How Libraries Use Blogs to Market Their Services and Products

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Article written by Shannon Long

Contents 1 Introduction 2 Why Libraries Need to Market Themselves 3 How Libraries Can Make Themselves More Relevant 4 Why Use Blogs? 5 How Public Libraries are Using Blogs 6 How Does Blogging Help With Marketing? 7 How Universities and Schools(K-12) are Using Blogs as a Marketing Tool 7.1 Academic Libraries 7.2 School Libraries 8 Conclusion 9 References 10 Resources

[edit] Introduction

I decided to research how libraries are using blogs to market their services and products because I work in a public library. As a librarian I am dedicated to providing excellent customer service to those who are in the building but I realize that my role can not be limited to those who are regular customers. If I want job security and if I want people to know how great the library is I need to bring new customers in. I did not study marketing in any of my college coursework so finding effective and practical tools to solve this dilemma has been difficult. While studying various aspects of Web 2.0 I noticed that blogging has the potential to allow library staff to interact with library customers in an easy to use and effective manner. This sparked my curiosity to see if libraries are using blogs to market themselves and I was pleasantly surprised to see that many were. Some blogs have failed but a great many are succeeding and adding value to the library as an institution dedicated to serving the public.

[edit] Why Libraries Need to Market Themselves

According to the Chartered Institute of Marketing, marketing is "the management process responsible for identifying, anitcipating and satisfying consumers profitably" (Adeloye, 2003). Why or how does this relate to libraries?

• Marketing helps libraries in determining their future and in selecting products, services, programs, and materials that will hopefully bring customers into the library either in person or virtually (Bushing, 1995).
• The library can offer many services and products the community wants but they must first make themselves relevant to the customer.

[edit] How Libraries Can Make Themselves More Relevant

To accomplish this task, libraries can not continue to follow the same formula that has been in existence for years. Libraries can not rely on just telling customers what services are available. Flyers and handouts are nice but ineffective. Marketing their services can help libraries break out of their shell but they must first think in terms of selling themselves. To be competitive in this day of budget cuts, E-books and bookstore chains, libraries must sell the value of their services, staff and materials. Libraries should be viewed as essential and valuable community resources (Sass, 2002). People need to be made aware of the services and products that are provided and their economic comparative value (Sass, 2002). Interactive marketing (blogging, MySpace, Second Life) by library staff is essential. Each encounter is an opportunity for library staff to share their expertise, whether it is face to face or virtual and these encounters should be conducted in a way that allows customers wanting more (Sass, 2002). Effective marketing can increase usage of services, educate customers and potential customers on the technical abilities of library staff and change the perception that the library is an outdated institution.

The University of Indiana at Urbana-Champaign has compiled from various sources ten reasons for marketing library and information services:

1. Competition for customers
2. Competition for resources
3. Maintain your relevance
4. Stop being taken for granted
5. Promote an updated image
6. Visibility
7. Valuable community resource
8. Rising expectations
9. Survival
10. Beneficial to library image

[edit] Why Use Blogs?

Blogs are an excellent choice as a marketing tool for libraries for several reasons. Blogs are diverse, can be created by one author or by a group of authors, can be updated at any time and most importantly blogs allow interactivity between the writer and audience by allowing readers to post comments and questions about entries. Blogs allow library staff to interact with current customers and potential customers. Library customers want to feel that they can take part in what is going on in their library and with the use of blogs they can instantly provide feedback to library staff from the comfort of their home. Another very important reason for using blogs comes down to numbers. Libraries need to attract and keep customers and to do this they need to to go where the customers are. Where are the customers that libraries desperately need? They are online!

According to data collected from www.blogworldexpo.com, as of October 2007:

1. Over 12 million American adults maintain a blog
2. Over 57 million Americans read blogs
3. 89% of companies surveyed say they think blogs will be more important in the next five years
4. 9% of Internet users say they have created a blog
5. 6% of the entire US adult population has created a blog

Click on my podcast to hear how libraries can create a blog.

[edit] How Public Libraries are Using Blogs

Public libraries are blogging! See the list below to discover why public libraries are blogging.

