Thomsett-Scott - Marketing with social media: a LITA guide

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2014 by the American Library Association. Any claim of copyright is subject to applicable limitations and exceptions, such as rights of fair use and library copying pursuant to Sections 107 and 108 of the U.S. Copyright Act. No copyright is claimed for content in the public domain, such as works of the U.S. government.

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ISBNs: 978-1-55570-972-3 (paper); 978-1-55570-986-0 (PDF); 978-1-55570-987-7 (ePub); 978-1-55570-988-4 (Kindle). For more information on digital formats, visit the ALA Store at alastore.ala.org and select eEditions.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Marketing with social media : a LITA guide / Beth C. Thomsett-Scott, editor.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and .

ISBN 978-1-55570-972-3 (alk. paper)

1. LibrariesMarketing. 2. Online social networksLibrary applications. 3. Social media. I. Thomsett-Scott, Beth C., editor of compilation.

Z716.3.M2955 2014

302.30285dc23 2013042963

Cover image Cienpies Design / Shutterstock.

I dedicate this second book to my fantastic daughter, who continually amazes me with her zeal for life and learning. Additionally, I dedicate this work to my friends, who kept me going through some tough times this year, especially Patricia, Kenneth, Jenne, Bob, Staci, Anna, Donna, and Pat. Peace to all.

Contents

Anita R. Dryden, Briddle Law Library, University of Pennsylvania

Mindy Tomlin, University of Texas at Tyler

Megan Kocher, University of Minnesota

Katie Buehner, University of Houston Libraries

Shae Martinez, Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital Dallas, Medical Library

Joyce McFadden, Baylor Health Sciences Library

Amy West, University of Minnesota

Anne Rauh, Syracuse University

Carolyn Rauber, University of Minnesota, Twin Cities

Carrie Moore, Julia Stringfellow, Amy Vecchione, and

Memo Cordova, Boise State University

Janet Hack, Hoover Library, McDaniel College

Ilana Kingsley, University of Alaska Fairbanks

Laura Carscaddon, Georgia State University

Kimberly Chapman, University of Arizona

M arketing with Social Media: A LITA Guide draws vital information together into one work. While there are books and articles discussing technologies or marketing or marketing with technology, there are few works that address multiple technologies or look at implementing a technology in a step-by-step manner. This book is designed to save readers time and effort by providing the basic information on setting up popular or cutting-edge marketing technologies. Several technologies have been around for a while but may have fallen out of early favor, yet still are highly useful toolsespecially because we have seen a number of technological innovations in recent years. Readers are introduced to the technologies and guided through the steps to implement them. Information on staffing, training, and assessing the services is provided in order to offer a full spectrum of knowledge about successfully marketing with the technologies.

Using the contributed chapter format allows a wider spectrum of technologies to be covered and to include a greater variety of experiences. The first chapter provides an overview of current technologies, with the following chapters focusing on specific technologies. Each chapter provides a bibliography; the first also provides additional reading and resources to follow up on the content in the book and for readers looking for extra information. Readers will benefit from the plethora of images that clearly describe how to access and implement the free technologies included in the book.

On behalf of the contributors, I wish all readers the very best of luck in designing and implementing their marketing system with a new or redesigned technology.

A s always, I appreciate the University of North Texas and the UNT Libraries for providing me with a position that lets me stretch myself and continue to grow professionally. Thanks to my supervisors past and present, who have allowed me the freedom to explore new technologies and see how they relate to our work. I am indebted to my colleagues at the Discovery Park Library, who support me in my endeavors. And, of course, much love and appreciation to my family and friends for, well, everything.

Chapter 1

Anita R. Dryden, Briddle Law Library, University of Pennsylvania

NEW TOOLS FOR GOOD OLD-FASHIONED MARKETING

The rapid advancement of technology has been both a boon and a burden to libraries. While we are lucky to have many new tools available which make our work more efficient and effective, we have a reached a point where librarieseven those at academic institutionsare no longer the sole source for information resources. Libraries have come to terms with this fact in many ways and have begun adjusting their services in the face of widespread competition from Google, Amazon, and the rest of the World Wide Web. As a result, libraries have largely embraced marketing as a necessary tool for survival in this new competitive age (Shontz 2004).

One of the reasons marketing has become so important to libraries is the disconnection between our offerings and user knowledge of these offerings (Cronin and OBrien 2009). How often have librarians heard a user exclaim, I had no idea the library could do that!? Marketing is a way to bridge that gap. Kenneway (2007, 92) notes that it is not enough just to be good at what you do anymore. You also have to be adept at communicating the good and what it means to your customers.

So what types of things can libraries market? Just about anything! Libraries can market services, events happening in the library, collections, staff expertise, and more. Marketing is really about reaching customersin this case, library usersand creating connections that resonate with them. While technology has encouraged competition, technology can also help libraries meet this competition through new means of marketing.

This introductory chapter provides an overview of marketing with technology, introduces the technologies included in this book, and suggests best practices. It also offers a reading list for those looking for more information on using technology to market libraries.

THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY ON MARKETING

One of the secrets of the marketing industry is that, for most of its history, practitioners had very little idea whether what they did actually worked. When Don Draper has a genius idea on the TV show Mad Men, his agency and customers really do not know whether his campaign brought more customers to Utzs Potato Chips. Even if it did, maybe Peggys idea would have been more effective. Marketers of the past would often use focus groups to determine advertisement effectiveness, but there was no reliable way to quantify the success of a particular marketing effort in objective terms.

Marketing has become much more of a science with the advent of technology. It is now more feasible to measure the return on investment (ROI) of a marketing effort or the value gained as a result of undertaking a particular effort. Romero (2011) notes that for nonprofit organizations, the investment piece of ROI is more likely to be measured in time or effort than actual dollars spent, which is an important consideration for the primarily free technologies discussed in this book. Many of these tools offer metrics and analytics to help you evaluate your marketing efforts. Digital marketing efforts can be much more targeted and measurable than ever before, and the use of technology itself can help disprove outdated notions of what libraries are and what they offer (Kenneway 2007).