Marketing e-Resources: Adequate Tools to Increase Usage

Marketing e-Resources:
Adequate Tools to Increase Usage
Houeida Kammourié-Charara
InfoCommons Librarian
Lebanese American University
&
Samar Kai-Kiwan
Electronic Collections Librarian
Holy Spirit University of Kaslik
ProQuest Library Day in Lebanon
Lebanese American University
June 2nd 2015
#PQDAYLB

Agenda
 Who is my competitor?
 What is Marketing?
 Who does Marketing in my library?
 Marketing your library
 Lebanese Libraries’ experience
 Marketing Steps to increase databases usage
 Librarians’ problems & Realistic tips
 What we have learned

Libraries are spending BIG parts of their
budgets on their electronic resources
They NEED to make them visible and
increase their usage
They need to know where to reach their
patrons and how to transmit the message

Important Facts
Socializing Mobile/ Tablet
migration
Technology
Growth
Most users
own a
smartphone
or a tablet
Users are
less
impressed
Users spend
most of their
times on
social media

Marketing
Outreach
Public Relations

Defining Outreach/Marketing/PR
Carter & Seaman (2011) identified two
categories of outreach: Services and the
promotion of services.
Services include:
 (1) any assistance with research or information,
 (2) the resources available at a library, and
 (3) library facilities.
Promotion of services involves marketing or
the use of public relations techniques to
promote these services, resources, and
facilities.

Marketing Cycle
Project
Description
Current
Market
SWOT
Analysis
Target Market
Goals &
Objectives
Strategies
Action Plan
Measurement
Assessment
(Kennedy, M.R. 2011, p. 22)

Marketing Mix: the 4 P’s
Product
Place Price
Promotion
“Marketing requires a critical analysis of the marketing mix (the 4Ps: product, place,
price, and promotion) to identify the nature, features, benefits, and value of the
products to the customer” (Ohio Library Foundation).

4P’s application in Libraries by
Dubicki (2008)
 Product: providing information services to patrons,
i.e., e-resources.
 Price: convenience and ease of use that patrons’
experience when using e-resources.
 Place: or channel that libraries have for delivering e-
resources, i.e., online access via the library’s website.
 Promotion: techniques used for communicating e-
resources features and benefits to library users.

Who does the Marketing?
No statistics available re library personnel involvement
with marketing in Lebanon.
As far as we know no one has this in their job description.
Most librarians have no training in marketing.
Need for skilled staff in areas of marketing and promotion.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?

Marketing Your Library
Know what your ambition is:
Increasing the usage of ProQuest Central
by 20%
in the next 12 months, etc.
Putting some numbers will focus the mind immediately.
“If you say you want to grow 30% over the next “X”
number of years, that’ll certainly focus your mind on
the marketing”(Potter, 2012).

LAU’s experience
In a survey conducted by the Office of Institutional Research and
Assessment at LAU re students’ use of the university website (2013) :
 93% visited the website to perform a student related task
 77% to acquire new information or obtain clarifications
 67% to check their LAU webmail
 52% to search the online library resources
 33% to check the latest news and activities on campus.
Target can be to increase the 52 to 65% in one year

Steps
 Marketing Plan
 Understanding library users
 Creating the message
 Spreading the word
 Evaluation

Development of a Marketing Plan
(inspired by Fry, 2014)
 Prepare budget and secure funding to cover your plan.
 Define marketing goals that are quantifiable and set strategies for achieving them.
 Create a calendar or timeline.
 Incorporate input from library staff and users.
 Identify relevant e-resources to promote.
 Describe target groups.
 Highlight library e-resources to target groups.
 Seek experts help for your artwork.
 Plan how to monitor outcomes.
 Assess effectiveness using statistics.
Most of the libraries do not usually include funding specifically for marketing.

Put yourself in your patrons’ shoes
Case study/Survey/Behavioral Observation/Focus Group/
ONLINE BEHAVIOR
T
O
O
L
S

Understanding user behavior
Be where your patrons are !!!

