Capturing the Digital Universe

Ben Sanderson

Head of Press, British Library

@BL_BenS

www.bl.uk 2

Who am I?

• Head of Press, Social Media and Internal Communications at the British Library

• Team of 2 press officers, 2 internal comms

• Working with Head of Communications plus our Advocacy Team

• Social media policy and training

• At the Library since 2001 – but still a comparative newbie

• Follow me @BL_BenS

www.bl.uk 3

The British Library

• UK national library – St Pancras (London) and Boston Spa (West Yorkshire)

• 150 million items spanning 3,000 years and almost every written language

• Books, journals, newspapers, maps, manuscripts, sound recordings

• Half a million researchers use our Reading Rooms every year – millions more online

• Exhibitions (currently: Georgians and Children’s Books; recently: Propaganda and On The Road)

• We get a copy of every UK publication

www.bl.uk 4

“Non-Print Legal Deposit”

• Extension of legal deposit to encompass digital publications (e-journals, e-books, UK web domain)

• How to mark an invisible moment in history?

• An opportunity to transform perceptions of the British Library – from analogue to digital

• Essential to convey the (complicated) message accurately and positively

• Showcasing the importance of our digital archive for future generations

• Five other legal deposit library partners (National Libraries of Scotland and Wales, Bodleian, Cambridge University Library and Trinity College Dublin)

www.bl.uk 5

“Capturing the Digital Universe”

• Extension of legal deposit to encompass digital publications (e-journals, e-books, UK web domain)

• How to mark an invisible moment in history?

• An opportunity to transform perceptions of the British Library – from analogue to digital

• Essential to convey the (complicated) message accurately and positively

• Showcasing the importance of our digital archive for future generations

• Five other legal deposit library partners (National Libraries of Scotland and Wales, Bodleian, Cambridge University Library and Trinity College Dublin)

www.bl.uk 6

“Capturing the Digital Universe”

• Rebranding the legislation to make it relevant for a much wider audience

• Strong messaging in all communications and especially in training for spokespeople

• 100 websites – examples to bring digital content to life and generate debate

• Countdown video onsite and online – building anticipation and providing visuals

• Non-traditional launch format

• #digitaluniverse event hashtag

www.bl.uk 7

100 websites – building anticipation

• A list to spark debate online

• Suggested by curators from all six Legal Deposit Libraries

• Demonstrating the value of digital content – whether ‘serious’ or ‘trivial’

• Generated preview coverage in The Sunday Times in advance of launch

www.bl.uk 8

Spokespeople and messaging

• Bold, memorable messages• Eliminate internal jargon• External perspective/training vital

• Confident, articulate interviewees central to the media proposition• Video news release both to satisfy/stimulate demand

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Launch event – 6 April 2013

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Results generated• An audience of 141.5 million in14 countries, with

467 pieces of media coverage

• 272 online articles including Associated Press, Huffington Post, Wired.co.uk, Spectator blog, The Drum, Yahoo! News, Press Association, Digital Spy, MSN

• 132 broadcast, including interviews on BBC Breakfast, Radio 4 Today, CNN, Sky News, Al Jazeera, ITV, LBC Radio, BBC Asian Network, BBC News

• A total of 5,000 tweets over the course of the campaign

• Traffic to the Web Archive pages up from 10.2k visits to 87.9k and on the day of launch there were 2,018 clicks on the story on the BL’s homepage

• An increase of over 1000% in social media mentions using the words ‘British Library’ and ‘digital’, showing a powerful shift in the way the Library is perceived

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Using video to maximise our impact

• Our campaign video

• Our video news release was used by Guardian, Yahoo, Telegraph, Mail, Express online and others

• There is a hunger for online video

• ...but it needs to be conceived, shot and sold in by people who know what they’re doing!

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Take-aways?

When you get the opportunity, be bold and ambitious

An external perspective is vital

Use video, campaigns and events to create excitement that people want to share