Page Turning

Tips for Marketing

Your Library

7

“Public perception of what libraries actually do

is about 15 years behind the reality in a lot of cases.” -Ned Potter

Innovative marketing is one way for libraries

to change this perception, but this requires

time, resources, and know-how.

We’re here to help with this part!

DOWNLOAD NOW

For now, we’ll assume your

library is all set up on social

media (Facebook, Twitter,

Instagram, etc.) If not, our free

social media guide for libraries

covers all the basics and best

practices you need to get

started.

Think local. 1.

Libraries have a head start on most marketers—you know exactly who your target audience is: your community!

Image by Ian Sane on Flickr.com

Target your audience by thinking local: partner with

local businesses, public services, and media outlets.

During ALA’s Library Card Sign Up Month in September, Escondido Public Library partnered with local restaurants

to provide gift cards and/or discounts to anyone with an EPL library card.

The library promoted the offer through the month by visiting many of the

restaurants and sharing a photo on their Instagram. They also tagged all of

the participating locations so followers could discover them and the local

businesses could share and spread the word!

An excellent use

of Instagram’s

tagging feature!

Be sure to use location tagging features so patrons can find your library and public events!

Nashville Public Library spread the word about their new “Be Well at NPL” program via an article in The Tennessean, a local USA Today affiliate in the Nashville area with a social media following of more than 250,000 locals. The article features a professionally produced video created by The Tennessean videographers—a resource many libraries probably don’t have on staff. Of course, NPL went on to leverage the article on all of their own social media platforms.

Forming relationships with other public services is key! When

Long Beach Public Library celebrated the launch of their

new branch, the local fire department volunteered to serve

hot dogs at the event.

Promote and assist with their events and they will reciprocate.

Leave the library. 2.

Even if your goal is to get more community members coming to the library, sometimes it helps to go to them first.

Image by Matthew Hurst on Flickr.com

Exhibit at local businesses and events, start a pop-up library, host

events outside the library, or help tackle community issues.

Mentor Public Library in Ohio sets up a pop-up library

in busy places throughout the

community, including

schools, parks, concerts, and

the local mall.

Community members can

meet a librarian, discuss

library services, and take

home a book to keep!

They also take suggestions

for where to host their next

pop-up library, a great way to

get patrons involved!

The Seattle Public Library advertises all of their events on Facebook, including events like

this film screening that take place out in town!

Cheshire Library exhibited at the Cheshire Fall Festival and

brought more than just books and pamphlets—they brought dog cookies for lucky pups like

this one!

Be creative and find ways to get people to stop for a minute and

chat with you about library services.

Market the librarians,

not just the library. 3.

Libraries are a service,

not a product. Let your community see the face

of that service.

Libraries often conjure images of dusty

old books and shushing sounds. Show your personality

and remind community members how

fun the modern library can be.

Cyrenius H. Booth Library shared this

funny moment when two librarians

accidentally showed up to work in

matching outfits.

Some libraries let patrons book a

computer or a room—Hooksett Public

Library lets patrons book a librarian!

Dakota County Library librarians demonstrated many of the tools in their new makerspace with their local Fox News station

(remember, partner with local media).

The librarians got in front of the camera to answer interview questions and use some of the new machines, ranging from a 3D printer

to a sewing machine.

Long Beach Public Library staff shared this behind-the-scenes

look as they brainstormed their costumes and decorations for the upcoming Long Beach Comic Con.

Leverage user-generated content. 4.

Your patrons are your biggest advocates and there’s no

better marketing than good word of mouth. Let them do the talking for you with user-generated content.

Image by Republic of Korea on Flickr

This Jacksonville mom used

the Main Branch of the

Jacksonville Public Library

as the background for a

major landmark: her

pregnancy photos!

JPL came across the photos

on social media and had to

get the scoop. They turned

baby Adeline’s story into a

beautiful blog post about

what the library means to

different people.

