What does the future of media look like?

Chris Brogan wrote an excellent post asking us what will the next media company look like? Here's his beginning list what would you add? Let him know.

"The Next Media Company Manifesto

Here’s what I [Chris] believe might need to be true about the next media company:

• Stories are points in time, but won’t end at publication. (Edits, updates, extensions are next.)
• Curators and editors rule, and creators aren’t necessarily on staff.
• Media cannot stick to one form. Text, photos, video, music, audio, animation, etc are a flow.
• Everything must be portable and mobile-ready. (Mobile devices need to evolve here, too).
• Everything must have collaborative opportunities. If I write about a restaurant, you should have wikified access to add to the article directly.
• Advertising cannot be the primary method of revenue.
• In-line content marketing, clearly delineated/disclosed/explained is one revenue stream. One of many.
• Contributors come in many shapes: onstaff, partner (how pros like TechCrunch link to Washington Post), guest (for love and glory only), and conversational come right to mind. Who else?
• Value-add services are another revenue stream. Why not book hotels and flights from my travel magazine directly? Why not buy how-to information on marketing from Ad Age or FastCompany?
• Collaboration rules. Why should I pick the next cover? Why should my picture of the car crash be the best?
• Everything is modular and linkable. Everything is fluid. Meaning, if I want the publication to be a business periodical, then I don’t want to have to read a piece about sports.
• Paper isn’t dead: it’s on demand.
• Do-it-yourself publishing is next for us all. At first.
• We will all audition for mass physical distribution.
• It won’t matter (mass physical distribution) to us, lots of the time."

Innovation Starts with "I"

This talk by Helene Blowers will inspire you for sure! Thanks to the South Central Library System for posting the webinar.

What is your library doing to help in these tough economic times?

If ever you need to be marketing the services you are creating for these tough times, it is now! Some libraries are getting great results using Facebook, POP displays and web content. Word of Mouth is playing a big role out there. When people are happy with your service they will spread the word, make sure you give them the tools to share with friends. If you are giving ongoing series of workshops, consider making up business appointment cards with the name of the series printed on it and a blank space where you can write in the date of the next workshop?


Don't forget if you are hosting webinars, your customers are already online so be sure to utilize Facebook, Twitter and your blog. Not only are you reaching your target audience but they are great tools to let other people spread the word online.

Keep the conversation going, make sure you are collecting suggestions for new programs and be on the alert for new problems that begin to emerge. Now, more than ever, it is important to make sure you are allowing people to give feedback about your services.

JOB SEARCH KITS
I love this idea from Topeka and Shawnee County Library. They are offering "Job Search Kits" to help people with their job searching.

Each kit includes:

• Knock ‘em dead 2009 : the ultimate job search guide by Martin Yate Rebound: a proven plan for starting over after job loss by Martha Finney
  The resume handbook by Arthur Rosenberg
• Office 2007 simplified by Sherry Kinkoph
• What color is your parachute? by Richard N. Bolles
• Brochures and pamphlets from local organizations
  

EXTRA HOURS
King County Library System stayed open an extra hour for a week in May and has launched a terrific campaign called, "Look to Your Library Now more than ever". They have created a series of commercials that I am just wild about and am hoping folks from Jersey will make a few like them for their libraries.

HOUSING FAIR

Here in NJ we are hosting a statewide housing fair with representatives from government agencies and not-for-profit organizations specializing in housing issues on hand to talk with people face-to-face. Some of our libraries have taken training into help people fill out unemployment forms, others have set up some great programs for writing resumes

Library As Lifeline for Small Business Assistance

What a great thing this local library is doing. I also love the tagline, "Your Library, Your Lifeline." If that doesn't frame the library as essential, I don't know what would!

Here's part of the press release:

"Camden County Libraries Partner with SCORE to Help Small Businesses
Your Library, Your Lifeline program expands to help in hard economy.

VOORHEES, N.J. – May 19, 2009 -- The Camden County Library System continues its initiative - Your Library, Your Lifeline - by enlisting SCORE (Service Corps of Retired Executives) to provide entrepreneur education and valuable information for small businesses this summer.

SCORE is a nonprofit association dedicated to the education of entrepreneurs and the formation, growth and success of small business all across the United States by providing free counseling services."

They are offering programs on Starting Your Own Business and on Marketing Your Small Business. Nice! Smart! Helpful! Valuable partnership!

