To quote the blurb, the book is: "A toolkit of ideas to inspire action. As libraries continue to fight for their survival amid growing expectations, competition from online sources and wavering public perceptions, effective marketing is increasingly becoming a critical tool to ensure the continued support of users, stakeholders and society as a whole. This unique practical guide offers expert coverage of every element of library marketing and branding for all sectors including archives and academic, public and special libraries, providing innovative and easy-to-implement techniques and ideas.
The book is packed with case studies highlighting best practice and offering expert advice from thought-leaders including David Lee King and Alison Circle (US), Terry Kendrick and Rosemary Stamp (UK), Alison Wallbutton (New Zealand) and Rebecca Jones (Canada), plus institutions at the cutting-edge of library marketing including the British Library, New York Public Library, the National Archive, Cambridge University, JISC, the National Library of Singapore and the State Library of New South Wales.
This is essential reading for anyone involved in promoting their library or information service, whether at an academic, public or special library or in archives or records management. It’s also a useful guide for LIS students internationally who need to understand the practice of library marketing."
This page gives a breakdown of the contents, information about each chapter and, at the bottom, details of how to order a copy.
Contents
Introduction
About marketing; About this book
Seven key concepts for marketing libraries
The seven concepts; Anchoring these ideas in marketing theory
Strategic marketing
The marketing cycle; Decide on your goals; Market research; Segmentation; Set objectives; Promotional activities; Measurement; Evaluation; Modification; Developing a marketing plan
The library brand
Quick definitions; What is library branding?; Visual identity; Merchandise; Slogans; Branding and marketing a converged library and IT service
Marketing and the library building
Library design; Signs and displays; Marketing the library as space
An introduction to online marketing
The library website; Search Engine Optimization (SEO); Mobile websites; E-mail
Marketing with social media
Do your patrons use social media?; General principles of marketing with social media; Twitter; Facebook;
Blogs and blogging; Tumblr; Google+; Conclusion
Marketing with new technologies
Quick definitions; Video marketing; Image sharing; QR codes; Geolocational apps; web 2.0 catalogues and live chat; Podcasts; Wikis; Slide sharing; Viral marketing; Technology and teenagers
Marketing and people
Collaborating with people; Word of Mouth Marketing; Marketing and the media; Reaching people; Marketing to multicultural communities; marketing to remote users;
Internal marketing
The importance of internal marketing; Marketing to internal stakeholders: getting your message across to the people who matter; Marketing with internal stakeholders: co-operative promotion
Advocacy as marketing
National campaigns and local marketing; Promoting your library in response to criticism of libraries in general; Advocacy, promotion, and positive messages; The library media narrative; Trojan horse advocacy
Marketing special collections and archives
Introduction; Access, access, access: marketing digital collections; Genealogy; Tailoring your marketing to fit the cultural landscape; Mounting and promoting a more traditional exhibition; Learning from museums; Crowdsourcing; Marketing audiovisual materials;
A final word on marketing libraries
Appendix: Glossary of Web 2.0 platforms and tools
Chapter details
Introduction
The Introduction contains a plea for libraries to market themselves and an examination of why this is important, and details of the book and the case studies. You can download the whole chapter for free, via CILIP's website (PDF).
1: Seven key concepts for marketing libraries
This chapter introduces some important ideas which underpin the techniques and tools described in the rest of the book: in particular, the need to market benefits rather than features.
2: Strategic marketing
Marketing is more successful when it happens as part of a constantly renewing cycle. The aim of this chapter is to demystify the process of strategic marketing, simplifying it into seven key stages with advice on how to implement each one. Particular emphasis is put on dividing your audience and potential audience into segments, and marketing different messages to each group.
3: The library brand
A library’s brand is the sum total of everyone else’s perception of it – we can’t control this, but we can attempt to influence it. The chapter looks at branding your library with a high quality visual identity, designing promotional materials, and even library merchandise.
4: Marketing and the library building
Closely related to the previous chapter, this section looks at the design, layout and decor of the library and how this can influence the way it is used. There is also some insightful information on what tangible benefits there are to redesigning and refurbishing library premises.
5: An introduction to marketing online
This chapter covers the fundamentals of online marketing: the library website (including Search Engine Optimization), its mobile version, library apps, and successfully marketing with e-mail.
6: Marketing with social media
The development of social media is arguably the most important thing to happen to marketing this century, and more and more libraries are making use of various platforms to talk directly to their audience. Your users and potential users are using tools like Facebook and Twitter, so this chapter gives step by step instructions on setting up library presences on these platforms, and then on taking them to the next level. It also covers blogs and Google +.
7: Marketing with new technologies
There are plenty of new technologies which don’t come under the umbrella of social media, but which still make for exciting marketing possibilities. This chapter contains advice on marketing with video, using image-sharing sites, deploying QR codes and the new wave of location-aware mobile applications such as Foursquare.
8: Marketing and people
This section covers collaborating with people and reaching people, including Word of Mouth Marketing, one of the single most important tools in the library toolkit. Other topics covered include reaching remote users, marketing to multicultural communities, elevator pitches, and cross-promotion.
9: Internal marketing
Internal stakeholders often hold the purse-strings to our libraries, so marketing successfully to them is absolutely essential. The first part of this chapter covers language, telling stories, using statistics, marketing upwards and communicating your message well. The second part covers marketing with internal stakeholders, such as a parent company within whose branding guidelines you must promote the library.
10: Advocacy as marketing
We are all library advocates now as the industry and profession face difficult times. This chapter looks at how to utilize library advocacy in general to market your library in particular, and also covers the echo chamber problem and ‘Trojan Horse advocacy’.
11: Marketing special collections and archives
Many of the techniques and strategies described in the previous chapters apply equally to marketing special collections and archives, but these areas come with specific challenges of their own. Covered here are marketing digital collections, promoting ancient materials with modern methods, mounting displays and exhibitions, tapping into cultural events at a national level and harnessing the power of crowds to develop and market your collections. Some of these ideas and techniques are applicable across the board, so the chapter isn’t designed to be read only by those working in special collections and archives.
Appendix: Glossary of Web 2.0 platforms and tools
A glossary explaining the terms used and platforms described in Chapter 6, ‘Marketing with social media’, in particular.
Ordering a copy for you or your library
- The book can be pre-ordered direct from Facet, via their website.
- You can pre-order on the phone at Bookpoint by calling +44 (0)1235 827702
- You can pre-order by emailing them on facet@bookpoint.co.uk
- ...or even faxing on +44 (0)1235 827703
- If you're outside the UK, you can click here to buy in the US, via Amazon.com
- ...or if you're in Canada you can click here to buy via Amazon.ca
- And finally click here to order the Toolkit via Amazon.co.uk
if you're in the UK and would rather get the book from Amazon than direct from Facet