Segmentation of users
Every library doing marketing, should start with
user segmentation:
 “Choose one group of people you fully
understand in terms of what they value, how
they use your resources, what their outcomes
are”
 “Your planning should be driven by segments
rather than the library as a whole”(Potter,
2012), because it’s the differences that matter
rather than the similarities.
“There’s a phrase about how you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink.
The real trick is to make the horse thirsty, then take it to the water”.

Reflect your library identity
 Use your institution’s logo
 Use your library slogan
e.g. LAU Libraries Your Space

Make your message appealing
 Don’t send “boring” messages
 Use images rather than words
 Find Library staff with graphic design
skills, or
 Seek the help of your university
Marketing Dept., or
 Simply: Outsource artwork

Direct Message
 Make your email personal
 Simplify your message
 Prioritize your messages
 Use different access points to the same
resource
 Consider subject and timing
“Always think to influence an influencer by word of
mouth”

Writing an
advertisement
1. The basics
2. The headline
3. Illustrations
4. Body copy
5. Response mechanisms
6. Check your advertisement
7. Artwork
8. Free help
http://www.icaew.com/~/media/Files/Library/collections/online-
resources/briefings/directors-briefings/MA10WRIT.pdf

Marketing Techniques
 Marie Kennedy (2011), identified 4
categories of marketing techniques
used in university libraries:
 Human interaction
 e‐communication
 Physical items
 Training
The most popular technique in university libraries is patron training.

 Libraries do not choose to market consistently with one
category of techniques over another, but rather choose from
all of them.

Messages
prepared by
Librarians with
NO
Graphic Design
background

Library website
 Revamp the webpage if needed
 Make your e-resources page
attractive
 Use your library homepage to
advertise

Are you
using this to
market your
e-resources?
 A–Z list of databases?
 Subject list databases?
 Loading eBooks’ MARC records into library OPAC?

Are you
using this to
market your
e-resources?
Humm!!
This is NOT
marketing
 A–Z list of databases?
 Subject list databases?
 Loading eBooks’ MARC records into library OPAC?

e-Resources Visibility
Website
Trainings
LibGuides
Library Events
Discovery Tool

Library events
 Venues and library-sponsored events
 Exhibits
 Art shows
 Receptions
 Bringing in Speakers
 Storytelling
 Themed Workshops
 Library Open House or Open Day

LibGuides
 Library guides are used for the
promotion of e-resources.
 Databases are listed in subject
guides.

http://proquest.libguides.com/home

http://subjectguides.esc.edu/proquest

Marketing e-Resources: Adequate Tools to Increase Usage

Social Media
 Libraries use Social Media, such as Facebook, to
promote services and resources (i.e., databases).
 Few libraries have also used Facebook ads (Fry,
2014) for the same purpose
Don’t use social media as broadcasting
platform only: Make it interactive !!!
 Start a conversation about the new resource and
seek patrons feedback.

Evaluation / Assessment
Evaluation is part of the cycle of marketing.
It is an ongoing process, not just at the end of
the campaign.
 Gather feedback
 Ensure you are reaching the intended
audience
 Analyze your usage statistics (compare multi-
years)

The worst things that can happen
 Bad or negative feedback
 Underused resource
 Marketing campaign didn’t reach the
intended audience

Recommended Fix
 Marketing campaign didn’t reach the intended audience
Re-evaluate the marketing strategy and apply needed change immediately
Do it

Recommended Fix
Check the reasons and fix them:
 Barriers to use
 Name changes
 Unreliability
 Type of content
 Product needs enhancement

Recommended Fix
Re-evaluate your marketing plan: did you study your target audience
before the campaign?
Try different ways to reach your audience.
Involve resource providers (trainings, webinars, promotional materials…)

Librarians’ problems
&
Realistic tips

Problems
Writing a marketing
plan is
boring
NO time
for
Marketing
I have NO
budget

Realistic tips
(inspired by Kassel, 2002)
 Make it part of your daily routine. Let it become a way of
thinking.
 It can be low cost or sophisticated: work with your budget or
get sponsors to help you.
 Involve your library staff: create a committee to draft your
marketing plan.
 Involve your users in the plan and the process.

