Steal These Ideas: 11 Free Marketing Strategies to Try Today

Lindsay Sarin, Andrea Snyder and Julie Strange

• all from Maryland
• Julie blogs at strangelibrarian.com
• marketing is something we all do: not big and scary
• #STIMcil
• marketing is about how you want to present yourself
• need to build your marketing strategy from the ground up (need a good foundation, like a house)
• know where you stand: assess
• start with your staff: have an honest conversation and listen
• look at your numbers...need to know starting point
• ask the user
• i am not my users: i am an information professional...remember the peeps don't think like us
• focus groups are great: but have a third-party moderator
• sometimes the truth hurts
• find out what you need to assess
• create a blueprint: with clear goals
• clear the decks
• be aware of how many messages you are putting out at once
• too many bookmarks are not good!!!
• ditto w posters
• choose the essential and eliminate everything else
• examine the things you like from others' and figure out the elements of their success. replicate
• create your message: what do you want to convey?
• keep the message simple: eg EPL: Spread the words.
• good idea to generate slogan ideas: tweet your lib peeps
• have an idea with staff: get prizes and treats for my MGS brainstorm session: also everyone put 20 ideas on postits and stick them on the wall...make it fun and make it happen
• collect ideas from outside the lib world: get outside the bubble
• right person, right place, right time
• need to keep your current customers happy: word of mouth is fab
• reduce pain-causing stuff: work like a patron...pay attention to how people are using your space, resources etc.
• ask patrons what bugs them about your space / materials / virtual services
• listen, pay attention and fix it
• use your library like a customer and pay attention to little things you can change to make a big difference
• renovate when necessary
• be brave
• "get carded" campaign with giant lib card and local celebs: new pic released each week
• did during lib week/month
• good idea! share with ppp
• stuffed animals sleepover: evening story time, bring your stuffie, stuffie sleeps over, staff takes pics of what stuffies do at night (Teddy Bears photocopied their bear bottoms!) Picked up next day.
• ideas:
• ask patrons to take pix of their lib books on vacation with them
• flat stanley + lib card
• brain storming is fab :)
• give people something to do
• phrase things in active language "Like us on FB"
• tell peeps why your stuff is applicable to them (...this is why you need MGS...)
• *review this pre-mgs brain storming session!*
• immerse yourself in something outside your comfort zone and pay attention while you're there
• get into the community: shameless library promotion
• be a real person, not a building
• create elevator speeches
• keep your librarian brain on at all times
• ifttt.com
  
• like hootsuite...check it out...can link w google calendar
• assess the results
• debrief after everything: talk to staff and patrons about what worked and what didn't...and learn from that (schedule to do re mgs tag line...six months?...a year?...also wrt ebook help + iHelp and any other initiatives)
• tool kit: decide what you want in your tool kit and build it (ideas etc...)
• stealtheseideasmarketing.tumblr.com
• tips and todos and slides, also resource list: check it out!
• also area to submit your own ideas!!! Fab!