Marketing for Digital Libraries: Kathy's Magazine Interview

There's a new magazine out there called Digitale Bibliotheek, which is Dutch for Digital Library. It was just launched in March, and I was honored to be interviewed for the second issue, which came out in April.

The headline / subhead translate to: Competition Is Tough; Building a Website Is Not Enough.
The descriptive paragraph on top means roughly this: The arrival of large bookstores and the Internet have ended the era where libraries were the only place to go for information. Therefore it's time for real marketing, says American marketing expert Kathy Dempsey.


Note that, in the second picture, I'm sporting my Super Librarian shirt with the URL njlibraries.org, in order to build some interest in NJ libraries and to drive some traffic to the website! It's like a double-edged promotional sword. :-)

For those of you who can't read Dutch, you can translate the Digitale Bibliotheek site by pasting its URL into Google's Translator, where you would then get this page. The translation isn't perfect, but you can click on the link under the cover (top right) to see the whole TOC, masthead, and editor's notes.

The woman who started this magazine, Karolien Selhorst, is a delightful, accomplished Belgian woman who also works at the Public Library of Vlissingen in The Netherlands as the Digital Library/Knowledge Manager. She blogs at The Flemish Librarian (mostly in Dutch) and speaks at various library events as well. Karolien has arranged for DiB to be a content partner with Computers in Libraries magazine (which I used to edit), and so DiB has some text in Dutch and some in English. You can find her full profile on LinkedIn (in English!).

While the full text of my interview is not online, I'll give you the main points:

++ Most US librarians aren't good at marketing; they confuse it with promotion and don't do the real marketing that's based on customer research.

++ All info pros need to educate their customers about the differences between authoritative info and what they find on the open web.

++ "If you build it, they will come" does not apply to library websites. Just having a site is not enough; you need to work hard on its Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and on making it the sort of site that your potential patrons actually want to use. You're competing with the likes of Amazon and Barnes & Noble, which have very customer-driven websites.

++ You should have a written marketing plan that spells out how you're going to publicize your website and all your digital offerings. Promote your digital library via the applications that your target audience uses, if you want them to ever find it. (This means you need to start with good customer research and a solid understanding of their wants and needs.)

These are just a few points from the interview... but I was glad to share my view of US libraries and to help educate European readers about true marketing. Euro librarians, especially the Dutch, view a lot of things differently than we do, and it's always valuable to exchange ideas and best practices. (Roy Tennant just wrote about this in his blog for LJ.) Thanks, Karolien, for allowing me that wonderful opportunity!

Grassroots Advocacy

2009 NJSL Trustee Institute, originally uploaded by New Jersey State Library.

Jamesburg Public Library credits getting out lawn signs and a strong phone call campaign as major success factors of their campaign to vote down a resolution that would close the library. Here's the sign they used- simple and gives a clear call to action.

Summer Reading

IMG00257-20090507-1046.jpg, originally uploaded by hblowers.

... from Helene Blowers.

Market with coupons

An invaluable resource for your library is the Google Business Center. If your library isn't listed, it should be! 

Not only will your library's information appear when searched, as an added bonus Google will allow you to add coupons to your Google Maps Listing - free! You could offer discounts for printing, faxing or copying services at your library or offer coupons for the library store, paid programs, or give a free book sale item. Partner with a local business. The ideas are limitless.

The coupons will appear alongside your business listing on Google Maps. It's free and it only takes a few minutes. Just enter a few lines of text for your coupon, set an expiration date, and tell us which of your locations accept the coupon. Users will start seeing your coupons within a few hours.

Jazz up your press releases with Slideshare

Slideshare just announced a new service that will allow you to embed slideshows in your press releases. It's free or you can pay $6 to send a SEO enhanced release. You can read details on Slideshare's web page. 

A few tips on using SlideShare in press releases:

• Make the first slide enticing
  
• Keep it short on a press release, 15 slide max
  
• It's ok to be a tease. Reporters will call for details
  
• Big fonts, informative graphics, short sentences
  

Partnership Marketing

Plainfield Public Library, NJ, originally uploaded by New Jersey State Library.

Kathy and I just gave a workshop on marketing that included a piece on creating community partnerships. The Plainfield Public Library is a perfect example. They have created a literacy program in partnership with Literacy Volunteers Union County and have an ESL Club called Los Amigos. The twist? They have provided a place in the library for LVUC that is right next door to the ESL program. Both areas of the library are always busy plus volunteers can direct their customers to materials offered by the library.

