Week 12: You can only share what other people want

Advertising is a visual experience. Users are accustomed to seeing information and being drawn in by interesting images. Photographs are a terrific visual representation for users to glance at and be drawn into. They are not the average laborious ‘what's new at the library' article.

I think you can use media such as Flickr and YouTube as a means of enhancing your library services. Especially since these days everyone is a Rockstar. People want to see themselves. Other people want to see their friends.

YouTube is a fantastic online tool for promotion and a good way to build community awareness of library events/services. For example, a library may want to take a video of the final moments of a guitar hero strum off, a few minutes of a guest speaker talking about a community issue, or a book signing of an author. You could even invite patrons to talk about their favourite books and submit a Utube video on your channel.

While these are just a few examples of how libraries can use media sharing, I believe there is still a stark difference between public and academic libraries and their use of media sharing technology. Academic libraries host an entirely different audience. They are submerserd in a community which depends upon them for an essential service. They have the option of advertising to potential students within Canada or across the world through Flickr and YouTube showcasing their amenities and attracting applicants.  They can also draw upon photographs of previous alumni or varsity wins to appeal to the exclusiveness of some educational institutions and encourage posterity.

Public libraries, on the other hand, may have a harder time drawing in an audience through these tools. Showcasing photos on Flickr of a library board member (this goes for academic libraries as well), is simply not a user friendly tactic.

Instead, advertising an upcoming theme (ex. Stephen king week) by tagging movie trailers and speeches etc. on YouTube may help create anticipation and awareness of library events. Creating ‘how to' videos and virtual library tours may facilitate audience interest in and encourage familiarity with the library setting. A really interesting aspect on the University of Michigan's Flickr page was the addition of music pages. Giving people the opportunity to view and print music in a community is an excellent idea. If a library is big enough (or soundproof enough) it might be able to host a music room a few nights a week. Or perhaps, if the library is having a book sale to raise money for a community event, posting the books online for people to view beforehand may increase sales. Duke's Yearbook photostream is a perfect example of how to drawn in an audience and reflect a communities history. Genealogical photographs are an interesting way of tying in the past with a libraries current audience.

While I do believe libraries have to make sure they are advertising to the right audience and through the right channels, both institutions can increase their online presence through media sharing.