Developing an effective social marketing plan

1. Library staff should together, define your marketing goals for the library.
2. Make an outline of your plan with specific tasks or outcomes.
2a. include specific goals you want to accomplish.
3. Decide how much time will be dedicated to your marketing plan each day
3a. Determine who in your organization will spend this time.Make this a part of their daily tasks.
3b. Decide specific strategies for that person to employ during the specific time period
4. Develop any specific policies, do you want to respond to friend requests - open comments or close them.
 4a. what are you expecting to achieve/block with these policies? Determine the specific criteria.
5. Who are you specifically trying to attract and why? Are you trying to get students to use the databases regularly? Are you trying to focus on readers advisor tools. Are you trying to market to teachers to increase collaboration. What is the goal of your marketing plan and who is your audience?
6. Determine the budget for this project. Do you need to spend money on subscriptions to services? Do you need to reassign duties to someone in the department away from the person in charge of completing the daily marketing tasks? Will the finance people give your department extra money to accomplish your goals?
6a. Write a project proposal to submit to administration and board of trustees.
7. Develop a way to evaluate the program and its successes/problems.
8. Setting a meeting schedule to follow up on the success/failures/problems with the overall plan.
9. Create a reporting structure.
Why is a marketing plan important for a library? Simply because information is so ubiquitous on the Internet that libraries are being forced to prove/show that they are still the best place for people to access information through. Like it says in the Groundswell excerpt "on the
Internet, traffic equals money." While it doesn't mean direct money in the library - traffic is money in that traffic and use justify our existence and that justification leads to further budget - hopefully a larger budget if your doing a good job. While some view the fact that libraries must now justify our existence as a bad thing, I choose to look at it as a positive thing. it's more vital than ever for librarians to be out there learning new information and finding newer and better ways to have our patrons access that information. Being forced to be creative and think outside of the box is exciting not depressing in my view. There is no reason libraries should not be finding ways to market ourselves to consumers. Library use is job security! 73% of Americans are online - that probably means that at least 50% of your library patrons have an Internet connection at home. That means we need to show that 50% of people why their library is important and how we can help them find better information faster using the tools that they can access through our library and why we can help them do it better than they can on their own. Our customers are already on the Internet and they want to be on the Internet so it's become even more imperative that libraries show them why they also want to use their library. If we don't market ourselves and then provide a good product our patrons will stop using us. Why visit the library when you can just Google something. We have to be able to show them why! if we can successfully show them why using the library is easy and necessary then they in turn will show their friends who will in turn show their friends etc. etc. Our customer base can experience infinite growth if we can simply market and provide a good product to our library patrons. Once we've got our patrons on board we can begin analyzing how they are using our library's resources and then we can begin adding. removing, or adjusting the service we offer. Marketing and the process can begin a circular experience that will enhance our libraries and keep them important for years to com.

Libraries & social networking - why? - part 2

As you can see from my previous post, I've compared 3 libraries and their use of social networking technologies. The theme of these two posts is: should libraries utilize social technologies. My answer to this question is yes - libraries should use social technologies if they enhance services to patrons. Libraries should not use social technologies if the point is only to use them. The end game in any library should be to serve the patron is the most efficient and useful manner. Librarians should always be looking for ways to improve their services if a need isn't being fulfilled. Value-added services are very important but it's important for libraries to be cautious and ensure that the new services provided really do add value instead of just looking exciting or like they are on the cutting edge. As you can see from my table in part 1 of this post. These three libraries use very different approaches to their services. All 3 universities offer mobile library services but Arizona State University takes advantage of a multitude of social technologies including podcasts, RSS feeds, vimeo, flickr, Youtube, Facebook, blogs, tags, and Wikis. Both UVM and Syracuse use a much more measured approach and only offer RSS, wikis, and instant messaging services. Arizona does offer many social technologies but it's done in a careful way, it;'s apparent that they've evaluated the services they offer, they've All of the services they've offered could be viewed by some as too much of a good thing and could possibly add confusion to the patrons experience but I think they've found a good balance by carefully providing services that are truly useful rather than just "fancy." Syracuse and UVM both have good websites that offer their patrons important services but I think they can do a lot more. I think it's important to establish the library page as a portal to the library but it should also provide the library with an identity. I think a library website should be a place patrons want to visit not only that they must visit. So while UVM and Syracuse have good websites I would only visit them when I needed some type of research for books. The ASU site has done a good job of making the library a part of the larger university community which I think is important. I would probably visit the site daily to find out about what was happening on campus, read news, find out about art exhibits or other interesting exhibits. I think that the UVM and Syracuse libraries are missing out on a lot of their community by not providing more social technologies like podcasts, Vimeo, Flickr, Twitter, Youtube etc. Again, an important aspect of any library website is in part to establish the libraries identity and to become an important resource for the greater university community. Social technologies can make it easy to establish that identity and to draw patrons back over and over again. A visited library, whether in person or on the web, is an important library and with more and more information accessible to any one with an Internet connection it's more and more important for a library to establish themselves as the go to place for information and services. I was disappointed in part with all three of these libraries because none of the sites had any readers advisory services. I think it's a mistake for libraries to focus on research only. it's equally important for libraries to help their patrons find a good book to read. Librarians should not forget that reading  for pleasure should be an important aspect of their patrons lives and that we have the opportunity to make it so if we offer readers advisory services - even if it's only a blog, or reviews of the newest fiction title added to the library. LibraryThing is a great service and can easily be embedded into any library home page.

