Sarah Booth, Marketing and Programming Coordinator for the Harris County Public Library System, has shared they they have just developed their own brand manual for their library system. In addition, they conducted 10 different staff workshops to introduce the manual and to explain why branding is so important to libraries! One of their main goals in this branding campaign was to strengthen their identity because so many people confuse them with the city library.
Susan wrote, "I was thrilled when the Houston Business Journal picked up our press release for the Brand Manual! We really need to be viewed as a type of business' think all libraries need to adapt good business practices such as branding, as well as be proactive in making libraries viable resources for the community."
She sent over a copy of the manual and they really did a fabulous job. The nearly 80 page manual includes all the elements needed to ensure consistent branding- including their mission statement and core values, official colors and typography, proper usage of the logo and samples of posters, flyers and stationary. Texas is lucky to have them!
Link: http://www.hcpl.net
Thursday, November 02, 2006
Are your releases linked?
How many of you are writing press releases and not posting them to your web? One of the first things I suggest at my workshops on writing press releases is to create a page with links to all your releases and put a link of your home page called, "Media", "Press", "Press Releases", "Media Room", "News"... Call it anything you want but get those releases available to the public and the press. You've taken the time to write the release, this follow is an important step.
Also, don't forget that New Jersey libraries can post their releases directly to our webpages. We have an RSS feed and link them from both the NJSL webpage and njlibraries.org.
To post go to: http://www.njstatelib.org/LDB/LibNetNews/
library marketing
Also, don't forget that New Jersey libraries can post their releases directly to our webpages. We have an RSS feed and link them from both the NJSL webpage and njlibraries.org.
To post go to: http://www.njstatelib.org/LDB/LibNetNews/
library marketing
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Two articles you can't afford not to read
Steve Abram posted these awhile ago and I forgot to link them to you. They are good and they are important. You must read them. NOW. :-)
"Let’s ask ourselves, in a clear-eyed, truthful way – what exactly are Google’s strengths and weaknesses? In the same way, what are ours? Our goal is to understand things well enough to differentiate ourselves from our competitors when necessary and to invest and build upon those differences. Copying success without differentiation is not a visionary strategy; it’s driving with your rear view mirror." Read the first article.
Done? Good now read article number 2
I can't help myself.. I have to give you an idea of what is there.
Here are 3 out of 10 things that do libraries do well....
5. Librarians are strong protagonists in the economy of questions. Google is a protagonist in the economy of advertising. We both work with information as a key tool. Librarians excel at improving the quality of the question before it is asked. Google tries to guess at the question and deliver a best guess answer. Often this works. Sometimes is doesn’t.
6. “How?” and “Why?” are the tough questions that librarians use in interviewing techniques to get at the root needs. No computer is nearly ready to inform the search equation with the knowledge derived from a well-done research interview. We need to promote and develop new respect for these skills. Give unto Google what is Google’s. Give unto librarians what is the librarian’s.
7. The human quality of sense-making is a very special skill. It is about understanding context and delivering what is right for that context. Libraries excel at understanding context. We are challenged by making this work in a virtual world. We need to find new ways to introduce sense and context back into the virtual world - specialized search, pathfinders, interactions through virtual reference and IM, etc.
Here are 3 out of 10 thing do libraries do poorly.
1. We are poor at marketing and promoting the library and librarians. We fail to build on a positive positioning in the minds of our users. We lack confidence, a strong enough message, and we don’t seek and sustain attention. I can’t think of another profit or not-for-profit entity that has consistently done such a poor job over so many years.
2. We need to develop some selling skills. Many library workers turn up their noses at selling. "Selling" is not a dirty word. Whether we like it or not, people pay, whether there’s a monetary transaction or not. They pay for their library visit with time, taxes, prestige, and their own success. We must recognize this and influence this process. If we need more money, donors, bigger budgets, or whatever – it never happens without asking for the sale.