• Libraries want to participate in a community, they want to share expertise and they want to gain expertise in the field (Stephen, 2006).
• In terms of marketing, public libraries are using blogs to focus on upcoming releases and library programs and classes.
• Library staff hold online book clubs for children and adults to discuss their favorite book.
• Library staff want to share library related news, events, and resources.
• Library staff want to share links and news about library resources.
• Library directors and administrators blog because it improves communication with customers, gets their ideas out, and provides interaction both with staff and those customers who may want to know more about the library director.

[edit] How Does Blogging Help With Marketing?

One obvious example of how blogs help with marketing is the library promotion blog. When libraries publish information about an upcoming event or service and receive a question concerning this information on a blog, the response the library staff post to that question is available to the entire community (Casey & Savastinuk, 2007). Libraries around the country are setting up blogs with an RSS feed as a means to notify the community that they can include library headlines on their sites or use an RSS newsreader to find out what is happening at their library. The Orange County Library System in Orlando, Florida is an example of a library that does this. Another popular means of blogging as a marketing tool is to highlight new additions to the library collection and promoting library events and guest speakers. This allows repeat and new customers to instantly see what new releases their library is adding to their collection and what programs they can take part in. Ann Arbor District Library uses a blog in this way. Public library blogs can also be designed to market services and products to specific groups of customers. For example, if a library has a large Hispanic community then the library can start a blog in Spanish to inform customers of new databases, story times, computer classes, new books etc. that are in Spanish. Targeted marketing, implemented in a planned, consistent and creative manner through a single coordinated effort, can pump up the volume of customers (Sass, 2002). Libraries can get creative with their blogs to market to the service or product of their choice.

Want to see public libraries that blog? Take a look!

• Allen County (IN) Public Library
• Austin Public Library
• Berkeley Heights Public Library
• Friends of Seattle Public Library
• Huntington Public Library

To view a complete list see blogwithoutalibrary.net.

[edit] How Universities and Schools(K-12) are Using Blogs as a Marketing Tool

[edit] Academic Libraries

MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology) is one example of a university that is using blogging in an innovative manner. MIT’s admissions office pays students to write about their college experience. This allows prospective students to get a real time view of the college experience. The student blogs, as well as the admission and financial aid officer’s blogs are one of the first things that visitors see when they log onto the admissions website. Due to the eagerness to forge stronger connections with prospective students and parents, MIT and other universities have been starting blogs and recruiting undergraduate bloggers (Bombardieri, 2007). This has led to blogging becoming one of the hottest trends in college admissions. Cornell, Dartmouth, and Johns Hopkins Universities have all used undergraduate’s blogging for prospective students (Bombardieri, 2007). A survey of all students admitted to MIT in 2006 found that blogs were among the top three most useful things in helping them decide whether to apply or accept an offer ( Bombardieri, 2007).

Oregon State University has a blog on their admissions page that is full of information for prospective students. Their blog:

• highlights faculty that are making a difference on campus
• features students that have had recent accomplishments academically or athletically
• advertises special guest on campus, such as Senator Barack Obama

On March 25th, 2008, I interviewed via email Meg Scharf who is the Associate Director for Public Services at the University of Central Florida (UCF). I wanted to know why UCF started a blog on their library website and how they are using it to inform students of their products and services. Ms. Scharf informed me that the blog was started to give those who read library announcements a chance to ask questions about news items or comment on them. The blog is also used to post information about guest speakers, databases, conditions of the building, and news about library hours. Ms. Scharf stated that the blog has not received too many significant comments but anything that lets users interact with the library is an improvement.

Want to see other university blogs? Take a look!

• Arizona State University
• Duke University Medical Center Library
• New York Institute of Technology
• Ohio University
• University of Florida

To view a complete list see blogwithoutalibrary.net

[edit] School Libraries

Schools that serve younger students can not market tangible products like databases, new books, DVD’s or playaways like public and universities can. Nor can they market services like home delivery, guest speakers, or computer classes. They can however market what is most important to parents and the community and that is what their children are learning in school. Teachers and media specialists understand that blogging helps to promote reading and writing. Blogs provide students authentic and motivating communication context and audiences (Boling, 2008). In an article posted by teachingtoday.glenco.com, blogs were discussed as a classroom management tool. In this manner, blogs can be used to inform students of class requirements, post handouts, notices, and homework assignments, or act as a question and answer board. Due to the number of blogs on the Internet, teachers and media specialists can use the opportunity to develop student’s critical thinking skills. Students can read various blogs and evaluate the blog based on critical thinking skills like credibility and bias of information. School-based blogs can also be used to introduce students to new Internet technologies while providing opportunities for teachers to help students develop their typing, editing, peer editing, spelling, and reading and writing skills (McPherson, 2006).

