Andy Sernovitz @ AMA: Be awesome

The American Marketing Association hosted a free online conference yesterday that was rejuvenating for sure! With all the new tools and variety of places to reach our audiences, we sometimes forget why we are trying to have conversations in the first place. Andy Servnovitz kicked off the conference bringing us back to the place we need to start from – the heart. His metaphor for marketing was the love process from first love to commitment. His message was not new but well received- if people love you, love your product, are excited about it, they will tell the world. And that kind of advertising will grow your organization.

The one big question to ask is:

WOULD ANYBODY TELL A FRIEND?

If you had left the conference after that moment you would have had the wisdom you needed to turn around your marketing efforts for your library.

Lately I’ve been having lots of discussions with people looking to improve their outcomes- increase event participation, improve circulation, expand a teen group, etc. Usually the conversation begin with the person telling me what they are doing and asks how they can get the word out to the public. And that’s where the problem begins.

Marketing does not begin when you need to design a flyer or send a press release. It begins with a philosophy that treats customers’ opinions and needs with respect. And continues with a commitment to actively seek and listen to those opinions. Web 2.0 only provides the tools, without a philosophy that supports that kind of collaboration those tools are useless.

If you haven’t been building that collaboration, don’t be discouraged; let yourself be inspired to take the first step. Andy’s talk inspired me. Here in NJ we're running a huge public awareness campaign that features some really big name athletes and authors and incredible prizes. We’d been working the campaign around getting people to talk about the champions and cool prizes and doing really well with it. But as I listened to Andy it dawned on me that we need to go back to our fans and ask them what should be next in order to keep it growing. What would be awesome enough for them to tell their friends? Fortunately our marketing fundamentals are in place and we have a network to communicate with them, so implementing this next step will be relatively easy. The amazing thing about inspiration is that it gets you talking about things again too - WILL YOU BECOME A NJ LIBRARY CHAMPION FAN? :-)

Getting back to Andy’s talk... He spoke about the “chocolate problem” as it related to WOM Marketing and I couldn’t help but think how it applied to libraries. He explained how everybody knows and loves chocolate so it’s really hard to get anyone excited about it enough to share with friends. “Hey dude, have you tried chocolate?” So if you are yummy chocolate, you need find fresh reasons for people to talk about you. That could be as easy as adding new services or products or a fun new video. The key is to rejuvenate the people who love to getting talking about you again.

He talked about how even boring products have been able to get some great WOM going. Skittles has over 600.000 fans on Facebook; Duct Tape took on the sponsorship for the Duct Tape prom outfits that has 120 schools involved and has created incredible press for them; and Heinz ran a $57,000 video contest that netted 10 million views and had people talking about ketchup. We know many libraries are constantly getting past the chocolate problem by doing neat things like creating drive-up windows, offering live collections and running community wide film festivals.

(Would love to hear more ideas that you are all doing!)

For those of you not familiar with the basics of WOMM, I talk about it in my book and Andy outlined them in his talk as well.

Five steps of WOM Marketing

1. Find the talkers
2. Give people a reason to talk
3. Provide the tools to spread the message
4. Take part in the Conversation
5. Track and measure

TIPS

1. Just ask!
2. Email is best WOM because you can forward to everyone you know.(I'll add that mobile marketing is great for this too.)
3. Give people something to share- physical item, case study, research
4. Let people share any way they want – anytime- let them do it the way they want
5. Remember to take part in the conversation

It was a full day of programs and I'll be writing more about them in the coming days. This was an incredible conference and the idea that the American Marketing Association offered it free to non-members has certainly made me a talker for them! –Nancy

School Library Media Month Video Contest

From ALA: SLM Video Contest

School librarians are encouraged to submit videos to the American Association of School Librarians (AASL) detailing how they help their school community "thrive." This is an opportunity for school librarians to be creative and share why they are essential to their school community. The winning video will be featured on the AASL Web site, AASL social networking platforms, and possible feature and recognition at AASL conferences. Entries will be vetted by AASL and the top three will be judged by the entire AASL member community starting March 8, 2010.

Suggested focus
AASL encourages creativity. Entries may include an interview with members of a school community, a typical day in the life of a school librarian, or a short skit on why school librarians are essential to a school community.

