Friday, February 18, 2011

E-Branding Your Library

Since I spend a lot of time thinking of about library web presences and enjoy listening to The Age of Persuasion, I thought I would write about the topic of e-branding today. While at the Internet Librarian Conference in October, I attended a session on “Managing Your Library's Online Presence.” One of the presenters – Jennifer Koerber, who is now the Web Service Librarian for Boston Public Library – spoke on how to effectively brand your library online.

Jennifer explained that with the explosion of social software like Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, and libraries' use of these, it is more important than ever that libraries employ consistent branding. She then demonstrated how libraries can do this across these web presences: by choosing similar or linking colors, using the same name everywhere, prominently displaying their logo, and finding a “voice.” A library's online voice, she continued, could be created through fonts, tone, and language. She urged those attending to find voices that were honest and similar to their own.

Upon returning to Chinook Arch, I talked about this session with Lauren Jessop, who immediately went and beautifully revamped both this blog and our Twitter feed. And now I have passed it on to you. So when you look at your Facebook page or Twitter feed, do you feel they accurately reflect your brand? When you write something for your website does it communicate the personality of your library? This is not to say that brands cannot be exciting, playful, or welcoming, but to be effective your brand should be consistent and recognizable. What does your brand say?

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