PROACTIVE MARKETING FOR THE FOUNDATION LIBRARIANSophia Guevara, MLIS

LEARNING OBJECTIVES

Understand what proactive marketing means and how it can benefit both you, your department and the organization as a whole.

Understanding your perception and the value expectations of your current and future clients.

Becoming aware of the difference between organizational and personal marketing.

Learn about ideas and examples in which you can implement your own marketing plans.

Learn about the tools that can help you on your journey.

PROACTIVE MARKETING: WHAT AND WHY?

What is proactive marketing? It means creating the opportunities to get your

message out there. Don’t sit back and wait for the opportunities to come to you!

Why do it? For your colleagues to understand your full

professional value, you have to paint the picture for them. It is much easier for leadership to cut funding to a

faceless entity. The more opportunities you create to develop a valuable relationship with your colleagues, the less likely you’ll wish you did when your position is eliminated.

Help them understand that the library is not just about books and journals! Be aware of value expectations.

PERCEPTION AND EXPECTATIONS OF VALUE

EXPECTATIONS: LIBRARIAN AND THE CLIENT

While many librarians think both their value and that of their libraries/services are self-evident, this is not always the case.

Librarians have to constantly demonstrate value to their colleagues and ensure that their goals align with that of the organization.

Does your perception of the value you and your library deliver to the organization match that of your clients?

CLIENT EXPECTATIONS IN THE AGE OF GOOGLE

In the age of Google, how do you prove your worth? Do your colleagues understand that not

everything they need is available on the first two pages of Google results?

Do they understand the value of authoritative information? Educating your colleagues on topics such as this will help them see that not everything that is available for free on the Internet is of value. How much time have you dedicated to patron

education about authoritative information? How actively have you marketed your library’s

information resources and services?

ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL MARKETING: UNDERSTANDING THE CONCEPT

TWO-FOLD MARKETING APPROACH: ORGANIZATIONAL AND PERSONAL

Organizational Marketing Developing your brand within the organization

Why are you valuable? Why should the library and the staff be kept around?

How are you helping your colleagues and the organization move forward towards the goals that have been set?

Be visible!

Personal Marketing Developing your personal professional brand

Publishing Presenting Networking Volunteering to serve on professional committees/boards Online presence

ORGANIZATIONAL MARKETING

Developing a brand within the organization. Creating opportunities to market your library

and its services. Ask yourself how you and the library provide

value. Compare this to how your clients view your value and that of the library.

Demonstrate to your colleagues your energy and dedication to both them and the organization.

ORGANIZATIONAL MARKETING: DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A PLAN

ORGANIZATIONAL MARKETING: DEVELOPING A PLAN

Who are your clients? Who are your best clients?

Why are they your best clients? What is it about your interactions with this group that keeps them coming back for more?

Who do you need to bring into the fold? Why are they not utilizing you as often as they could

(or should)? Identify differences in the interactions you have with

this group compared to your best clients. How can you create more opportunities to connect and

show value to this group?

ORGANIZATIONAL MARKETING: IMPLEMENTATION EXAMPLES Connect with leadership on the needs of their

teams. Connect with teams

Develop a friendly atmosphere within the library

Have a draw Blog Mobile display Create table tents (Example: IKEA Finlir

picture frames) Hold classes Contests Survey (anonymous)

TAKING THE PULSE OF THE ORGANIZATION: SURVEYS Why do surveys? What is their value?

Provides a way to learn more about your clients needs and expectations

Why make surveys anonymous Provide the opportunity for participants to be fully

expressive and offer constructive criticism. Surveys help you catch little problems before they grow into bigger ones.

The marketing aspect Email creation

Remind them that you want to provide not just good but excellent service and that their participation in the survey will help you do just that.

Establishing value Organizational – A tool to learn about the organization’s

current needs Participant – A tool to give your clients a voice

SURVEY IMPLEMENTATION

How to implement Survey software – Surveymonkey (free version) Select a small sample of people you have served in

the last month – expect no more than 50% to respond. How to improve the response rate: Implement a giveaway

for participants Example questions to ask:

How would you rate the quality of service you received? How satisfied are you with the turnaround time for your

request? In your opinion, how do the library staff and the library

provide value to you and this organization? In addition to the current information services, what would

you like to see added? How would their addition help you successfully achieve your work goals?

PERSONAL MARKETING: DEVELOPING AND IMPLEMENTING A PLAN TO CREATE YOUR PERSONAL BRAND

PERSONAL MARKETING: WHY AND HOW?

Why? Improve your marketability. Always remember

that you are not your organization! How?

Publishing Presenting Serving on committees and boards Networking

Both online and in-person Developing an online presence

ONLINE PRESENCE: SUGGESTED SITES LinkedIn Facebook Twitter Blog

Participate in professional blogs (Example: SLA IT Division blog)

Create your own blog to establish your niche (Example – Jill Hurst-Wahl’s blog)

Google Profile (Example) Slideshare.net (Example) Claiming profiles on professional directories:

Example: ZoomInfo

CONCEPT REVIEW AND CONCLUSION

REVIEW

Always be proactive in marketing value within the organization. Never assume that your value is self-evident. Check your assumptions about the value that

you provide with the expectations of your current and future clients. Strive to exceed expectations!

Remember to check your organization’s pulse.

Make yourself visible, both inside and outside the organization.

CONCLUSION

Have a growth mindset! When you have an idea, think about the

possibilities instead of automatically thinking it just won’t work.

Be ok with trying something new. If it works, great! If not, you have an opportunity to learn something that you didn’t know before.

Questions?