FOR LIBRARIANS, EDUCATORS & HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS
How To Market Your Library Effectively
Marketing is about creating a demand for your service. It is a never-ending process.
Libraries are facing increased competition from other information providers. At the same time, customers' expectations are growing. Your customers want it and they want it now, whatever 'it' may be. How can your library respond to the twin challenges of technology and expectations?
A marketing action plan is the central means by which your library can develop and co-ordinate marketing efforts. With a marketing plan a library can potentially discover new and creative ways to enhance user services.
Aims of workshop
The workshop aims to raise issues about marketing libraries, how to promote the library as well as providing the information necessary for writing a simple marketing action plan. This workshop can be geared to the needs of academic, national, public or schools libraries.
Objectives
At the conclusion of the seminar, participants should be able to:
- Outline appropriate promotional activities for libraries
- Evaluate the requirement for a written marketing plan
- Evaluate the library's capabilities, strengths, and weaknesses
- Demonstrate an understanding of how to structure a marketing plan
- Evaluate how to increase 'sales', capture new markets and get repeat business through effective marketing planning.
Workshop programme
Participants may be introduced to a range of subjects drawing on:
- What is library marketing and why do libraries need to market?
- 'We're not in Kansas anymore' - information literacy in the age of Facebook
- Just who is using the library and who isn't?
- Segmenting user groups
- What your customers really, really want
- Who are the library's competitors?
- Promoting the library
- Which media, which audience, which message: how to increase awareness of the library's services
- Use of displays, signage, contests, brochures and other promotional materials
- What role do social media and websites play?
- Mounting large-scale (and small-scale) special events and programmes.
- Is a formal marketing plan needed?
- Defining marketing objectives and strategies including communication, advertising, sales and competitors
- Implementing the plan
