Communications 101

Adapted from the Customer Experience Managers Meeting Minutes, Jan. 26, 2018

Originally compiled by Yolanda Anguiano

Communications, Branding and the Print Shop are now under John Middleton’s leadership. Communications creates all marketing and promotional material, ensures that the HPL brand is maintained, ensures that the HPL message is consistent across all communication, and manages HPL print, electronic, digital and social media platforms of communication.

Alejandro Lozano is our new brand manager. Branding is responsible for standardizing brand colors, fonts, hierarchy of material, and style of art. He maintains the Brand Visual Guide on the intranet.

There are established steps to advertise a location’s monthly featured event. A featured event gets print promotion with a flyer card, social media promotion on Facebook and Twitter, digital promotion on the HPL webpage, eNewsletter, and TV screens within the libraries, and in publicity media alerts. Staff should be promoting the eNewsletters to all customers as a more convenient way to see what’s happening at HPL. There is a list of different deadlines for the monthly featured event promotions. The presentation from the Managers' Meeting will be posted on the CE Admin intranet page.

The first step to request a featured event is to enter the event/program in the Online Event Module. Make sure to choose featured event as the event type, pick no more than 3 events and choose programs worth promoting. Choosing the same program every month doesn’t work. The second step is to review proofs and provide any edits. Edits are due by the 5^th of the month. Approval is assumed if no edits are provided by the deadline. Use the promotional materials by posting the flyer in a prominent place in the library, get customers to sign up for the library eNewsletter, follow HPL on Facebook and Twitter and share.

For Computer Class booklets, the process is similar. Staff should include Open Job Labs in their event listings.  Make sure dates correspond with the days of the week. Make sure the library is open at the time class is to take place. New classes need to be approved by a committee and the Print Shop will not include those listings without approval.

A timeline is available outlining what marketing tools are available for programs and events not in the system-wide calendar. Packages are available based on how soon full content is received by Communications. The timeline includes items provided with a 6 month, 4 month, 2 month and 1 month lead time.

Staff can submit new marketing requests online from the Communications intranet page.  The link is on the right side. All items on the form must be completed. If staff want to use a photo, please don’t embed the photo in the email or Word document; use individual image files only. Review the proofs Communications provides you. Check for detail and spelling accuracy and sign once approved. Once finalized, distribution of advertisements rolls out; social marketing, eMarketing, print material and eFiles.

Staff are encouraged to volunteer to be part of the Marketing Liaison Team. They can serve as the primary point person for all libraries, a Brand Ambassador, a Social Media Liaison, or Library Photographer. Marjorie is looking for 30 team members. They will be trained sometime in February or March. Among Marketing’s initiatives, they are at the 2^nd phase of completing the 1^st set of library-service focused materials and 2^nd phase to completing promotional item ordering process.

On the Communications intranet page there is a program and events survey hyperlink. Staff or customers can fill it out. There is also a downloadable sign for staff to use when photo or video recording is occurring at their location. It’s in the Quick Tips box. There is also a generic sign template, staff can use when letting customers know that the location is closed for upholstery cleaning. Branding is trying to standardize book display signs but staff can still request special display requests. 

Communications is still in the process of claiming ownership of HPL’s Google listings. If managers receive postcards with a code from Google to claim their web page, please notify Communications.

CE Admin asks that managers make sure their events are entered in the Event Module, and make sure their team is trained to do so. Managers should spot check periodically that all their events are submitted to maintain quality.