Libraries & social networking - why? - part 1

	Arizona State University	University of Vermont	Syracuse University
Blog	X	X	X
RSS	X	X	X
IM	X	X	X
Youtube	X
Facebook	X	X
Podcast	X
Wiki	X		X
Tags	X
Skype
Voicethread
Mobil apps.	X	X	X
Vimeo	X
Itunes	X
Flickr	X
Twitter	X	X

My definition of library 2.0

Essential knowledge and skills of an information professional in a 2.0 world

While there are many essential skills required to be a 2.0 librarian, I think the most important one is to be willing to change and experiment in partnership with understanding the patrons information needs. Librarians must offer the services their patrons have always expected, access to information in an organized and accessible manner. But as 2.0 librarians we must have the ability to understand our users changing needs and the ability to find resources to respond to those changing needs.  We also need to understand that information is no longer a one way road. In the past, libraries were the keepers of knowledge and information flowed one way, into the hands of the user. In today's library we facilitate information flowing in both directions, to our users and from our users. It is necessary for us to allow our patrons to create content, collaborate on the definition of varying pieces of data and allow patrons to define information. Librarians are often called on to create pathfinders but in a 2.0 world the patrons will also add to,and create pathfinders for later users. While we cannot forget traditional services we need to look at the technologies available to enhance those services, improves usability and interests. Because so many communities are being created in an online environment it is imperative to allow those communities to develop within our library systems, beyond allowing, we must encourage those communities to develop.  While the web has created a space where everyone can gather information it has become even more necessary for librarians to help people learn to navigate the excess of information to find the pieces of information most suitable to their research or inquiry. Librarians as expert accessers of information are even more important today, in my opinion, than ever before. The last thing we need to be good at is experimenting with new technologies and assessing them for use. New technologies are often hyped and it an important role to maintain a clear and analytical head when discovering these new technologies. A willingness to analyze and experiment also positions librarians in such a way as to develop and invent new technologies as well. The end game is always providing the easiest access to the most relevant information for out patrons, whatever they determine that information to be. Library 2.0 simply offers librarians richer and more exciting ways to do that.

10 web 2.0 criterion for library websites

If I could create the perfect library website... Or if I could USE a perfect library website it would incorporate these ten features.
1. Ability to create content.
2. Ability to collaborate with librarians or other site users.
3. Ability to leave feedback, comment, or ask questions.
4. Conversation (through Facebook, a Blog etc.) with librarians and other users.
5. Instant message/chat feature for reference help or questions.
6. A library blog - updated routinely.
7. Book reviews or access to other book review sites (Readers advisory is very important!)
8. Tag cloud creation and a way to rate titles.
9. Connection to outside sources like new networks (through RSS)
10. Search feature embedded in every page.