Ice cream marketing

Karin, Shannon & Kailyn Emmett, originally uploaded by New Jersey State Library.

We added a new online homework resource for one of our libraries and needed to get the word out to parents. We ran ads in the local paper, sent flyers home from school and held an ice cream party. Guess which one got the best results? You bet ... ice cream party.

Gloucester County Library did an incredible job putting together an ice cream and face painting party for the kids while setting up computers so parents could learn how the homework program worked. Everyone had lots of fun and parents had the chance to try out the program with their children.

Welcome signs sets the tone for your library

Welcome to North Brunswick Public Library, originally uploaded by New Jersey State Library.

The North Brunswick Public Library in NJ is a small library with big ideas. If marketing your library includes the way you tell your story with signage then what better way that to tell folks that you can help them as soon as they walk through the door? They also help people out by telling people what topics can be found in each aisle and have gotten their customers to volunteer to make signs in various languages. Practical marketing that meets the needs of their customers without costing a fortune.

Marketing for Friends Groups

Friends Posters, originally uploaded by New Jersey State Library.

At the Mt. Laurel Library here in NJ the Friends made up posters clearly featuring the items they purchased for the library and hung them around the library. Quick and easy way to market your Friends groups.

Columbus Metro Does it Again!

Columbus Metro just launched their annual report and it is by far the most outstanding report I have ever seen. They love that it is exclusively online and green but I love it because it is delightful, fun to read and makes me ant to make one too!!! Congrats to Alison Circle and her team. They purchased a program for the look which we'll be using for our own Tell us your story website. 

Here's the link- http://ourstory.columbuslibrary.org/

The New World of Word Of Mouth

This is one of the best WOMM slideshows I've seen in awhile. I thinks it gives us some food for thought - how does your library provide your customers something meaningful or something that gives them status?

The New World of Word Of Mouth

View more presentations from Cult branding .

Cluetrainplus10: Thesis #44

It’s been 10 years since the Cluetrain Manifesto was published. As part of the anniversary bloggers from around the web are writing thesis and publishing them as part of cluetrainplus10. This is my blog post on thesis 44. Thanks to Helene Blowers and Michael Stephens for turning me onto this project with their thesis!

#44. Companies typically install intranets top-down to distribute HR policies and other corporate information that workers are doing their best to ignore.

It isn’t just that no one has time for anything beyond breakfast tweets, the constant checking of who’s talking on Facebook and the growing iphone app addiction, it’s that the in-house conversations about companies that are usually the loudest are the ones top brass are trying to tamp down and are usually centered around growing resentments. The whole idea of creating an Intranet that serves as an online manual is no more effective than handing out hard copy manuals. Sure it may save a few trees (unless everyone is busy printing the manual at their desks so they can have their own copy to file) but it will still be seen as something to file away and will only be looked at an a “need to know” basis.

Our internal customers want:
• As much input as external customers
• To be part of the conversation
• Know they have input
• Feel empowered to make changes

We are all still waiting for Intranets that are set up to allow the workforce to communicate from the bottom to the top with simple items like “comment boxes” and polls. Give us an online manual that can be rated by staff and now a company will be offering staff something of interest to read. But that isn’t where we should stop.

Are we missing the boat by not allowing more social interactivity amongst our staff members on our Intranets? Yes!

Missing out by not encouraging people to create and share humor, creativity, and entrepreneurship on our Intranets? Yes, yes, yes.

But any Intranet can only reflect that which is instilled in the soul of our companies.
And so we circle back to the beginning - back to transparency and trust. Back to tails wagging dogs and paradigms shifting and companies wanting to know how they can stay solvent without changing “too much”.

And employees spend their creative energies getting past firewalls to participate in the social networks, tweet about life outside their cubicles and continue to fuel the success of those companies that grew from the ashes of the companies that couldn’t keep from crashing and burning.

See 'The M Word' Girls Next Week!

Hey, friends and fans! Don't forget that Nancy and I are speaking together next week here in NJ for INFOLINK, the Eastern NJ Regional Library Co-op.

Wednesday, May 6, at Clark PL in Clark, NJ

We're tag-teaming in the morning for "Building Community Partnerships and Using Word-of-Mouth Marketing." Then it's all me, all afternoon for "Create Your Own Customized Marketing Plan."

Hope to see some of you there!