Marketing Your Library

On average library usage is decreasing on average across the country, book borrowing is also decreasing. This means that extra efforts need to be made to effectively market libraries and get users through the door.

How do we market our community library?(well, more than a community library...)

Some key considerations to marketting a community library are:

Targeting - who?
Promoting - how?
Fostering Loyalty

Targeting:

Carry out community consultation to find out what is wanted and needed locally, (inside and outside the normal realm of local library services) eg toy library/ talks/ internet based courses, hire of space…
And by whom?... 
 
Marketing is much more effective if it is geared to a particular target audience, rather than using it for general promotional purposes. So, establish the target group you need to reach and put together some information/service/event likely to grab their interest.

Promoting:

• Promote in a way that will reach people:ie older people may need to be leafleted, or to be reached via posters in shops
• consider making a film
• while younger people can be reached through email or social media networks such as Facebook.
• Remember, email and social media is FREE
• Also, consider the local media as a FREE target. (Local papers love news stories, and pictures!)
   

Fostering Loyalty:

• Find ways to encourage the public to consider the library as more than simply a library. Work on presenting it as a scarce community resource and one that needs to be nurtured and supported in order to help the community generally.
• Start a membership or ‘Friends’ programme as a way of building clear links with users. Get as many users as possible to sign up to an email list so you can improve the reach of your communications
• Consider community shares, ongoing donations?
   

Consider allying yourself with another highly respected local cause – eg toddler group/school. (ie Get more by reaching the followers of other organisations and benefiting from their reputation.)

Begin an older person’s coffee morning and take a wider interest in other aspects of the community eg health and wellbeing as a way of ‘adding value’

Use commercial tricks: loyalty cards, 2 for 1 offer, loss leaders

Network, join networks!