Developing a Library Marketing Plan, Part 2

1. Developing a LibraryMarketing Plan, Part 2 • Implementing the Plan • April 10, 2008 Mark E. Ibach Marketing & PR Coordinator South Central Library System

2. The Plan is Key • The most important aspect of the marketing plan isthat it’s a plan. It’s not a step-by-step instruction book. • Don’t focus on individual elements, but rather on your goal. • Take advantage of every opportunity to emphasize the benefits your library provides to patrons.

3. Audience Participation • How many of you have used a marketing plan in the past? • Was it effective? • Why? • What didn’t work? • If you haven’t done a marketing plan, why not? • Why are you interested in the idea of a marketing plan

4. Core messages • Identify benefits you believe are desirable. • Promote these benefits throughout the year. • Message repetition is vital. • Emphasize library’s value to the community. • Clearly communicate your mission and vision statements.

5. Using personal anecdotesand statistics • Patrons stories are powerful tools. Use them often. • Instill in staff the importance of collecting these stories. • Be diligent about collecting negative comments so they can be addressed in meaningful ways. • Compile and use statistics to help tell your story with charts and graphs.

6. Know your marketing vehicles • To be successful, you should: • Explore newspaper archives to see what types of articles and photos they run, and where. • Talk to the newspaper, radio and TV reporters to learn what kinds of stories they may be interested in. They may have a particular interest in a given year that you can tie into. • Your message must be frequent, and connect with patrons in personal and meaningful ways.

7. Evaluation is critical • A priority of the planning process is to measure your effectiveness so you can build on successes in subsequent years. • You can use a formal or informal survey method, but collecting feedback is important. • You want to measure whether your efforts are having the desired effect.

8. Specific & General • Measure effectiveness of both specific and general efforts • Specific: timeline for publicizing a series of genealogy workshops and related resources. • General: Your plan to increase awareness of the important role the library plays in the community, and the benefits it provides to various audiences.

9. No Right or Wrong • Remember that there are no right or wrong elements to a marketing plan! • Some are more effective than others, but the important thing is following a process to help identify how you will use limited resources. • Be prepared to make a multi-year commitment to the marketing plan. You efforts will evolve over time, so give them a chance to develop.

10. Specific examples of marketing ideas • Remember that why you are doing things is actually more important than what you’re doing. • The list I’m sharing is available online at: • www.scls.info/pr/presentations/nwls/

11. Commit to your plan • To be effective, you must make a commitment to follow through with your plan. • You can’t just randomly eliminate aspects of the plan and expect to achieve your overall goals. • Your plan provides a process for making sound decisions that keep you on track.

12. Purpose is critical • Purpose should drive everything you do in relation to your marketing plan. • Acting randomly outside of your plan can be a significant waste of resources.

13. Conclusion • Your ultimate goal should be to build support for your library and expand your patron base. • Be flexible. Deviating from the plan is not failure.

14. Questions? • www.scls.info/pr/presentations/nwls/ • Mark E. Ibach • (608) 246-5612 or mibach@scls.lib.wi.us