Submission process
Entries should be submitted by email to AASL by March 1, 2010 at 4:30 p.m. CST. Please include your AASL membership ID with your submission. All videos must be accompanied by a signed video/photo release form from each person featured in the video. Videos should be no more than 3 minutes. Only WMV, RealVideo and QuickTime formatted files will be accepted.

Additional Rules
This contest is open to AASL members only. All entries over 3 minutes will be disqualified.

Award
The winner will receive district access to all L4L webinars and an AASL prize package including Standards for the 21st-Century Learner in Action, Empowering Learners: Guidelines for School Library Media Programs; and the forthcoming Planning Guide for Empowering Learners.

Give the people what they need for goodness sakes!

So what is it that people need from libraries?

One thing they need is vetted information offering a full picture of products being advertised to the public. We are seeing an increase of TV commercials that claim miracle cures for weight, aging, beauty, etc. and with them is a whole new way of doing business. Companies are creating pages that look like third party or customer review pages that pan competitors’ products and “recommend” their products. There is a devious selling technique that offers "risk free" trials that makes it nearly impossible not to get hooked into a long-term rollover commitment. Companies are using the technique to sell the miracle products that are usually targeted to the most vulnerable of consumers. Libraries can position themselves as the place to turn to get unbiased information needed to make decisions or to resolve problems after making a decision they regret.

So what do your patrons need to know?

Off the top of my head I can think of:
1. Reviews of the different miracle products
2. The latest scams that are facing consumers
3. Contact numbers of agencies to help them if they have problems with scams
4. Hints for working with these new sales techniques

I looked at a few library sites and while they offer lists of links to medical sites, they didn't specifically address the products and topics that are being actively promoted to the public.

As our boomers look for miracles to prevent aging and our poor look for miracle financial solutions, libraries need to provide timely, easy to navigate research to help people find the solutions that work for them.

I think every library needs to have an ongoing section on their web site that includes products being heavily advertised on TV from identity theft protection to weight loss pills. It will save people time and heartache and add one more way the library is essential to your community.

If you are already doing this, send me a link so I can share with others. Thanks! -Nancy

Woman's Day Magazine Supports Libraries

So the other day while I was at my dentist's office, I was thumbing through the new issue of Woman's Day magazine.

I was happy to see part of
Woman's Day's ongoing efforts to support libraries. For 8 years now, WD has had essay contests that prompt its readers to tell others what libraries have meant to their lives. This March 2010 issue carries yet another essay (seen here on page 20), this one part of the latest initiative with ALA and The Campaign for America's Libraries. Woman’s Day, which has a readership of 22 million, recently announced the new initiative, asking its readers 18 and over to submit their stories in 700 words or less.

Librarians have until May 18 to promote this year's essay opportunities. Sample promotional materials are available at ALA's website to help librarians promote the initiative locally. Sample tools include a press release, newsletter copy, web button, flyer, and a web badge that you can use to link your patrons to the WD website. So come on, encourage your own visitors to write about how libraries save them money!

Wondering Which Social Medium to Use? College Students Rate Facebook Highest

If you've been wondering where to put your libraries' social media efforts, here's some data to help you decide.

On PR Web, there's a study by Anderson Analytics, which calls itself "the first next generation marketing research consultancy to combine new technologies--such as link analysis, and data and text mining--with traditional market research." Although the headline shouts "College Students Say Facebook is the Only Social Networking Site that Really Matters," it's worthwhile to read the whole article.

Here's one paragraph:

Among seven leading social networking sites ranked by college students in the Anderson Analytics 2009-2010 GenX2Z American College Student Survey conducted this fall [2009], Facebook was viewed as "cool" by a whopping 82% of males and 90% of females. All other SNS' were deemed "lame" by significant percentages of both male and female collegiate users. In particular, MySpace-the granddaddy of SNS'-was considered "lame" by the largest portion of college students (31%).

The site also has other interesting links to explore. Remember, don't guess or assume what your users will want or use. If you learn about them and make decisions based on real evidence, you're bound to be more successful.

Start Gearing Up for the U.S. "Library Advocacy Day," June 29

Library Advocacy Day from ALA Washington on Vimeo.