I decided, for this post, to review the Simmons College Library catalog based on my personal criteria, listed above. While the website is a good one, user friendly, easy to navigate, abundant with resources. It hasn't really incorporated as many of the web 2.0 technologies I would like to see. Let's start with what it does have. It does offer a blog that is updated often. It shares information about things on display in the library, projects, and news the librarians think the patrons might be interested in, such as, a new music archive on the National Jukebox with a link, an article/expose/tips on the new New York Times subscription policies. News about library happenings, such as a request for participants in a study about a proposed new library web site. It looks like the blog is updated at least several times a month. The other nice feature is the instant message/chat feature which I've utilized several times during this semester and previous ones.

The web site is unfortunately lacking in basically all of the other features I would like to see. One I find particularly irritating is the "readers advisory" aspect. I know that Simmons is an academic library but they do maintain a fiction section. It's noted in the blog that they have a summer reading display up in the library but as a distance learning student I'll never see that display. It seems to me they could create a virtual display of these same titles and perhaps create book reviews, or incorporate a rating system or tag clouds around the book. They could even blog about a new title or create on online book group where all library users could join in a conversation. I know I've gone off in a tangent about readers advisory services but I think they're really important and libraries, especially academic ones, forget about these essential services. And with 2.0 technologies being so readily available, there's no reason these virtual services couldn't be incorporated.

My second complaint is that there is no way for a user to create, collaborate or have a conversation in the current format of the library site. With so many distance learners it seems these would be essential components. The library also lacks a search feature. Because the site has so much information and so many layers of information that a new user can easily get lost navigating the site. (I did at first) and it would be nice to have a search feature that would allow users to type in queries to get them to the right places within the site or navigate immediately to the area they need based on query.

My final complaint is that there is no access to credible news sources. I think this is an important feature because students can get bogged down in their own insular world and forget that there is a wider world right outside of the library. Having access to news from a variety of sources right on the home page would be a useful for students to remain in touch with what's happening "outside."

5 Pieces of Advice

The four C's of Web 2.0/Social technologies are: conversation, content creation, collaboration, and community. I think Meredith Farker's discussion hit on all 4 of these and then probably the most important one. The recognition of the importance of the 4 C's. I work with high school students and they spend an inordinate amount of time on the internet engaging in exactly those occupations, conversation, content creation and collaboration and they've created an incredible community. We may scoff at "all those kids gaming" or "wasting their time on Facebook" but if that's all we see in their activities then we are missing the entire point. What the students have created aside from games and Facebook profiles is a lasting, supportive, network of like-minded individuals, in other words a community that they "live" in just as much as the day-to-day physical world. Therefore, if we want the library to be relevant to them in anyway then we must also create a community where they are allowed to engage in conversation, create content, and collaborate with us. By turning our library webpages into interactive social spaces where students can make comments, share information regarding materials, build subject guides together, create tag clouds, and make suggestions then we can create a sense of ownership. The sense that the library truly belongs to them. Too often, the library, as a physical, and a virtual space is a place where students will drop in for a few minutes (if we're lucky) and then leave as soon as possible. What I want, and work hard to develop is a physical space where my students want to hang out. There is no reason I shouldn't also create a virtual space where they want to hang out. While providing access to our collections and databases is of utmost importance it should be equally important to provide our students with easy access to news, book reviews, instant reference services, feedback from fellow students, as well as study tips, suggestions, and reference tips from other students who may have had to complete similar work for classes. Schools are a rich trove of information from all sources, if the library can establish a true community then all students will be able to share in the collective knowledge of the entire campus. You cannot find a more intellectually stimulating and rewarding environment than that.

The other part of the discussion I appreciated was the acknowledgment that not all library patrons are going to adopt web 2.0 and other computer technologies so it's equally important for librarians to find new and innovative ways to serve patrons that are not related to computer technologies. Meredith pointed out that any new system implemented in a library in response to patron need is a 2.0 idea. The most important part is that we are paying attention, trying to understand our patients needs and then responding to those perceived needs. We are so concerned with keeping up in technology to stay relevant that it can be easy to forget that not all of our patrons are driven by technology and we must help all of our patrons regardless of the level of their need. Good collection development, and access that is logical and easily understandable is still the most important access of our profession. It's just that, now, we have a lot more tools available to allow us to expand our profession in new and exciting ways.