Conclusion
 While many factors can affect the use of resources,
examining usage statistics closely remains a meaningful way
to assess the effectiveness of marketing and promotional
activities.
 The implementation of a solid marketing plan is a must
 Move away from a ‘library as place’ marketing mindset.

References
Carter, T. M., & Seaman, P. (2011). The management and support of outreach in academic libraries. Reference &
User Services Quarterly, 51(2), 163-171. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/912813276?accountid=27870
Dubicki, E.I. (2008). Marketing and Promoting Electronic Resources: Creating the E-Buzz. Haworth Press,
Binghamton, NY, USA.
Fry, A. (2014). The biggest winner: Using statistics to assess the effectiveness of an E-resources promotional
campaign. Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 26(1), 1-16. doi:10.1080/1941126X.2014.877330
Kassel, A. (2002). Marketing: Realistic Tips. Information Outlook, 6(11), 6-8.
Kennedy, M. R. (2011). Collaborative marketing for electronic resources. Library Hi Tech News, 28(6), 22-24.
doi:10.1108/07419051111173892
Kennedy, M. (2011). What are we really doing to market electronic resources? Library Management, 32(3), 144-
158. doi:10.1108/01435121111112862
Kennedy, M. (2013). Marketing Your Library's Electronic Resources (MSU LEETS presentation)
http://www.slideshare.net/orgmonkey/kennedy2013-leets
King, D. (2008). Many libraries have gone to federated searching to win users back from google. is it
working? Journal of Electronic Resources Librarianship, 20(4), 213-227. doi:10.1080/19411260802554520

References
Ohio Library Foundation (2008). Marketing the Library. Noack, J. (Ed.). Retrieved from
http://www.olc.org/marketing/index.html
Potter, N. (2012). Marketing your library. American Libraries, 43(11), 50-52. Retrieved from
http://search.proquest.com/docview/1223377185?accountid=27870
Potter, N. (2013). Marketing Libraries: What the not-for-profits can learn from the lots-of-
profits https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xWyJB4mZL6k
Shuling, W. (2007). Investigation and analysis of current use of electronic resources in university
libraries. Library Management, 28(1), 72-88. doi:10.1108/01435120710723563
Thomas, D., Davidson, C., Kyrillidou, M., & Plum, T. (2012). Measuring use of licensed electronic
resources. Library Management, 33(6), 374-388. doi:10.1108/01435121211266195
Useful websites:
@my library campaign
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/publicawareness/campaign@yourlibrary/prtools/downloadlog
os/download_logos
Writing an advertisement http://www.icaew.com/~/media/Files/Library/collections/online-
resources/briefings/directors-briefings/MA10WRIT.pdf

Image Attributions
Slide 4
http://i1321.photobucket.com/albums/u555/polkadotlessonplans/imwondering_zpse4c3ac5a.png
Slide 6
http://www.123rf.com/photo_9033827_research-magnifying-glass-over-background-with-different-association-
terms-vector-illustration.html
http://moodlemid.ucps.k12.nc.us/course/view.php?id=767
http://www.thebooksamaritan.com
Slide 15
http://www.clipartbest.com/cliparts/aTq/e4K/aTqe4KKbc.png
Slide 20
http://www.themaritzinstitute.com/peoplecenteredbusinessblog/science-based-design/1-perspective-taking-put-
shoes-participant/
http://www.falibo.com/video/1979/Common-Expressions--To-be-in-a-persons-shoes
http://naldzgraphics.net/tips/how-to-have-designer-mindset/
http://ideascrossroads.com/tag/motivation/
Slide 24
http://www.ala.org/advocacy/advleg/publicawareness/campaign@yourlibrary
Slide 52
http://thethoughtgardener.com/how-to-focus-on-solutions-not-problems/
Slide 54
http://www.sheknows.com/living/articles/816386/5-tips-for-encouraging-kids-to-eat-healthy-1

THANK YOU
houeida.charara@lau.edu.lbsamarkai@usek.edu.lb

Marketing e-Resources: Adequate Tools to Increase Usage

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