Developing a Library Marketing Plan, Part 2 Implementing the Plan Mark E. Ibach Marketing & PR Coordinator South Central Library System

The Plan is Key The most important aspect of the marketing plan is that it’s a plan. It’s not a step-by-step instruction book. Don’t focus on individual elements, but rather on your goal. Take advantage of every opportunity to emphasize the benefits your library provides to patrons.

Audience Participation How many of you have used a marketing plan in the past? Was it effective? Why? What didn’t work? If you haven’t done a marketing plan, why not? Why are you interested in the idea of a marketing plan

Core messages Identify benefits you believe are desirable. Promote these benefits throughout the year. Message repetition is vital. Emphasize library’s value to the community. Clearly communicate your mission and vision statements.

Patrons stories are powerful tools. Use them often. Instill in staff the importance of collecting these stories. Be diligent about collecting negative comments so they can be addressed in meaningful ways. Compile and use statistics to help tell your story with charts and graphs. Using personal anecdotes and statistics

Know your marketing vehicles To be successful, you should: Explore newspaper archives to see what types of articles and photos they run, and where. Talk to the newspaper, radio and TV reporters to learn what kinds of stories they may be interested in. They may have a particular interest in a given year that you can tie into. Your message must be frequent, and connect with patrons in personal and meaningful ways.

Evaluation is critical A priority of the planning process is to measure your effectiveness so you can build on successes in subsequent years. You can use a formal or informal survey method, but collecting feedback is important. You want to measure whether your efforts are having the desired effect.

Specific & General Measure effectiveness of both specific and general efforts Specific: timeline for publicizing a series of genealogy workshops and related resources. General: Your plan to increase awareness of the important role the library plays in the community, and the benefits it provides to various audiences.

No Right or Wrong Remember that there are no right or wrong elements to a marketing plan! Some are more effective than others, but the important thing is following a process to help identify how you will use limited resources. Be prepared to make a multi-year commitment to the marketing plan. You efforts will evolve over time, so give them a chance to develop.

Specific examples of marketing ideas Remember that why you are doing things is actually more important than what you’re doing. The list I’m sharing is available online at:

Commit to your plan To be effective, you must make a commitment to follow through with your plan. You can’t just randomly eliminate aspects of the plan and expect to achieve your overall goals. Your plan provides a process for making sound decisions that keep you on track.

Purpose is critical Purpose should drive everything you do in relation to your marketing plan. Acting randomly outside of your plan can be a significant waste of resources.

Conclusion Your ultimate goal should be to build support for your library and expand your patron base. Be flexible. Deviating from the plan is not failure.

Questions? Mark E. Ibach (608) or