Everything is Marketing & Grassroots Advocacy

Amy GustavsonReference, Instruction, & Emerging Technologies Librarian

Central Carolina Community College

NCCCLA District 4 MeetingJuly 24, 2014

Outcomes• As a result of this presentation, attendees will be able to:• Apply Marketing Theories & Techniques• Create new Promotional Objects • Develop a Grassroots Advocacy Campaign @ Your Library

Part I: Marketing is Everything!

Marketing happens everywhere.

We market through:

Personal Interactions the Library Website Signage Public Relations Plan

What’s Marketing?Marketing is the cycle of moving goods from producers to consumers.

#1 - Determine

What Patrons

Want

#2 - Delive

r it!

#3 - Evaluate

Customer Satisfactio

n

#4 - Update Process!

Dempsey, Kathy. The Accidental Library Marketer. Medford, N.J.: Information Today, 2009.

Marketing TermsType Definition Example

Public Relations

- Planned, long term communication program via multiple media sources

- See below

Publicity - Sending messages via official channels to share information

- Newsletters- Press Releases

Promotion - Growing a service or product- Encouraging people to use a

service or product by telling them how it will benefit them

- Facebook- E-mail Campaigns- Personal Interactions

Advertising - Paid media space in newspapers, radio, etc.

- Paid print & media Ads

Branding - The process of identifying a company and its logo with the product

- Library Brand/Logo

Dempsey, Kathy. The Accidental Library Marketer. Medford, N.J.: Information Today, 2009.

CCCC Library’s Public Relations Plan

Each Semester:Library Newsletter Campus NewsletterEmails

Monthly:Spotlight on SuccessBulletin BoardDisplays

Weekly:DisplaysInteractive ProgramsFacebook

Ongoing: SignageWebpage UpdatesAdvocacy

Newsletter

Spotlight on SuccessMonthly spotlight on all academic programs & student services.

• Monthly Themes • Example: Save Time. Save Money. Use the Library!

• Bulletin Boards Highlighting:• Librarians• Instructors• Resources• LibGuides

• Promotional Materials• Student Displays • Events

Interactive Programs

Share your People!

Share other People!

Make it Stick.

What Sticks?

1. Simplicity

2. Unexpectedness

3. Concreteness

4. Credibility

5. Emotions

6. StoriesS.U.C.C.E.S.(s)

Simple

You’ve got to pack a lot of meaning into a concise message.

1. Find the core2. Don’t bury the lead3. Use the inverted pyramid

UnexpectedGet people to pay & keep their attention on your message.

1. Identify the central message 2. Figure out what is unusual about that message 3. Break your audience’s guessing machine 4. Share the rebuilt message

ConcreteConcrete ideas are easy to remember.

Curse of Knowledge = Enemy of being Concrete

The main difference between an expert and novice is that the expert is able to see things abstractly.

CredibleGet people to believe your idea!

• Details• Statistics

EmotionalEmotion = Caring = Action

• Power of Associations• Self-Interest: You

StoriesStories encourage an internal reenactment on the part of the

listener which burns the idea into their mind.

Ideas are Everywhere!

Borrowing Sign Ideas

Borrowing Display Ideas

Find IdeasLibrary Marketing and Outreach (Group)

Part II: Grassroots Advocacy

What’s Library Advocacy?“Advocacy can be a way to counter the view of the library as a nonessential service to the college. Advocacy is more than public relations… Instead, advocacy is an ongoing process that involves professionalism across the organization from the dean or director to the work-study student at the front desk.”

Crumpton, Michael A., and Nora J. Bird. Handbook for Community College Librarians. Santa Barbara, CA.: Libraries Unlimited, 2013.

CCCC Advocacy• SWOT Weaknesses & Threats:• Weak faculty relations• President feels that the library is not necessary• Fewer library users• Lack of buy-in for the library on-campus

CCCC Advocacy Goal• Change the perception of the library from warehouse of

books to a dynamic resource that supports our 21st century learners and instructors.

How can I be an Advocate?• Planned Outreach & Advocacy• Sharing the Library’s Story• Elevator Speeches for students, faculty, staff, & administration• Talking Points on common misperceptions • Remember: Audience Interests + Library Interests = Happiness

• Get out of the Library

Always be Prepared. You never know who you’re going to meet!

Step 1: Prep Questions1. List misperceptions about the library.2. List 3 talking points for each group:

1. Administrators2. Faculty3. Staff4. Students

3. Bonus: What’s happening at the library?

Step 2: Planning• Identify your Target Audiences• Develop 3 SMART Goals• Finalize talking points

Step 3: Sharing your Elevator Speeches!

Step 4: Meet SMART Goals

The Future?

Marketing & Advocacy Resources

Thank you for coming!

Amy Gustavson, Reference, Instruction,

& Emerging Technologies Librarian