6. In the school, college, and academic spaces, we are underperforming in our connection to our institutional efforts in e-Learning, distance education, and through such environments as Blackboard and others. We must make library services relevant at the lesson level and fully integrated into the pedagogy of education and continuous learning.
.
Got your interest? Read the entire article...
library marketing
"Let’s ask ourselves, in a clear-eyed, truthful way – what exactly are Google’s strengths and weaknesses? In the same way, what are ours? Our goal is to understand things well enough to differentiate ourselves from our competitors when necessary and to invest and build upon those differences. Copying success without differentiation is not a visionary strategy; it’s driving with your rear view mirror." Read the first article.
Done? Good now read article number 2
I can't help myself.. I have to give you an idea of what is there.
Here are 3 out of 10 things that do libraries do well....
5. Librarians are strong protagonists in the economy of questions. Google is a protagonist in the economy of advertising. We both work with information as a key tool. Librarians excel at improving the quality of the question before it is asked. Google tries to guess at the question and deliver a best guess answer. Often this works. Sometimes is doesn’t.
6. “How?” and “Why?” are the tough questions that librarians use in interviewing techniques to get at the root needs. No computer is nearly ready to inform the search equation with the knowledge derived from a well-done research interview. We need to promote and develop new respect for these skills. Give unto Google what is Google’s. Give unto librarians what is the librarian’s.
7. The human quality of sense-making is a very special skill. It is about understanding context and delivering what is right for that context. Libraries excel at understanding context. We are challenged by making this work in a virtual world. We need to find new ways to introduce sense and context back into the virtual world - specialized search, pathfinders, interactions through virtual reference and IM, etc.
Here are 3 out of 10 thing do libraries do poorly.
1. We are poor at marketing and promoting the library and librarians. We fail to build on a positive positioning in the minds of our users. We lack confidence, a strong enough message, and we don’t seek and sustain attention. I can’t think of another profit or not-for-profit entity that has consistently done such a poor job over so many years.
2. We need to develop some selling skills. Many library workers turn up their noses at selling. "Selling" is not a dirty word. Whether we like it or not, people pay, whether there’s a monetary transaction or not. They pay for their library visit with time, taxes, prestige, and their own success. We must recognize this and influence this process. If we need more money, donors, bigger budgets, or whatever – it never happens without asking for the sale.
6. In the school, college, and academic spaces, we are underperforming in our connection to our institutional efforts in e-Learning, distance education, and through such environments as Blackboard and others. We must make library services relevant at the lesson level and fully integrated into the pedagogy of education and continuous learning.
.
Got your interest? Read the entire article...
library marketing
Ideas about branding your library
I was reading Peter Bromberg's posting about Tom Asker on the Library Garden blog and followed the link to find an outstanding slideshow for anyone looking to market their library. The content is great, but look at the presentation as well. See how he uses different fonts to draw your attention? A few graphics yes, but the man plays with words so that you read them in the way that he wants you do. This is something you can use in your own PowerPoint presentations. Sometimes it really helps to play.
Here's some of my favorites things Toms says:
"The brain doesn't compute the answers to problems, it retrieves it from memory."
Are they retrieving you?
They will if you empathize, create, dramatize and demonstrate an expectation!
Interested in learning the answer? Read for yourself!!
My favorite quote so far...
Face it! People aren't ignoring you because they don't know you.
They will if you empathize, create, dramatize and demonstrate an expectation!
Interested in learning the answer? Read for yourself!!
My favorite quote so far...
Face it! People aren't ignoring you because they don't know you.
They are ingonoring you because they think they DO know you!
It doesn't matter what people think about you or your business.
What matters is how you make them feel about themselves
It doesn't matter what people think about you or your business.
What matters is how you make them feel about themselves
and their decisions while in your presence.
What expected feeling attracts people to our brand?
What expected feeling attracts people to our brand?
And if I may mention that we need to remember that branding ourselves is about knowing our customers. Coming up ... I just bought a Mac and as soon as I am connected to the web I will begin to doing some fun things here and sharing so you can try too.
library marketing
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
Posts
