digital content strategy for libraries
TRANSCRIPT
Digital Content StrategyWhat libraries can learn from the marketplace & How you can reach their goals by improving your digital presenceSharon Clapp
Digital Resources Librarian, Elihu Burritt Library, CCSU
I was going to talk about tools
Hootsuite
Wordpress, Drupal, Joomla
Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn
EventBrite, Meetup.com/BigTent,
Hubspot, SEOMoz
Google Analytics
Google Calendar
MailChimp, Constant Contact
Customer Relationship Management (CiviCRM, Salesforce, Zoho, RedHen, Hubspot)
but…
You don’t need to hear this if…
Everyone on campus is already fully aware of what the library offers Your “brand” is already more than books Your programs are overflowing with attendees Your student body has already learned everything it needs to know about
information literacy Your faculty members already understand, respect & embrace the role of the
library in the 21st-century Everyone on campus finds and uses your web presence easily Because of that high-quality user experience, your campus recognizes the
library as a leader in the digital realm – uses its best practices as a basis for their own
Campus administration is so convinced of the importance of the library in 21 st-century academia that you’re well-funded and well-staffed
We need a “blueprint” (a digital strategy) that includes the following
$
Human resources
Time
Governance / structure
HOLD UP A SECOND!
We don’t have $, human resources, time, or even a governance structure – so how will this happen - Who’s going to do all of this?
Do a Digital Health Check on your organization: see
http://www.smashingmagazine.com/2014/06/20/take-a-digital-health-check/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sDps4SesQAE#t=128
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HDp4Vunjvr4
Learning from the for-profit world
Embracing the “M” word
Commercial v. library/non-profit sector
Learn from the people with the $
The marketplace is an immediate feedback loop
What is the library’s feedback loop?
The rise of “Inbound Marketing”“Inbound Marketing”Is not interruptive / outbound / push-based marketingInstead, it is attractive / inbound / pull marketing
the content is the piece that attracts
“Content Marketing”
“Content Marketing”
Content marketing is any marketing that involves the creation and sharing of media and publishing content in order to acquire and retain customers. This information can be presented in a variety of formats, including news, video, white papers, e-books,infographics, case studies, how-to guides, question and answer articles, photos, etc [from Wikipedia, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Content_marketing, 11/13/14]
Content provides value to users
Must be relevant to audience
Pre-digital “Content marketing” included cookbooks/recipes, magazines/newsletters, e.g.
Takeaways from Today’s Digital Marketing Pros – Time to get strategic
We need to be > strategic when creating & distributing content online
We used to rule the free offerings of content/resources space
Now with big $ in content-based, commercial firms are resetting user expectations for digital content
The evolution of digital
Putting stuff online is enough
Put your stuff online and… [Search Engine Optimization (SEO)] Add metadata/keywords
Get others to link to your stuff
Put your stuff online & distribute it Blog
RSS feeds
Email subscriptions
Social Sites
Facebook / LinkedIn / Twitter
Event Promotion Sites
• When Libraries / Higher Ed Ruled the Digital World
• Publishers, Digital Experts Like “SEOs” start to rule the Web (growth thanks to Google)
• Social Media Experts Rise
Are Libraries & Institutions of Higher Ed Playing Catch Up?
Evaluation: How effective is your current digital content strategy?
What’s the mission of your digital presence?
What are your metrics for success?
What is your process for publishing & promoting your library online?
Is there a publishing checklist for promoting library events, services, resources?
Who manages your online presence? (if everyone’s in charge, no one’s in charge)
What tools do you use & who’s in charge of each
What are your continuity plans
Digital Content Strategy Establishes
Why you’re publishing (have clear, measurable goals)
What you’re publishing
Whom you’re publishing it for
When you’ll publish it
Where you’ll publish it / How you’ll publish it
Who will publish it?
Publishing
The <3 is your website
Use a content management system
Drive traffic to your website
Make it easy to share
It needs constant care & attention
Publishing
Editorial calendar
Content publishing template / repository from HubSpot
Where to? Channel depend on:
Audience location / desires
Type of content
Promotion – SEO – social media
Social media tools
Landing Pages & CTAs
1 concept / page
Includes 1 CTA (Call to Action)
Share this / promote / advocate for
Subscribe to email list
Ask a librarian
Review / rate / comment / post
Enter
Fund
Join
Digital Content Strategy Process
List Goals /
Align with overall business goals & brand strategy
Research Users
Inventory Existing Channels & Content
Plan
Build / Fix / Optimize
Measure
Repeat
User eXperience (UX) Design
Digital content is for use
Everything comes down to relationships, even today
How do you build a relationship?
Understand your users & their needs
Meet their needs
Engage with them, converse with them, make adjustments
UX -> Digital Success
Consider your customer’s journey
Map it / understand it (gain empathy)
Your library’s digital presence is the way end-users encounter your library online. It includes online touchpoints such as:
Your website
Blog
Social networking sites
Other repositories of web content
UX Process = Building Relationships
A process for relationship building online
Begin with User Research (surveys, focus groups, analytics)
Identify your target audience
Learn what they need
See where they go
Find the right channels for your audience, influencers
Then Create Personas to Help you design
Once you’ve built, test and iterate to fix issues
Consider Customer Relationship Management (CRM)
Personas
“The purpose of personas is to create reliable and realistic representations of your key audience segments for reference. These representations should be based on qualitative and some quantitative user research and web analytics. Remember, your personas are only as good as the research behind them.”
“Personas help to focus decisions surrounding site components by adding a layer of real-world consideration to the conversation. They also offer a quick and inexpensive way to test and prioritize those features throughout the development process.”
- http://www.usability.gov/how-to-and-tools/methods/personas.html
Minimum Next Steps
1. Fix your website & social media content (& continue to do so – it’s an ongoing task)
2. Make sure you have the latest Analytics tools running
3. Be Strategic
1. get support of higher ups
2. build a task force (to transition to an editorial board for ongoing operations)
3. write up a strategy (a living document)
4. begin executing ASAP (the only way to see what works is to begin doing – agile not waterfall style projects)
4. Map your customer journey / Inventory web properties, purposes, who’s in charge
5. Create goals for your content
6. Inventory existing content
7. Do a gap analysis between existing content and where your content goals are
8. Make a list of the audiences you’re targeting
9. Make personas for each segment
10. Create a style guide (guiding best practices include look/feel, tone, and principles)
11. Plan your user research program (get IRB approval)