Marketing Your Library: Heroes, Tips & Tools to Promote Libaries and Resources
- 1. Marketing Your LibraryHeroes, Tips & Tools to Promote Libraries and Resources
- 2. We Share the ChallengeToday’s economy, and evolving roles for libraries and librarians, mean doing more with much lessToday’s student – the digital native – defaults to the open Web for researchMany adults (and jobseekers) unaware of the range of services that libraries offerNeed targeted, high-impact, low-cost ways to reach and engage customers/users
- 3. Goals of this SessionPrepare you to increase awareness of the value of your library and its online resources by covering:How various marketing approaches can work together to attract and engage usersTools to educate users about library databases – how they are more reliable and comprehensive than free Web
- 4. One Second on “Marketing”Means using strategies to move products or services from the producer to consumerMarketing is a process…Study customers (current and prospective), segment into groups, ask groups what they want from you
- 5. Create or provide the products/services that each group wants
- 6. Publicize or promote product/services so groups know you offer what they want
- 7. Evaluate for customer satisfaction… use feedback to enhance/expand your offerings. Repeat process. First, Study Customer NeedsGeorgia Institute of Technology DNA Project: “Decoding” the library user experience through weekly user interviews that reveal why some become regular library users and others don’t:Why do they use the library? What triggers usage?What need is being filled?Once they’ve discovered something, did they use it again? Did they tell others about it?”Identifying user patterns sets stage for marketing planning.
- 8. User Needs Hero:Brian MathewsChampion of user experience, library design-thinking at Georgia Tech, now at UC/Santa BarbaraAuthor, Marketing Today’s Academic Library ALA Edition, 2009Articles: American Libraries, Library Journal, C&RL NewsBlogs: Ubiquitous Librarian; Designing Better Libraries www.brianmathews.com
- 9. Customer Behavior Hero:Anastasia Goodstein Youth marketing expert focused on new media Blog: YpulseArticle: School Library Journal May 2008 Keynote: Michigan Library Assoc 2007 Author, Totally Wired: What Teens & Tweens are Really Doing Online St. Martin’s Press 2007
- 10. Next, Segment CustomersColumbus Metropolitan Library Used customer observation study to track behavior, then cluster analysis to segment into “personas” to inform marketing strategy
- 11. Segmentation and Branding Hero:Alison Circle CML’s director of marketing Formerly with Jack Morton Worldwide branding (on Target account); Minnesota Public Radio, marketing Prairie Home Companion Blog: Bubble Room Library Journal
- 12. Plan How to Reach SegmentsWhat are the most critical user groups for the success of your library?Create your own “personas” For each group…How do your user support capabilities stack up versus their expectations?
- 13. How can you build a better capability to reach to each group?
- 14. What are the key points/messages for each group. For Each User Segment…Set objectives that can be measuredIdentify the right tactics from your toolboxEvents/Activities Social Networking Signs/Decorations Facebook, Twitter, etc. Newsletters/Blogs Press Releases Print AdvertisementsRadio
- 15. Basic Approaches: Push/PullTo push your message out to customers, choose such tactics as:--Publicity--Advertising & Promotion--EventsResults are short-term, good for introducing new services, databases; recruiting Friends
- 16. Push: Timing is KeyFarmington (MI) Community LibraryFriends of the Library send member outreach mailings at holiday and tax time, and include time-based incentives … 2009membership increased 40%
- 17. Pull: for Long-Term ResultsPull customers closer to further inform and engage:-- Website, blogs-- Opt-in e-mail Newsletters, RSS feeds/Alerts -- On-site promotion of collections/services/virtual library (fliers, posters, etc.)-- How-to’s (database demos, user guides)
- 18. Pull: Use Site to Start ConversationThe University of Toledo Librariespolls students on aspects of library use and reports results weekly
- 19. Define Objectives and MeasureOptimum to set goals, measure progress toward strategic planMeasuring can be as simple asEvents: use registration process, send follow- up (inform about RSS feeds, alert system for further info). Count heads and opt-ins.Promotions: drive response to website, use Google analytics, other free software to track response.
- 20. Define Objectives and MeasureBloomington (IL) Public LibraryOne of many to use Individual ROI Calculator for patrons to determine their view of library worth, measure customer satisfaction
- 21. “When you’re low on money…“… marketing is one of the last things you should cut from your budget.”- Kathy Dempsey, Marketing Library Services NewsletterMay/June 2009Five Ways Marketing Can Cut CostsUse customer input to confidently determine which services to keep and which to cutUse better marketing and promotion to tell folks about what you’ve already gotSave training time by creating quick tutorials or videosMake your website work for all it’s worthLean more on your colleagues and consortia
- 22. “True Marketing” Hero:Kathy DempseyLibrary marketing consultant, firm is Libraries Are EssentialEditor, Information Today Blogger, The ’M’ Word – Marketing LibrariesThe Accidental Library MarketerInformation Today 2009
- 23. Think out of the boxTopeka & Shawnee County Public Library -- Job Search Kit
- 24. Partnerships WorkCamden (NJ) County Library Systempartners with SCORE – Service Corps of Retired Executives – to mentor small businesses as part of its “Your Library, Your Lifeline” initiative
- 25. Social Media: Ask Teens to HelpPenguin UK recruited teens to build its site on “the life inside books”—they named it Spinebreakers.
