re-branding your library on a budget · 2019-06-09 · branding should be part of every aspect of...
TRANSCRIPT
Rebranding Your Library... On a Budget
Taylor Atkinson
Assistant Director
Union County Library System
September 2019
MEET AN ACCIDENTAL MARKETING LIBRARIAN!
Are you (in some way) responsible for
your library’s marketing and/or
social media?
UNION COUNTY
Rural; 512 square miles
27,700 (shrinking, aging) population
1 in 3 poverty rate among children
1 in 5 adults at or below 3rd grade reading level
1 in 4 students does not graduate high school in 5 years
Former mill county; Current lack of industry
UNION COUNTY LIBRARY SYSTEM Opened in 1905 as first Carnegie Library in SC
Renovated in 1985; placed on the National Register of Historic Places
$2.5 million renovation and restoration in 2018 – new partnership facility (USC Union)
2019 Finalist IMLS National Medal for Museum and Library Service
Operates satellites in 3 municipalities throughout the county
Taylor Atkinson, November 2018
BRANDING What do your customers already think of your organization? What do you WANT them to think about your organization? Include stakeholders
Focus on a logo. Hire a company or design your own. Get your community involved!
Develop a tagline.
Generate brand messaging. What are the key messages you want to communicate about your brand? Every employee, board member, volunteer, etc. should be aware of your brand attributes.
Extend your brand. Branding should be part of every aspect of your library -- your e-mail signature, your social media platforms, business cards, other marketing materials, signage, everything.
Design templates for your marketing materials. Use the same color scheme, logo placement, fonts, aesthetic, look and feel throughout.
Be consistent and loyal to your brand. Customers won't be loyal to you if you don’t adhere to your brand messaging.
OUR REBRANDING PROCESS
Timeline
September 2017 – Joint Board/Staff meeting to discuss organizational core values, our role in the community, our strengths and challenges, how our organization has changed over the years, new mission and vision statements, etc.; answers were compiled into a singular document
November 2017 – Two meetings were held at SC Works with me, the Board rebranding subcommittee, and community partners from the school district, First Steps, SC Works, DSS, the Town of Carlisle, etc. These partners answered the same questions as the Board/Staff, and engaged in discussion about the library as an organization in the community.
March 2018 – Library staff and Board rebranding subcommittee drafted a new organizational name, mission, vision, tagline, and core values. Paint colors from the new facility are used as part of our marketing style guide for flyers and other promotional materials.
Summer 2018 – Worked with Graphic Designer Tami Boyce (@tami_draws) to design new logo(s)
REBRANDING QUESTIONS ▪ How has our organization changed over the years?
▪ What are the identifiable turning points (moments/decisions/events) through which the direction of our organization has changed?
▪ What is the role of our organization in our community?
▪ What are demonstrated values of our organization – the things we do well and do well often?
▪ From the list of values above, list the values that are consistent and have not changed.
▪ What are our strengths?
▪ What are our challenges?
▪ What are future opportunities for our organization?
▪ How would you describe our organization in a 30 second elevator speech?
▪ Please define our organization using single word adjectives.
WHO WE ARE MISSION | We serve as a cornerstone in Union County, providing access to opportunities, activities, and services that improve the quality of life for all members of our community.
VISION | We contribute to making Union County a joyful, welcoming, and thriving community.
TAGLINE | Connect. Discover. Thrive.
CORE VALUES | We are … trustworthy.
We are … service-oriented.
We are … adaptive.
We are … inclusive.
LOGOS!
MARKETING
Increased visibility = awareness = improved recognition
Build an authentic relationship with your customers/targeted
audience(s)
MARKETING STRATEGIES & BEST PRACTICES Create a marketing plan Introduction, Audience (internal/external), Key Messages (What/Why/How), Strategic Goals, Promotional Strategies (Format/Intended Audience, Strategies), Style Guide, Logo Usage, Outreach (Identify organizations), Evaluation
Create (and update) a website
Email marketing
Promote (and be creative!) Pay (a little) to Play Network, start locally Trial and error
GRAPHIC DESIGN BEST PRACTICES Choose (and stick with!) a color palette - Hex codes are helpful | http://www.color-hex.com/
Limit the number of fonts you use
White space is your friend
Whenever possible, rely on images and logos instead of text
Alignment is key
Think about your audience
When in doubt, keep it simple!
EXAMPLES
SUMMER READING
2019
FREE (AND CHEAP) MARKETING TOOLS Canva – graphics (https://about.canva.com/canva-for-nonprofits/)
Piktochart – infographics
Buffer/Hootsuite – social media management
SurveyMonkey – surveys
WordPress – website (www.unionlibrary.org)
Constant Contact/MailChimp – email marketing
IFTTT – sync apps and devices
Trello – productivity platform
SOCIAL MEDIA A CRITICAL MARKETING STRATEGY
Social media can: Build brand awareness & improve communication/interactions with your target audience(s)
● 72% of US adults (18+) use some type of social media ● 3/4 Facebook users and 6/10 Instagram users visit the site at
least once per day
Pew Research Center, 2019
Remember your 5 W’s! Public Libraries Online, 2019
1. WHO Will Manage the Accounts? 2. WHAT Will Your Library Market or Promote? Library events
and services, community events, RA, pop culture? 3. WHERE? - Demographics vary 4. WHEN? Post daily? Weekly? 5. WHY? What is the purpose?
SOCIAL MEDIA
Popular platforms:
Facebook - 53% increase since 2017
Snapchat
YouTube
Pinterest - internal library use
Goodreads
SOCIAL MEDIA STATS TechSoup, 2019
Most popular platforms:
1. Facebook 2. Twitter
3. Instagram
44% post daily on Facebook
25% also post daily on Twitter
SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS AND TRICKS Start with a plan (remember your marketing plan!) & get organized
Find inspiration - look at other libraries, follow local/community pages - share, tag, get them involved!
Make a commitment & be consistent Champion one platform at a time if necessary, but try to cross-promote (remember IFTTT!)
Experiment, but focus your efforts
Listen to your customers/target audience Start a conversation, interact, and show appreciation (contests, promotions)
Show off your personality Capitalize on #Hashtags
Incorporate images, videos, and other content whenever you can
Monitor, analyze, and adapt/streamline (Ex: @unionsclibrary) Utilize social media management – remember key times for posts
RESOURCES
Intentional Marketing: A Practical Guide for Librarians by Carol Ottolenghi (2018)
Library Marketing Basics by Mark Aaron
Polger (2019)
Simple & Strategic Planning Guide for Library Marketing & Communications Directors by Cordelia Anderson (2019)
THANK YOU!
Questions?
Contact Me: