Rudaí 23 #thing18: Visual Marketing with Photos

I was pointed towards the amazing photographic resource that is Flickr by the Daring Librarian  and since then I've discovered how invaluable it is for finding the perfect creative commons photos for use in tweets and presentations. I hadn't actually opened a personal account myself so this week I pushed myself beyond my reluctance to open yet another email account (six and counting) and signed up to Yahoo. I can't argue with the fact that over 10 billion images have been shared on Flickr and I know it's an account I will actually use.

Flickr CC image from The British Library Sing-Song: A Nursery Rhyme Book by Christina Rossetti

I signed up for a Flickr account but had to do so through the app on my phone as I kept on getting a Yahoo error message when I tried to sign up using my laptop. I explored the collections of the British Library and finally chose this frankly terrifying image from their Children's Book Illustrations album (which could just as easily have been filed in their Halloween-themed Ghosts & Ghoulish scenes album if you ask me).

I then opened an Instagram account which thankfully I could do with one of my existing Gmail accounts. I explored a few different accounts and finally settled on two pictures to comment on, one from New York Public Library and the second from the National Library of Ireland. NYPL seems to have mastered the art of using social media to market its collections and events though it's interesting to note that their Flickr account has 8.5k followers while their Instagram account has over 92k followers. The National Library of Ireland uses hashtags well to curate their posts though personally I'd prefer to see more pictures from their collections up rather than pictures of the building itself. (Though admittedly the building is stunning). I commented using the Instagram app and then from my PC and both methods were straightforward. I was surprised that there was no vetting process in place in the way that, for example, comments on the Blogger posts have to be approved before they're published. I investigated a little and comments can be deleted by the account holder after they're posted and there is a 'report abuse' option for the photos too that alerts the account holder to inappropriate user comments.

Images from the British Library and National Library of Ireland Instagram accounts

Thinking about how Flickr and Instagram could be used in the libraries I work in, I looked first of all at one of the albums in the Dublin City Libraries Flickr albums, which focuses on the North Strand bombings in Dublin in 1941. With over 9,000 views for an album of 56 photographs I thought about how much interest could be generated around the special collections in St. Patrick's College, particularly in the build up to the centenaries of the 1916 Rising, the Irish War of Independence and the Irish Civil War. Letters written by Patrick Pearse, accounts of Dan Breen's escape from British forces through the grounds of St. Patrick's College and the works of writer and activist Agnes O'Farrelly could all be promoted through the library's Flickr account. Flickr would be a great way to highlight the events in the library too, the library recently hosted Culture night and posting pictures up from the night and getting visitors to post theirs would be a great way to promote the event and engage with users. I really liked the idea that copyright-free images could be put up on Flickr for use in lesson plans - it would be great to be able to promote Flickr as a resource to students during library inductions and consultations.

Unknown actor (right) in Three Kisses copyright Paramount Studios 1956.

I currently volunteer in the Tiernan McBride library in the IFI Irish Film Archive where I have come across stills from films where an actor is unidentified in the picture. Asking users to help in tracking down the identity of the actor through user comments and user tagging would be a great way to engage with users and promote the other images in the collection. Some early films in the collection are now emerging from copyright restrictions so contributing in 'The Commons' project would be a great way for the Irish Film Archive to showcase the thousands of stills in their collection and to further engage with their users.

Instagram could be another platform on which St. Patrick's College could promote their special collections. I like the idea of posting images from the special collections up on Instagram once a month using a hashtag to link them together. A page from the 1685 Bedell Bible for instance, or the Jack B. Yeats illustrated Irish language edition of 'The Turf-Cutter's Donkey' by Patricia Lynch could generate a lot of interest, especially if promoted through the library's other social media accounts simultaneously. New books could be promoted too - the library's recent acquisition of the Booker Prize shortlist and winner, for example. We promoted those on the library's twitter account, but why not on the library's Flickr, Instagram and Pinterest accounts too?

In terms of using either account to promote and curate the collections of the libraries I work in, I personally prefer Flickr. I like that it gives you the ability to collect images into themes and topics using albums. I think this would make most sense in terms of promoting specific collections and events and putting together pictures of albums for use in lesson plans. Instagram images can be linked using hashtags but not all of the organisations I explored used these consistently. If more than one person was running an Instagram account there would need to be clear communication about the use of particular hashtags as well as which keywords to use when tagging the pictures - this goes for Flickr too.