- 26. ProQuest Marketing ToolkitsVersions for academic, public, K-12, corporate, and military libraries--on www.proquest.comDetailed “How-to” Guides
- 27. Advice from the How-to Guides Evaluate Your Library’s WebsiteIs your URL easy to remember?
- 28. Easy navigation from school’s home page?
- 30. Add a search bar/widget
- 31. Add some personality – and update oftenAdvice from the How-to Guides Ask Users to Evaluate Your SiteHow do different types of users the site?
- 32. Develop a survey/offer a suggestion box
- 33. Use what you learn… and ask for their help to implementAdvice from the How-to Guides Be Where Your Users AreUse social networks like MySpace, Facebook, Twitter; consider a blog.Update your pages/status often with new content collection or service announcements
- 34. Keep your library events and happenings current
- 35. Offer an RSS feed or alert to make subscribers aware of updatesAdvice from the How-to Guides Using Publicity ToolsMake a media list of:Campus and local newspaper(s)
- 38. Local TV stations & cable accessMake them friends, keep them informed - Don’t just send releases… - Do invite for tours, events
- 39. Advice from the How-to Guides Anyone Can Write a Good ReleaseMake it newsworthy
- 40. Connect your announcement with current events.
- 41. What’s unique about the new database? Why did the library spend the budget on it?
- 42. How will the database impact library users?
- 43. Incite a response with your headline – be bold!
- 44. State “the Five W’s” up front: Who, What, When, Where and Why
- 45. Include testimonials from faculty, students, fans. Quotes let reporters write a story that sounds like an interview without having to pick up the phone. Advice from the How-to Guides Using Print Ads, Radio ScriptsPlan your approach…Get ad rates and editorial calendars from contacts on your media list
- 46. Use advertising & marketing students to help customize ads or radio scriptsPlace the ad or radio sponsorship…Ask about free PSAs or barteringTrack them… - Measure database usage immediately after ads run- Ask patrons, “Where did you hear about us?”
- 47. Questions? Thank you.
Editor's Notes
- #3: (talk through bullets)What do you need? MARKETINGRe: last bullet… we’ll touch on a range of library types today. I’ll use the terms ‘customer’… ‘user’… ‘patron’… and ‘student’, please know that they all refer to our marketing target.Technically, someone becomes a “customer” when they visit your library more than once. Until then, they’re a prospective customer or “prospect”
- #4: [talk through bullets]
- #5: [Talk thru bullet points]You could jump in at the “promote” stage of the process, but it won’t be as effective as when you start from the top. Marketing professionals find it extremely helpful to create a plan, and then work the plan.
- #6: [talk thru slide]—need to add a bit more on conclusions/how usedThe DNA Project was the passion of user experience librarian Brian Mathews, who recently moved from Georgia to UC/Santa Barbara [change slide]
- #7: [add a bit more color about Brian and his passion, any results]
- #8: If you’re a school librarian or media specialist, to reach students you need to be where they are: on social media. Anastasia Goodstein has some great insights on tweens and teens as customers. She is author of the Ypulse blog, which chronicles areas where marketing and popular teen culture overlap—that’s a very specialized area and Forbes magazine named it “Best of the Web”. She wrote a great article last year for School Library Journal, and was keynote speaker for the Michigan Library Association.
- #10: http://www.libraryjournal.com/flashVideo/element_id/2140319089/taxid/33552.html
- #13: Use techniques such as publicity (news releases to local community or campus media—low cost, labor only. Have others promote an event or service for youadvertising (in vehicles most targeted to your community), but always with a “call to action” promoting something specific for readers to do to come to the library or your websiteevents (get them inside with something fun)
- #14: At holiday and tax-prep time, people are rightly budget conscious… but they still can be convinced to join or renew their Friends of the Library membership.The Farmington (Michigan) Community Library sends a simple letter with a direct appeal for membership, highlighting the ways the library helps people--especially during a tight economy. They normally just include a reply envelope that also lists Friends benefits.Recently, someone donated a number of autographed books, and the Library used them in a raffle to encourage response within a two-week period. Both the renewal mailing and the new-member solicitation saw several hundred immediate replies, and with these two mailings the Library increased Friends membership from 900 to 1400 members (even with an increase in membership dues).
- #16: Once you have your broad objectives identified, it’s time to turn them into a marketing plan.
- #18: cite the source of the ROI calculator. It originally comes from Chelmsford Public Library in Massachusetts. Brian Herzog developed it and then the Maine State Library reformatted it and cleaned it up in 2006.
- #21: Describe contents of job search kitAlso mention example from Sioux City Library – Letter Promoting Job Search Resources. Bring letter to the library and they waive all fines.
- #23: http://www.spinebreakers.co.uk/Pages/Home.aspxEnlist teens to manage your social media. Even if your library already has its own Web site or page, have them set up a MySpace profile or create a Facebook page for your library. Students can also help you upload videos and photos, or add widgets and other Web applications. The U.K. division of Penguin Books has taken things one step further: it has recruited kids between the ages of 13 and 18 to run its new teen Web site, Spinebreakers.
- #24: Not just the templates in downloadable Word format, but also directions on how to get materials in hands of the media