & Your Library!

Web 2.0 Blowout: What You Should Know About Online Marketing & Your Library! Cheryl Burnette Webmaster Homewood Public Library www.homewood.lib.al.us [email_address] 205.332.6631

What is outreach? http://www.flickr.com/photos/msspider66/44397492/

Connecting users with library services http://www.flickr.com/photos/7395147@N02/483197554/

Connecting users with librarians

What is online outreach?

By Brian Solis

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mr_jan/2460978886/

Make your library website two-way

Can people:

Register for cards?

Rate & review items?

Share their opinion?

Have an identity?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/leonski/457487863/

URLs for your library’s website

Have a short easy to remember URL

www.tworiverslibrary.org vs.

www.tworivers.lib.wi.us/index.htm

Register multiple domain names

www.tworiverslibrary.net

www.trl.org

www.trpl.net or .info, .com, etc.

EngagedPatrons.org Free & low cost Web 2.0 services for libraries run by Glenn Peterson (Hennepin County Library)

Events calendar with online registration

Contact forms

Custom web-enabled databases

RSS feeds

Library blogs

Google Maps mashup for library locations

OR TRY

Library Websites www.librarywebsites.com

Library directory listings:

Libdex

MapMuse

Libraries411

PublicLibraries.com

Libweb

lib-web-cats

Can search engines find your library?

Search for variations of your library’s name – even misspellings

Ensure that your site is at the top

Use major, minor & metasearch engines

Buy search engine optimization (SEO)?

Possibly buy AdWords from Google

Google Yahoo SurfWax (+ educational, US Gov tools, etc.) dogpile Ask.com WebCrawler

Is your library in the general directories?

YellowPages.com & WhitePages.com

Yahoo! Local

Google Maps

AskCity

Microsoft Live Search Maps

http://www.flickr.com/photos/detroitderek/2540955593/

More than just a map…

Add your location to wikimapia

Wikipedia

List your library in Wikipedia on your town, county and university/school entries

External Links

Main Text

Talk yourself up!

Social networking must-haves!

What sites do your customers use?

flickr (techsoup.org - save $ )

Blogs (Blogger + odiogo)

twitter

MySpace

facebook

Podcasts (podCast411)

Videocasts (YouTube)

IM/meebo

Start with a profile or page and keep the account current! Remember no information is better than old information. Then gradually upload photos, blog, become friends & fans, join groups, send notifications & bulletins, comment, upload podcasts, send flyers(?) etc.

flickr user

Tweeting on twitter Post your flickr photos & your blog to twitter using twitterfeed twitterfeed.com & Ping.fm ( Ping.fm supports over 30 sites) Use TwitterLocal www.twitterlocal.net to find local twitterers

Look who’s on facebook! Send facebook flyers to targeted audiences - $10 for 5,000

Instant Messaging/meebo

More and more customers IM as a primary method of communication

It’s FREE and easy!

Train staff and man computers

Advertise: flyers, blogs, email, & website!!!

HPL Chambers County Library

Submit your blog to search engines

Feed Submitter submits your RSS feed to 15 sites at once www.feedsubmitter.com

Robin Good’s RSSTop55: Best Blog Directory And RSS Submission Sites www.masternewmedia.org/rss/top55 (--over 200 now)

“ I think that this is a VERY powerful list to use to increase your RSS feed/blog exposure and visibility online. If you organize yourself well...you can do the whole effort in less than a day and you can start to see the results the day after.”

RSS Specifications list of places to submit your feeds www.rss-specifications.com/rss-submission.htm

How about blog geo-search engines?

Feedmap www.feedmap.net

Blewspace www.blewspace.com

Frappr www.frappr.com

Reach out & be social: find local blogs & forums to monitor, offering help & information with comments, posts, etc.

Blogdigger local

BlogsByCity.com

Metroblogging

Feedmap

Technology boards

Google & Yahoo local groups

Interact with local blogs

Don’t intrude, but be available

Identify yourself as a librarian, etc.

