By: Annie Suhy, Marketing Specialist

Picture this: it’s holiday break and you’re lounging in your sweatpants on the couch. iPad in hand. Browsing social media. Leftover cookies in your belly. The movie A Christmas Story playing in the background on the TV, over and over and over and over (and over). Not so hard to imagine, right? Many of us may find ourselves in a similar situation in just a few weeks, which makes the holiday break an ideal time to have a little fun and promote your digital collection on social!

With many of us taking some extra time off from work during the holidays, that can often mean there’s a little more time for reading. For a fun and easy way to engage with patrons over their holiday breaks (even if you’re taking a few days off too!), use the library’s social media account to challenge your patrons to discover digital with a Winter Break Reading Challenge.

How does it work?

image.png Step 1: Add your library’s social media handle to the editable field on our print materials. Then, print out the half-sheet flyers and sprinkle around your library (circulation desk, bathroom stalls, computers, cafe) and/or hang one of the posters. Both can be found on the Resource Center.

Step 2: On your library’s preferred social media account, schedule a post each day revealing a new challenge (can be as few as 3 days up to 10 days depending on the number of prizes you have to give away). Suggestions include read under a blanket, recommend a book to a friend, or find a book with a candy cane on the cover. Find even more suggestions on the instruction sheet.

Step 3: Patrons who reply that they’ve completed the days’ challenge will be automatically entered to win a prize! To keep track of responses, favorite the post on your Twitter account or if using Facebook, encourage commenting.

Step 4: Choose a lucky winner at random. Winners can stop in at the library to claim their prize! Find suggestions for prizes on the instruction sheet.

Have fun and happy reading!
We want hear from you! Did you try the Winter Break Reading Challenge? How did it go? What other ideas did you use to engage your patrons over the holidays? Tag @OverDriveLibs on Twitter or @OverDriveForLibraries on Facebook or let your Account Manager know. We’d love to feature your library, your story, and your marketing ideas in an upcoming blog post.

For more marketing and event ideas, check out Resource Center’s Marketing & Outreach – Events page.