Promotion on the
Library Web Site

Promoting on the Web

Start with a plan!

Research and planning are critical first steps in marketing. (See Overview and Planning.) Based on market research, the web site contents and design are decided and a marketing plan is created with goals, objectives, and strategies for promotion of the site, or promotion on the site of other library services.

Promoting the library's site to users

If the site is new or recently reconstructed, use any of the strategies for promotion discussed in Module 4 to let your customers know about your web site. If the site has a new URL, plaster the new URL anywhere you can, not just on the site! Consider a large banner at the front entrance or outside the building, and an aggressive direct marketing campaign. Library visitors may not already be library web visitors, so create displays to promote the site's new features in prominent places around the library.

What can you do to convince a user to use your web site once they know about it? Offer what they want and let them know in your promotions what is offered on the site. Emphasize different features to different target audiences. Include some type of feedback collection on the site so that you can find out what users like and don't like about the site, and change it accordingly.

Using the site to promote library products

You can promote ANYTHING on the site! Include the web site in all your marketing plans. Try a "feature of the month" or "what's new" section. If your web site is designed to serve different groups of users, promote in more than one way to be sure your promotional message appeals to each specific user group. Promote programs and special events on topic pages, don't just list them in one place. Take advantage of interactive web applications, let users contribute. Provide services that appeal to a growing number of mobile users and those in online communities. Promote with "New Technologies in Libraries", such as presentations for blogs, RSS, wikis, folksonomy, tagging, library catalog 2.0, multimedia, Flickr, Podcasting, You-Tube, social networking sites (MySpace, Facebook), virtual worlds (Second Life), Web 2.0, Library 2.0.

["New Technologies in Libraries", Megan Fox, Associate Director for Technologies and Special Projects, Simmons, February 2008.]

Promotion of products on Ohio web sites

Many examples of promoting library products on web sites are provided in Module 6. A few possibilities include:

• Sending e-postcards
  Lakewood Public Library
• Reader’s Advisory blog through RSS subscription
  Euclid Public Library
• Connect to Homework Chat in Teenspace
  Public Library of Cincinnati and Hamilton County
• Free wireless Internet access, children's and teen blogs
  Wright Memorial Public Library
• Book clubs
  Amherst Public Library
• Provides "Watch the Library Video" and promotes services with appreciative patron photos and quotes
  Lorain Public Library

Promotion lets the community know what your web site has to offer. Market the web site in the library and market the library on the web site! Offer users features they need based on your research and provide a means of feedback to determine if your promotion strategies are working.

Examine your library's web site.

• What is the most interesting promotion technique used on the site, or something that is unique to your site that you haven't seen on others?
• Do you think the promotion used on the site appeals to all user groups?
• Are there library services that you think should be promoted but aren't?

Evaluation and usability