Two examples of how schools are blogging and sharing what they are learning with others comes from a third and fourth grade classroom. A third grade classroom taught by Julia Siporin write blog responses to their friend Jefferson Bear. Jefferson Bear writes to students and asks them their thoughts and ideas about class topics. When prompted by Jefferson Bear, Ms. Siporin students prepare a response by conducting online research before responding to the blog (Boling, 2008). The fourth grade use of blogging is just as exciting. Ms. Collum’s fourth grade students participate in online literature class discussions. The students work in groups and read short paragraphs from a book chosen by the teacher. Then, each student selects something from the material that he or she found interesting or wants to discuss further. The students write their thoughts, responses, questions about what they read in their class blog and also blog back and forth with students who live miles away. When teachers and media specialists act as moderators and create blogs like theses, the result is increased motivation and literacy engagement as students read, write, create, and produce for meaningful and authentic purposes (Boling, 2008). An added benefit is that the school, teachers, and students can show off what they are learning by blogging.

[edit] Conclusion

Blogging allows for all types of libraries to market themselves. Libraries can use blogs to keep current customers and bring new customers in. Blogs are so versatile and easy to create that libraries can create several blogs to market any product or service of their choice. Blogging, even though it is done virtually allows customers to take part in their library. The result is that libraries can become more important to the community. People of all ages enjoy blogging and libraries are realizing that they too must embrace blogging as a means to connect to their community. Finally, blogs allow libraries to disseminate information about themselves and the products and services they offer in a budget friendly, time friendly, and user friendly way that other marketing tools can not.

[edit] References

Adeloye, A., 2006, 'How to market yourself and your library organization: a solo librarian's guide', The Bottom Line: Managing Library Finances, vol. 16, no. 1, pp. 15-18.

Boling, E., Castek, J., Zawilinski, L., Barton, K., & Nierlich, T., 2008, 'Collaborative literacy: blogs and Internet projects', The Reading Teacher, vol. 61, no. 6, pp. 504-507.

Bombardieri, M., 2007, 'College blogs tell it like it is, boston.com. Available from: http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/04/16/college_blogs_tell_it_like_it_is?mode=PF.

Bushing, M.C., 1995, 'The library's product and excellence', Library Trends Available at: General Reference Center Gold. [16 March 2008].

Casey, M.F., & Savastinuk, L.U., 2007, Library 2.0: A Guide to Participatory Library Service, Information Today, Inc, pp. 84-85.

McPherson, K., 2006, 'School library blogging', Teacher Librarian, vol. 33, no. 5, p. 67.

Sass, R., 2002, 'Marketing the worth of your library', Library Journal Available at: General Reference Center Gold. [18 March 2008].

Stephens, M., 2006, 'Web 2.0 & libraries: best practices for social software', Library Technology Reports, vol. 43, no. 5, pp. 15-17.

[edit] Resources

• Ann Arbor District Library

Ann Arbor District Library- library promotion blog

• Orange County Library System

Orange County Library System RSS feed information

• blogwithoutalibrary.net

The blogging libraries wiki- list of public library blogs, listed alphabetically

• The University of Indiana at Urbana-Champaign

The University of Indiana at Urbana-Champaign- Library and Information Services Marketing page

• www.blogworldexpo.com,

website dedicated to blogging information

• MIT (Massachusetts Institute of Technology)

Massachusetts Institute of Technology Admissions page blog

• Oregon State University

Oregon State University Admissions page blog

• University of Central Florida (UCF)

University of Central Florida Library blog

• blogwithoutalibrary.net

The blogging libraries wiki- list of academic library blogs, listed alphabetically

• teachingtoday.glenco.com,

website for teachers and educators to get tips on lesson plans, unit plans, etc..

• Jefferson Bear

The Adventures of Jefferson Bear blog

Your reports should also include links to relevant web-based materials that help illustrate the issues and examples addressed in the report, and/or that provide a useful resource for those interested in following up on the topic. These links should be included and referenced in the body of the report where appropriate, and at the end of the report in a section called "Resources." In the "Resources" section, please provide a bulleted list that includes the relevant links and a short description of each resource.