Library Marketing Basics

Mark Aaron Polger is the First Year Outreach Librarian at the College of Staten Island, City University of New York (CUNY) and an Information Literacy instructor at ASA College. He has written and presented internationally on topics such as library marketing strategies, faculty outreach, information literacy campaigns, and library signage. He has been working as a professional librarian for the last 20 years. Originally from Montreal (Canada), Polger moved to New York City in 2008.

• Chapter 1. What Marketing Really IsIdentifying the different branches of marketing Learning marketing-related terms used throughout the bookApplying the 4Ps of marketingIllustrating the 5 elements of the promotional mixUnderstanding the cycle of true marketingDiscovering why library employees confuse marketing terminologyChapter 2. Segmentation: Identifying Your Target Market Overview of market segmentation, targeting, and positioningDifferent ways of segmenting marketsDifferences between target market and target audiencePositioning statements, product differentiation, and perceptual mapsLibrary-specific differentiation techniquesChapter 3. Defining Market ResearchDistinguishing market research from marketing researchMarket Research StepsAssessing your current situationConducting a SWOT analysisConducting a community needs assessmentIdentifying your target marketDesigning your research approachUsing primary and second research methodsEvaluating data and making informed decisionsChapter 4. Creating Your Library Marketing Plan Why library marketing plans are usefulSelecting the key members who will develop the planKey elements of a library marketing plan Sample library marketing plansChapter 5. Campaigns: Developing Activities, Events, and Materials to Promote Your LibraryDefining a CampaignTypes of CampaignsComponents of a CampaignExamples of campaigns from libraries and the corporate sectorChapter 6.Creating Your Own Library Brand Defining “brand” and “branding”Identifying the key elements of a library brand Conducting a brand audit to learn your library’s storyCreating your library’s unique brandCreating your own personal brandChapter 7. Identifying Library Spaces as Marketing Opportunities Highlighting the library as the “third place”Examining merchandising techniques for the libraryIntroducing user experience (UX) design, as it applies to library spaceIdentifying library touchpoints Illustrating best practices for signageChapter 8.Using the Web to Market the LibraryUsing your library web site as a marketing toolUnderstanding mobile and responsive web sitesUnderstanding User Experience Design, as it relates to the webExamining web site usability testing methodsExploring search engine optimization (SEO) and Google analyticsChapter 9. Social Media MarketingIntroduction to social mediaExplanations of the major social networking sites and how to use themPosting strategicallyAutomating social media postingSocial media policy guidelines and sample policiesSocial media advertisementsSocial media analyticsChapter 10. Advocacy: An Integral Component of Marketing Your LibraryAnyone can be an advocateFriends of the Library and Library FoundationsTraining Staff as AdvocatesWord-of-Mouth Marketing (WOMM)Advocacy CampaignsSpeaking with the MediaSpeaking to Legislators

Polger (College of Staten Island, CUNY) provides a comprehensive overview of library marketing. He walks librarians through the process of identifying a target audience, conducting market research, creating a marketing plan, and undertaking a whole suite of activities to carry out that plan. Examples pulled from successful library marketing practices illustrate how Polger’s advice looks when applied to real-life situations. Polger follows his own advice regarding information organization: he divides chapters into short sections with clear headings, a format that makes navigating the information on a specific task or campaign easy. The effort to include all library types. . . draws attention to the transferability of approaches across academic, public, and special-library marketing. This practical book is also a reminder that anything from a retweet to library furniture plays a role in marketing the library. This volume will be valuable for professionals taking on the task of marketing for the first time and for students in library and information science marketing courses. Summing Up: Recommended. Graduate students, faculty, and professionals.