We decided early on that we

would encourage reading and a thirst for knowledge with our daughter – so the library is kind

of like our church,” remarked Adeline’s father, David

Petlansky. “The downtown library is easily at the top our

list of things that make us proud to live in Jacksonville. ”

“

When a father shared a

picture of his kids struggling

to pick just one book,

Kitchener Library used it as an

opportunity to remind their

patrons they don’t have to

make any tough decisions.

Let your patrons tell

your community

how awesome you

are (and share what

they have to say!)

Piggyback on others’ content. 5.

While you’re on the lookout for user-

generated content from your patrons,

you should also look for (or ask for!)

content from your services and piggyback on their resources.

Image by Matt Guffey on Flickr.com

Euless Library offers music, movies, eBooks,

and more on hoopla—but they don’t need to create new marketing materials to advertise this digital

service.

Hoopla is a big company that makes their own marketing materials—perfect for subscribing libraries to leverage!

Follow your services, authors, etc. on social media and share their marketing materials.

Don’t be afraid to ask

for promotional materials, either!

We received so many requests from librarians that we created a

Library Marketing Kit for libraries that subscribe to Transparent

Language Online, complete with digital resources, suggested social

media posts, and printables!

Kitchener Library shared one of our designs with their followers to promote Transparent Language

Online to the wanderlusters in their Ontario community.

Make use of free tools

(and freelancers). 6.

Sometimes, you’ll want to create your own content. You don’t

need a design degree or a big budget to make it happen! Make

the most of free tools and freelancers.

There are dozens of free and affordable

online design tools,our favorite of which is

Canva, which is free for libraries!

This design service provides perfectly-sized

templates for various platforms, sample

designs for you to use or emulate, and

thousands of shapes, images, clipart, and

backgrounds to choose from.

You can see samples of what other libraries

have created using Canva on this design

sharing site.

Image created by Kasia Piasecka of the Falmouth Public Library Image created by Lindsay Davis of the Los Banos Campus Library at Merced College

Need free (and license-free) images to use in your designs? Look no further

than these 22 sites with stunning free stock images*. We love Gratisography

for its whimsical images and Pexels for its easy search feature.

We get to use the above image for free, no need to attribute anyone!

*We always recommend checking image licenses before use, as terms may change!

If you’re lacking in time or inspiration or if

you need something a little more sophisticated, you can hire a pro

without breaking the bank!

On freelancer sites like Fiverr or Upwork,

you can find photographers,

videographers, graphic designers, writers,

and beyond.

Make it eventful. 7.

Get involved in community issues

and social media events—even if it

seemingly has little to do with

libraries—and host some of

your own!

Perhaps the biggest event

of 2016 was the release of

Pokemon Go. Libraries

like Wallingford Public

Library jumped on the

hype and started Poke-

programming.

Nothing compels children

without library cards (and

their chaperoning

parents) to visit the library

than a PokeStop. Who

knows what else they’ll

discover once they walk

through the door.

September 15th kicks off

Hispanic Heritage Month, a

great time for libraries to

encourage diversity and

feature Hispanic authors, like

Lisle Library District did with

their display of

recommended reads.

Cyrenius H. Booth Library

hosts an ongoing event at

their library—a community

puzzle! It’s the little things like

this that make someone

excited to swing by the library

for a book instead of just

checking out an eBook.

When people think libraries, they probably don’t think environmental activism.

But Mentor Public Library is getting involved in their community’s quest to save

the Monarch butterfly by serving as a milkweed pod collection site! This

generosity is likely to win over the project’s participant (and draw people to the

library for drop-offs.)

Need more ideas? The American Library Association has

tons of recommendations for events that you can host in

the library, from scavenger hunts to bookmark contests.

Are you ready to start reaching out to your

community to market your libraries services?

If not, reach out to us first with questions about

your library marketing strategies!

TLsocial@transparent.com

Looking for other ways to reach your diverse community? How about

learning materials in 100+ languages (including English) available on

PCs, tablets, or smartphones?

Learn more about Transparent Language Online for Libraries.