Bite-Sized Marketing

Bite Sized Marketing:
Realistic Solutions for the Overworked Librarian

Nancy Dowd, Director of Marketing for the New Jersey State Library was the speaker for this informative session. She asked the audience of librarians what "the biggest marketing problems were". Some answers were: Time, money/budget, resources, lack of time to plan, reaching non-users, cut backs, identifying marketing and target market needs.

Here are Nancy's key points in marketing for the library:

Find out what the patron's want!
Have to have "big picture marketing". Need to have conversations with the patrons. How can you attain this? Look for feedback. Reach people via twitter, or other social media channels.

On Cut Backs/Importance of the Library:
Have to "knock your mayors ideas about the library off the table". Libraries have to make sure the mayor and local officials know how important libraries are. Libraries have to convince the city they are "transforming lives". One way of doing this is to have patrons fill out cards as they leave a library program stating something like: "If you enjoyed the program please thank the people who funded us". It's also a good way for patrons to support the library. This information can be passed on to the mayor. Often "patrons don't know how to support the library". This is one good way they can help.

Branding
Branding basics: Logs, colors, fonts -- important to keep it cohesive.Important for all staff to follow the style guidelines when creating flyers, posters, etc. FYI: WPL logo color - Maroon, Logo- "window to the world logo in Black and Maroon, also a version in Black. Font family used in the copy of the WPL and Friends brochures is Gill Sans. WPL and Friends LogoType is Friz Quadrata.

Also the BRAND is how people see you. Every libray "has a different soul" according to Nancy Dowd. Does the staff know what that is? Needs to have a conversation about this among staff members so it's clear what staff is thinking and what the message is. One exercise we had was to pick three things your library is about. For example: preservation, life long learning, advancing knowledge.The web site should reflect the new direction the library is taking. Lets patrons become "insiders".

Library Image
The image people who do not frequent a library have of the library is often based on the last time they were in a library, this may have been decades ago. We have to help update and change their image of the library. How to do this? Every week there needs to be articles in the paper about events and what we do/offer. Promote "what we can do for you" the patron. Libraries: "we have more than books".

Other image/idea suggestions:
We offer solutions: Presentations, Workshops, on-line Templates, Data Resources, Expertise for college students - we make sense of info. Skills/self learners can learn at the library. How do we reach patrons and keep them informed? Take away bookmark/email info with programing info. What's going on in your community? Tie in with the library. Go to all businesses in town leave behind library coupons.How else do you reach the community? Examples: give library cards out at diff. locations. ?the train station. Vending machine for books and DVDs (they were advertising these at the exhibits. They are 18K. The vendor said libraries are buying them and are placing them at the community senior centers (!). Reaching teens - do this with social media (i.e. Twitter, Facebook, You Tube etc...) Also can reach teens through their parents. Offer a teen film festival, create a blog for teens with the condition that is is seen and approved by administration. Partnership with small businesses and the community. Find out what's missing in the community. Have a tourist info center at the library or at the chamber of commerce that includes the library.

Define what's missing in the community and deliver. Use effective communication outlets to reach the people and offer what they want. We are transforming lives! It's a whole new mind set.

Posted By Doreen B.