Transcript Marketing Library Weblogs - people.vcu.edu

Marketing Library Weblogs
Blog University
September 18, 2005
Arlington, VA
Presented by: Jill Stover, Undergraduate Services
Librarian, Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries
Marketing Matters
“Marketing is about spreading ideas, and
spreading ideas is the single most important
output of our civilization.”
-Seth Godin, All Marketers Are Liars: The Power of Telling
Authentic Stories in a Low-Trust World, 2005
Marketing is a way of thinking that puts our
patrons and their needs at the forefront of
everything we do in a strategic, focused
way.
What I hope you’ll learn
1. What the marketing concept is about and
why it’s important
2. How the marketing concept directly
relates to blogs, with examples
3. Helpful resources & ideas
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Finding your target audience
Questions to ask:
1.
2.
3.
What are you best prepared
to offer?
What are your target
audience’s needs, wants,
and preferences?
Who is reading blogs?
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Tools that can help you
•Secondary information
–Census data, research studies
•Primary information
–Surveys, focus groups, existing statistics
•Other techniques
–Take a walk in your patrons’ shoes
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Marketing Mix
Product
Promotion
Target
Audience
Price
Place
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Product = Your blog
Content
•Match your strengths with your audience
•Tone, humor and subject matter
•Be unique!
Design
•Reinforces blog’s theme and library’s brand
image
•Shows you know your audience
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Product = Your blog
Design Examples
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Price
=
Give your patrons their time’s worth
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Place=Distribution
•RSS – You need a feed
•Place links at points of need
•Find place partners
Examples
•North Carolina State University Libraries – BIN
•Lansing (Illinois) Public Library – Toolbar
•Ann Arbor District Library – Catalog blogs
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Promotion
•Strategy depends on your target audience
•Utilize existing services
•Include your audience
•Educate your audience
•Consider context
•Blend with other library promotions
Example: VCU Libraries Black History Month Blog
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VCU Libraries:
Black History Month Blog
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Thank you!
Keep in touch!
•Jill Stover | [email protected] | VCU Cabell Library
•Library Marketing – Thinking Outside the Book
–http://librarymarketing.blogspot.com
•Brief Bibliography:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~jsstover/blogu/blogubib.html
•Presentation URL:
http://www.people.vcu.edu/~jsstover/blogu/marketinglibraryweblogs.ppt
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