Be real - have authentic interactions

Don’t be heavy handed

Community Events Calendars

List your library events & services in local community websites & calendars

LibraryThing Local www.librarything.com /local

Upcoming upcoming.yahoo.com

Craigslist www.craigslist.org

Eventful eventful.com

AmericanTowns www.americantowns.com

Book Sale Finder www.booksalefinder.com

List your library in FREE Wi-Fi directories

JiWire www.jiwire.com/providers/wifi-directory.htm

Wi-Fi-FreeSpot www.wififreespot.com

Wi-FiHotSpotList.com www.wi-fihotspotlist.com

WiFinder www.wifinder.com

Wi-Fi Zone Finder wi-fi.jiwire.com

Who’s linking to you?

Schools

Local book stores

City & county departments

Community groups

Other libraries & blogs

Adult education centers

Find out! In Google & Yahoo link:YourLibraryURLHere

http://www.flickr.com/photos/thetypejunkie/2164755188/

Social Review Websites

judy’s book

insiderpages

yelp

Citysearch

What are your customers saying about you when you’re not around? insiderpages judy’s book

Is your library mentioned in:

Google or Yahoo news

Icerocket

Bloglines

Technorati

flickr

delicious

Bloglines (you may be surprised)

delicious & furl Bookmark recommended sites & helpful links in a web directory to share with others. Set up a username & public profile with your library name.

Catalog

Magazine & newspaper articles - a.k.a. databases

Readers advisory, book groups, blogs,

Calendar of events & programs

Homework Alabama

AVL

City & county links

Government sites

… anything you can think of

Can people find your a/v?

Popular video sites & directories:

YouTube

Google Video

blip.tv

Popular audio sites & directories:

Podcast Alley

digital podcast

podfeed.net

PodPusher www.podpusher.com - submit to over 60 directories & search engines FREE

podCast411 www.podcast411.com/page2.html - list of FREE audio & video podcast directories

Internet Archive www.archive.org - FREE upload & archive

Popular a/v sites & directories:

iTunes

Podcast.com

Odeo

podcastpickle

vimeo

Freebies for a/v

Audacity audacity.sourceforge.net – audio recording & editing software (All you need is a microphone - $15 up)

Windows Movie Maker – video editing software (Use a digital camera that records movie clips or a video camera - $100 up)

iMovie for Macs – video editing software

Avidemux fixounet.free.fr/avidemux – video editing software

(Not Free - but low cost) AVS – video editing software, appx. $65 for the entire suite

Internet Archive www.archive.org – website to find free background music

Slam the Boards! Answers.com, WikiAnswers (wiki.answers.com), Yahoo Answers & Amazon's Askville – “We recognize that these sites can help promote the idea that librarians are active and dynamic participants in the web 2.0 community, and we're not just waiting for the questions to come in!” answerboards.wetpaint.com/page/Slam+the+Boards! The 10 th of every month!

Push out as much info as possible

Newsletters (maybe invest in software- $ )

Get email addresses from ILS

Have paper sign-ups and promotions

Catalog/account info updates

Blog posts

Calendar events

Texting (text messaging)

Teens are biggest users

Offer both reference & circulation via text- $

Second Life, Info Island

Public Library of Charlotte & Mecklenburg County www.plcmc.org/teens/secondLife.asp

American Library Association and Second Life® tinyurl.com/69rzkx

Second Life® – Official Web Site www.secondlife.com

Teen Second Life® – Official Web Site teen.secondlife.com

Teen Second Life®: Library services in a 3D world (SirsiDynix Webinar, 2007) tinyurl.com/2fwdoc

Second Life® for Dummies by Sarah Robbins

Second life : the official guide by Michael Rymaszewski

Tips for Digital Marketing Success

Advocate to your leadership –

eBranch is library’s most public face

libraries are digital resource centers

can be open 24/7

cheap compared to brick & mortar buildings

Develop a plan with a budget and staff needs

Start with the easy things and move on to the harder stuff

Register for everything with the same (generic) email address

Have Web 2.0 staff training – encourage full participation

Think your patrons aren’t using these tools… well they are! Be a tech leader in your community!

Web 2.0 Blowout: What You Should Know About Online Marketing & Your Library!

2 comments

Notes on slide 1

4 Favorites & 1 Group