presentation prep

In preparation for an upcoming presentation, I'm teaching myself how to use some great promotional tools to share with libraries.  Here's an example.  Enjoy!

Take Photos of Your Library

Take photos of your library from time to time and be creative in promoting it.  I took these photos this morning and edited them in pixlr's online editing tool, pixlr express.  It's a wonderful tool to create amazing images!

Annual Survey on Web 2.0, Social Media, and Library PR

If you work in a library in the US, please take a moment to take this survey!

Thank you for taking time to respond to this annual survey on American libraries using Social Media tools for PR/Marketing. It should only take 10-15 minutes to complete. It is a follow up to a survey of the same type conducted November 2011. 

SURVEY LINK: http://www.surveymonkey.com/s/annualweb202012 

The survey will close on Wednesday, November 21, 2012, 5:00pm EST.

Please forward this survey to library colleagues, state library association listservs, Facebook pages, or others who may be interested.

If you have any questions, please contact me at crogers@statelibrary.sc.gov.

Curtis R. Rogers, Ed.D. Communications Director, SC State Library

Are you taking Risks with Social Media?

This was a very interesting presentation to do the research for. I found some really great resources and ended up having a great conversation with the 60 or so program attendees at the SC Public Records Association conference last week. Here is my presentation on Slideshare. Enjoy!

Are You Taking Risks with Social Media? from Curtis Rogers

ALCOP Conference

WOW! I have not blogged here in a while! This past weekend I attended the ALCOP conference.  It's a new association:  Association for Library Communications and Outreach Professionals.  I met a lot of wonderful folks from around the country and also got a chance to present a session on the annual social media survey I do.  Here is my presentation.  Enjoy!

Social media, libraries, and web 2.0 from Curtis Rogers

Education

Poetry

Think before you speak...

Quote Images

I recently read an article about things non-profits can use to increase traffic on their facebook pages so I've started creating some quote images. Here are the most recent ones. Enjoy!

Nice Example

library signage, a photo by Michael Casey on Flickr.

This is a nice example of a sign in a library about cell phone use. Libraries, take note!

The Power of Library PR!

I had a great time a few days ago presenting at the SC Library Association's College and University Section's workshop, The Library Instruction Toolkit: Effective Teaching, Active Learning.  Below is my presentation on Slideshare.  Attendees had lots of great comments and really added to the session. I was really impressed with one attendee who said she makes it a point to meet with her assigned department on her campus once a week!  The group exercise went very well and all four groups developed some really great ideas for future workshops.

The Power of Library PR

View more PowerPoint from Curtis Rogers

2011 SLIS Hooding Ceremony (Extended cut)

I just came across this on the USC CMCIS YouTube channel.  At about 11:00 is where my speech begins. Enjoy!

Reading Rooster Recommends April 11 2012

Watch this episode of the Reading Rooster Recommends to learn about great children's book titles about the Titanic and Cats and Poetry!

Know What You Want - guest blog post by Stephanie Vance

If you don’t know where you’re going, you’ll wind up somewhere else. Yogi Berra

Yogi Berra cracks me up (as does Yogi Bear, perhaps because he’s smarter than the average bear. For those who didn’t grow up with Yogi Bear, look it up).  And it’s true that you MUST know your goal before you get started.  You may need to reassess as circumstances change, but you won’t get very far down the road if you don’t have an idea of which road you’re on or should be on.  Or let me correct that. You certainly can go very far down the road, but in general it’s not going to get you anywhere near where you want to go.  I know this because I get lost a lot.

Tactics 1 through 5 in The Influence Game cover “knowing what you want,” specifically:

·         Your Effort is a Cause: Your cause may be getting a new job, gaining a sale or implementing some legislative initiative.  Whatever it is, remember that you are promoting a specific result over opposition, competition or potential objections.  That’s the very definition of a cause.

·         Know the Nature of What You’re Selling: I wrote several blog posts on this already, so all I’ll say is that you’ve got to know whether what you’re selling involves inertia or action, is controversial or easy, is a must-do or may-do decision or is short- or long-term.  If you don’t know the answers to these questions, you won’t be able to set a SMART goal (see the next tactic).

·         Set a SMART Goal:  SMART goals are Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Realistic and Timely.  In other words, you must know what it is you want, when you want it by, whether you have the internal resources to attain it, whether the external environment makes it possible and what the timeframe is for a decision.

·         Know WHY You Want What You Want (Or Why the Other Person Might Want That): “You should do what I say because I said so” works only in parental situations and even there not so much.  I can’t even get it to work with my dog.  So you’ll have to have a good reason for why you want what you’re asking for.  And if that reason relates to what the decision maker may want, you’ll be far more effective.

·         Know What You’re Talking About:  While it’s totally appropriate to say “I don’t know, but I’ll get back to you,” nothing is more frustrating than having someone try to sell you a product they know absolutely nothing about, right?  In many ways your cause is a product and you’ve got to be familiar with its nuances if you’re going to convince others to get on board.

Another baseball player named Babe Ruth knew all this about knowing what he wanted.  He’s the one who, when he came up to bat in the 1932 World Series, pointed to a spot in the stands and hit a home run to that spot, which won the game.  Sure, there’s some controversy over what he was pointing at and what he intended.  The key, though, is that he pointed and the ball went there.  You need to do the same.

Stephanie Vance, the Advocacy Guru at Advocacy Associates, is the author of five books on effective advocacy and influence, including The Influence Game.  A former Capitol Hill Chief of Staff and lobbyist, she works with a wide range of groups to improve their advocacy efforts.  More at www.theinfluencegame.com