Online Social Marketing at the Sunnyvale Public Library
- October 1st, 2009
- Posted in Information Tools and Technologies . Marketing . Social Media
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I admit it: I’m a lazy bastard. I was recently given an assignment to investigate the marketing activities at my local library, and despite the fact that I live only half a mile from the Sunnyvale Public Library, I decided to investigate only the library’s online marketing efforts.
The goal of the assignment was threefold: gauge awareness of library activities, explain the process of discovering said activities, and make recommendations for improvement.
I was actually quite shocked to discover that Sunnyvale has only one library. I grew up in Berkeley, CA, which has about six locations including a tool lending library (anyone need to borrow a chainsaw?), even though the city’s population is roughly equal that that of Sunnyvale. But I digress.
Finding the library’s Web site via Google was not a problem, but what I found was rather disappointing. The first thing that caught my attention was the domain; while the library does have it’s own domain (www.sunnyvalelibrary.org), the URL redirects to a page within the City of Sunnyvale Web site (sunnyvale.ca.gov/departments/library/, which itself is just a subdomain of the State of California Web site). This is a peculiar decision in terms of information architecture, and from a marketing perspective, it certainly does not help the library establish its own presence and identity.
The Web site itself is very, um, old-school. There are multiple navigational units–two horizontal units at the top, and vertical units on the left and right–and the home page is basically a link farm that makes it difficult to discern what might be the main topic of interest for patrons. In addition, some of the content seems out of context–for example, the top spotlight (“search for jobs”) sends visitors off to several third-party sites without mentioning any resources that the library might have to offer. At the end of the day, the library’s Web site just doesn’t seem like a great place to stay up to date on the various activities taking place at the library–it is simply not a great marketing and outreach tool. And I suspect some of the librarians at SPL are well aware of this, because they’ve launched a barrage of other online information services that are far more effective.
Sunnyvale Library Kids
The library does, however, maintain a separate “microsite” for children that is more thoughtfully constructed with the target audience in mind:
http://sunnyvale.ca.gov/librarykids/
The navigation on this microsite is effectively and creatively organized, and the home page is well targeted for children and young adults.
Better still is the Sunnyvale Library page on Facebook:
http://www.facebook.com/sunnyvalelibrary
The library staff has made good use of Facebook as a social marketing tool for engaging the library community. Facebook users can become “fans” of the library, and upon my first visit, I noticed that several of my friends are already fans. Shame on me for lagging!
When Facebook users become fans of the library, they receive updates from the library on their Facebook “wall” (the library appears to post updates at least once a week) on topics ranging from special library hours to tips on finding foreign films. The library also posts events, such as workshops on retirement planning, that Facebook users can RSVP to attend.
The library also makes excellent use of Twitter to engage patrons online:
http://twitter.com/sunnyvalelib
In general, the library’s Twitter content is separate and distinct from the content on Facebook. Most of the recent “tweets” support the summer youth reading programs at the library with reading suggestions and updates on reading contests, and many of the posts contain shortcut hyperlinks to search result pages within the library’s online catalog, which can save time and familiarize younger patrons with the catalog system.
Blogs
In addition, the library staff maintains not one but (at least) three blogs:
· http://sunnyvalelibrary.blogspot.com/ – Sunnyvale Library of the Future project
· http://sunnyvalelibrarytoday.blogspot.com/ - Sunnyvale Library Today
· http://passitonsv.wordpress.com/ – Similar to the Facebook and Twitter content
The first two blogs appear to be written by the library’s director, while the WordPress blog (and probably the Facebook and Twitter pages, as well) appears to be written by reference desk staff.
Library Podcasts
Last but not least, there is librarypodcasts.org, a blog of audio and video recordings from speakers and performers (e.g., a Tibetan dance group performance or a poetry reading by Nils Peterson). The podcasts are also available for free through the Apple iTunes Store, which provides a convenient way for patrons to subscribe have podcasts downloaded to their iPod and iPhone devices as they are published.
Suggestions from the Peanut Gallery
Where to begin? There are a great many things that SPL could do to improve its online marketing and outreach efforts. The first step would be to establish a separate, unique domain. Another would be to consolidate their blogging infrastructure. A third suggestion would be for library to amplify the promotion of its social networking activities on the SPL Web site–adding feeds via the Facebook and Twitter APIs, or even just organizing the links to Facebook, Twitter, and their blogs together in a little box, similar to the “Obama Everywhere” section of the Organizing for America Web site.
But the most useful piece of advice I can offer is for SPL to start thinking strategically and holistically about their online presence. It’s not enough just to jump on the social networking bandwagon; organizations must orchestrate their online activities in order achieve a real return on their investment. The whole is greater than the sum of its parts, but anything less is, to one degree or another, a waste of time and energy.
Enjoyed reading your musings on the Sunnyvale Library Web site. It’s good feedback for us. We have begun thinking holistically and consolidating our online presence… visit a prototype site we had worked on about a year ago – http://sunnyvalelibrary.info/ – however, the Library doesn’t exist independently of the City and so the City Web site needs to change before the Library can. It’s a work in progress, but just wanted to let you know that we appreciate your comments, and are working towards many of the things you are suggesting. –Steve
Steve, thanks for your reply. I hope I was not too critical; I try to be as self-effacing as possible to avoid the perception that I take myself too seriously.
To give you some context on my post, the critique was part of an assignment for my organizational management course at San Jose State (I am in the MLIS program), and I was asked to provide suggestions for improvement. After the assignment was over, I took a closer look at the Library of the Future blog and discovered that SPL had tried and failed to win voter approval for new facilities. I can only imagine the struggle that you all go through to get support for your efforts, and I’m a little disappointed with Sunnyvale voters for not passing the measure. I also get the impression that the library staff has to do a lot of guerrilla marketing without support from the powers-that-be.
Needless to say, I will try to get more acquainted with SPL instead of just bashing you all. For example, a friend of mine who is a long-time resident pointed out that SPL had one of, if not the first, e-book systems.
I practically grew up in the Claremont branch of the Berkeley Public Library and I would love for my 4-year old daughter to somdeday think of SPL as a second home.