Any reader knows the excitement of a new chapter in a compelling story. This re-engagement campaign, planned in Summer of 2021, was envisioned as a celebration when COVID numbers were waning. While the pandemic lingered longer than expected, the upbeat play on words is still relevant in promoting the opportunities available to library users. The general components, including social media, targeted a broad range of library users, from students, to families, to those interested in business or travel. Materials were prepared in both English and Spanish.
Components included:
Staff t-shirts
Social media messaging
Website carousel images
Monthly newsletter article
Direct mail to targeted users
Email marketing blasts
The direct mail and email components of the campaign had much more tightly defined metrics. The targeted audience included library cardholders, who are considered “occasional” or recently “inactive” users and have not accessed library materials within the last 3 months to one year. The library’s Communications Manager pulled statistics from Orangeboy, a vendor the library uses to track information about library use. Data showed this group was primarily interested in the library’s digital and online resources, and tended to be adults in a specific age range.
Orangeboy highlighted the campaign as part of their own marketing. Read more about it here. https://www.orangeboyinc.com/news/win-back-cardholders
The clear profile of intended campaign recipients indicated by the data informed the choice of photography for the direct components. I sought out images that fit the demographics, with clothing and hairstyles that looked casual. I made sure to have equal gender representation. In many cases, the Library strives to use more diverse ethnicities, but in this case, with a limited number of pieces, we felt the two images selected represented the target audience adequately. The photos have simple backgrounds to contrast with the brighter abstract art elements. The text and resource images promoted digital library offerings, and emphasized convenience for this busy working population.
The postcard campaign mailed to approximately 7,700 library cardholders who do not have an email address in their account, and the email marketing was sent to those who have provided an email address. The first postcard arrived near the end of September. The second postcard arrived about two weeks later. By December 1, the direct mail campaign resulted in a whopping 5,800 recipients - more than 75% - re-engaging with the library. The first email version went out in mid-November. Within the first two weeks, 32.47% of the recipients opened the email and nearly 300 people clicked through. 340 people actively used their cards within 10 days after receiving the first email.
This has been a rewarding campaign to collaborate on. It is fun to celebrate the potential positive changes library users can make. The payoff of clear data indicating re-engaged patrons has indicated the campaign was a success.
Comentarios