For one year only, Library Advocacy Day (LAD) will replace National Library Legislative Day (NLLD). On June 29, 2010, library advocates from all 50 states and Washington, D.C. will meet at Upper Senate Park on the U.S. Capitol grounds. The event, which will begin at 11 a.m., will feature guest speakers, photo ops, and a chance to cheer on libraries! After the rally, participants will meet with their elected officials and their staffs.

Learn more about this initiative and many other important ones on the ALA Washington Office website.

Grants Open to Public Libraries in Certain Developing Countries for Partnership & Innovation Projects

The Public Library Innovation Program is looking for new ideas to fund.

The Public Library Innovation Program (PLIP) aims to spark innovative library services that improve people’s lives through the use of technology. This 3-year grant program, funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, will help public libraries in developing and transitioning countries become centers of community life.

The program is designed to encourage public libraries to partner with local government, business, and other organizations to assess local needs and develop new services. There will be two rounds of funding. The deadline for Round One is 28 February 2010. This round carries 10 grants of up to $30,000 USD each.

As the website explains:

Technology has transformed public libraries throughout the world, providing access to critical education materials and communication services. Yet in many developing and transitioning countries where the need is great, public libraries are under resourced. Funding authorities may see libraries or similar organizations as valued assets but are often unaware of the dynamic role they could be playing in their communities. Libraries will be more likely to attract funding if they can demonstrate that they will implement activities proven to improve the lives of the community in which they are located.

Public libraries in the following countries are eligible for Round One:
Albania, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bangladesh, Belarus, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Cameroon, Chile, People's Republic of China, Colombia, Egypt, Estonia, Ethiopia, Georgia, Ghana, Jordan, Kenya, Kosovo, Kyrgyzstan, Laos, Latvia, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macedonia, Malawi, Mali, Mexico, Moldova, Mongolia, Mozambique, Nepal, Nigeria, Palestine (West Bank and Gaza), Poland, Guatemala, Romania, Russia, Senegal, Serbia, Slovenia, South Africa, Sudan, Swaziland, Syria, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Vietnam, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.

The second call for proposals will be open to all developing and transitioning countries. This Round Two will award 10 grants of up to $15,000 USD each, and the deadline is 31 May, 2011.

See the full Call for Proposals here.

12 tips to improve corporate writing

Katie Baduesz wrote an great article listing 12 tips to improve corporate writing. I think they apply to libraries as well.

She stresses the importance of writing for your audience and to take into account that no one has time to read anything that isn't interesting and relevant. Read the full article here.

1. Be clear Don’t get caught up using technical terms and convoluted sentence structures.

2. Use action verbs - Try using visual verbs—verbs you can picture happening, such as plunge, hover, unveil and rebound.

3. Apply active voice Noun-verb construction works best. For example, say “He made a mistake,” not “Mistakes were made.”

4. Specify everything Be concrete in your words and state everything directly.

5. Avoid jargon If you must use jargon, limit the number of terms you use and don’t forget to define them.

6. Focus on people Ylisela suggests finding real people to help write a story. “People make stories. The more often we can tell a story about a process, program or policy by focusing on the people affected, the better off we are. Processes, programs and policies are inherently boring. Nobody wants to hear about those things. People want to hear about people,” he says.

With this in mind, get out of your office, go find people and see what’s going on. Do interviews in person or over the telephone. And avoid e-mail interviews at all costs—you can’t get a sense of personality over e-mail.

7. Compose high-quality headlines A good headline should be short (around four to five words) and accurate.

8. Don’t forget the lede Answer the question “What is this story about?” in a creative, inviting way, and you’re sure to win the reader’s attention.

9. Include quotes Readers want to hear a "real" point of view and they want to understand what’s being said.

10. Write with your ear

11. Allow yourself to write crap Good writing involves rewriting, so embrace the chaos and then walk away.

12. Take chances Start thinking outside of the box when considering topics to write about.

British Red Phone Booth Library

OMG this is so much fun!!
Margie Gorman turned me onto this post from Black Threads in Kid's Lit:

Residents of the British village of Westbury-sub-Mendip are on record with the smallest, functioning library in the UK. This converted British Telecom red phone booth is now a library - complete with children's books! Actually, this library stocks about 100 books. According to Daily Mail, the library is open 24 hours and is lit. Additionally, the phone company, "BT has received 770 applications for communities to 'adopt a kiosk' and so far 350 old boxes have been handed to parish councils." Enj