When you own or work at a library, the last thing that comes to mind is thinking of a library marketing strategy. Let’s face it, a lot of us generally believe that libraries don’t need to be promoted, and that everyone knows they exist. The truth is a library needs a promotion strategy as much as any other business.
A library has a loyal string of visitors who regularly stop by to issue new books, look for a quiet place to work, or renew their membership. And to keep these people coming back, you need a stable promotional strategy, and a decent library logo, a brand image, and a solid channel of communication.
If you’re unsure about how to get started with your library promotion strategy, here are some fantastic ideas to get you started.
1) Choose the perfect library logo
The first step to establishing a solid brand image is a logo. Your library logo helps you define who you are, what you stand for, and what you’re ready to offer customers, all within a simple image.
Choosing the right library logo design might be challenging. While you can include books in your library logo, you need to think beyond that. How can you create a library logo design that stands out from the rest?
To make things simpler, you can log onto PosterMyWall and go through the wide range of online library logo designs to find the one that fits your requirements best. Think about how you want to portray your brand image. Should you include a book in your logo design? How do you want it added? Are you making efficient use of your brand colors in your library logo?
All of these questions will help you determine exactly how your logo should look, and will aid you in moving forward with your library promotion strategy.
2) Boost your online presence
Who said libraries have to stay traditional and outdated? In this digital era, even a place like a library needs an online presence.
Boost your brand image by creating social media accounts dedicated to your library. You can create a Facebook page and an Instagram account to start with, and post different forms of content on both.
Start off by using your library logo design as the profile image for all your accounts. This is the first step to creating a cohesive brand identity across platforms. Use your Facebook page to invite your local community members and keep them updated on library news, updates, and changes. If you’re getting a new shipment of books, let your Facebook community know. If you’re hosting an event, Facebook is the perfect place to announce it.
Use your Instagram account to post engaging visual content of your library. Take pictures of your perfectly organized bookshelves, of people sitting in their corners reading (with their permission, of course!), of the librarian helping newcomers, and more. Show the world how inviting and welcoming your library space is and build up an online brand image that no one can forget. Livestream any unboxing for new shipments via Instagram Live.
The New York Public Library has a super engaging Instagram account filled with pictures from the library itself, profiles of regular customers, updates on relevant social issues, and so much more.
3) Send out engaging emails
As a librarian, you want your current library card holders to come in regularly, issue books, spend time within your establishment, and use your library as their go-to for all reading-related purposes.
To ensure that your customers keep coming back, you need to constantly communicate with them and keep them engaged. And one great way to do that is to send out eye-catching emails filled with fantastic offers, membership discounts, exclusive insights, and more.
Use PosterMyWall’s email marketing platform to send out exciting emails to your library customers. You can gather their email addresses from your database and create a separate email list. Create the perfect email graphic to send out and add your own content to it. Here are some great ideas for engaging content:
- Offer exclusive insights on incoming special editions.
- Offer access to academic resources.
- Provide discounts on tickets and passes for library-based events and programs
4) Set up a portal for issuing books
If you want people to avail your services, you need to make your services easy to avail. And that includes making sure people can issue library books and file for library cards without having to physically go to a library branch.
Set up an online portal for your library and make it easy to navigate for both new and existing library customers. You can allow customers to search for a specific book through a search engine or go through categories of books to find one they would like. Allow your customers to issue books directly from the portal and partner up with a local delivery service to get the issued books delivered straight to the relevant people.
The Johnson County Library offers a great website that users can navigate through to find the books of their choice. You can search from a category, choose if you want to issue an ebook, or even search for specific titles based on keywords.
5) Host events at your library
Who says a library is just for issuing and reading books? You can make your library about so much more than that by regularly hosting events catered toward both children and adults. This will help you branch out and will attract more people toward your library.
For a fun children’s event, you can invite an author of a popular children’s book to come in and do an interactive reading. Set up a fun children’s corner stacked with kids’ books, bean bags, and little stools. You can even set up small snacks for the children.
For a more adult themed event, try inviting local authors for book signings. You can also be more extravagant and host a gala. To keep things relevant to the library vibe, you can set up a popular storybook or fiction theme for the gala, like Alice in Wonderland. You can charge people for the tickets, promise a super fun time to everyone who’ll be attending, and have your library be a hit for more than just the books you stock.
Final thoughts
Want to dive deeper into library marketing? Refer to these guides:
- The anatomy of an empathetic design in library marketing
- How to market your library with flyer templates (and more!)
We’ve already established by now that libraries require just as much promotion as any other business. You need to keep customers coming back, and for that, you need a solid brand image. So, get started today and create the perfect library logo to go with your brand-new identity:
