Word-of-Mouth Marketing for Libraries

Instructor:

Ann Millerannkenneymiller@yahoo.com

An Infopeople Workshop

Summer/Fall 2009

This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project

Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project supported by the California State Library. It provides a wide variety of training to California libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered around the state and are open registration on a first-come, first-served basis.

For a complete list of workshops, and for other information about the project, go to the Infopeople website at infopeople.org.

Workshop Overview What is word-of-

marketing and why you should care

Your “elevator speech”

Making the most of

social networks

Adapting word-of-

mouth success stories

What does the word

“marketing”

mean to you?

Marketing - Textbook definition:

The activities of listening to customer needs, assessing the competitive landscape and then designing and creating products and services accompanied by messages that shape audience perceptions, leading to opportunities for revenue.

Translation

Find out what they want

Give it to them at a reasonable cost

Tell them about it

You ARE a marketer, now deal with it!

From the blog, creating passionate users

http://headrush.typepad.com

Old School vs. Neo-Marketing

OLDMarketing department

NEWEveryone’s responsibility

Library controls Users have power

Library’s content Users’ content

Focus groups, surveys User feedback

Advertising Evangelizing

One way broadcasts Two-way conversations

Exercise #1

Word-Of-Mouth Bingo

What kind of relationships do you want to have with your patrons?

What is Word-of-Mouth Marketing?

Activities that generate

and amplify personal

recommendations for

your library and its

services.

Why Should I Care ?

Traditional marketing is becoming less

effective

Information overload

Skeptical public

“Narrowcasting”

Ubiquitous social media

Potential for the exponential

Message is recorded (somewhere!), no longer ephemeral

Vital for “hard-to-reach” groups

Affordable for libraries!

Technology Pumps It Up!

It All Begins With One-to-One

One-to-one is: Trusted Timely Tailored

I Thought Viral Was a Bad Thing …?

Word-of-mouth – person to person

Viral- word-of-mouth enhanced by online interactions

Buzz – Everyone is talking about it – message is no longer moving linearly.

Word-of-mouth Is Not Appropriate When:

Product is complicated

Forced, fake, or bought

Product is a dog

Creating Buzz

Let’s give them

something to talk about!

The Wow! factor

Customer care =

marketing

“Six Buttons of Buzz”

Taboo

Outrageous

Unusual

Hilarious

Remarkable

Secrets

(from Mark Hughes, Buzz Marketing)

Johnson County Library, KS

Exercise #3

Are You a Connector?

The People Who Make it Happen

“Influentials” Mavens Ambassadors Salespeople Connectors

(From Malcolm Gladwell, The Tipping Point)

Tapping Into Social Networks

Who are three “connectors” you can use to

spread your message?

“Sales people”?

Mavens?

Ambassadors?

Spreading the Word

Listening not

telling

Use the feedback

loop- even if it

hurts

Networking in Organizations

Staff

Library volunteers

Service organizations

Participate in your

community

Introducing Yourself to a New Network

Your “elevator speech”

clear, concise, compelling

no mumbo jumbo

end with invitation for interaction

You Can Only Go Up From Here…

http://www.elevatorspeech.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=videos

Your “Elevator Speech”: What can you say in the

time it takes for an elevator ride ?

Exercise #3

Sample “hooks”• We help people help themselves

• We can help you start something big

• We are Oceanside’s stimulus package and we won’t go away

• Did you know there are more libraries in the US than there are McDonalds?

• Do you know how to…?

Electronic Word-of-Mouth

Email newsletters

Blogs

MySpace, Twitter, Facebook, Flick’r,

YouTube, RSS, wikis, etc.

User expectations

Customized

Content driven

Creative

Connected

Email Newsletters Publish for pennies Opt in Privacy policy Measuring email

marketing good: Opened better: click-through best: forwarded

Writing for the Web Reading online is different than

print Users:

skip intros scan headings Register first words of headings Average 51 seconds reading an e-

newsletter

http://www.useit.com/alertbox/newsletters.html

Eye-tracking heat map

Give users the opportunity to share Forward email Bookmark a

webpage Share on social

media site

Thinking About Social Media

Social media is how people engage, participate, and share online the

experiences they leave behind. It is fundamentally changing the way we

communicate.

Power of Social Media Fosters intimacy Maintains a larger circle of

“friendships” Green Voyeuristic Addictive

Social media can help to… Offer immediacy Build relationships Create opportunities for future face-to-face

interactions Bypass traditional media Provide customer service/ solve problems Encourage participation Monitor and manage reputation

Questions to consider:

How does social media fit with goals of organization?

Who are the current customers? Who are the potential customers? What has worked and not worked in the

past? The players – who does what?

Engagement Pyramid

Curators

Producers

Commenters

Sharers

Watchers

Write a blog; upload a video

Rate a product or service; comment on a blog, write in a discussion forum

Share online video; update profile, upload photos

Watch online videos, read blogs, download podcasts

Charlene Li – It’s All About the Relationships, Marketingprofs.com

Listen then engage Participate in social media, by having

conversations Encourage interactions (polls, questions,

retweets, commenting) Respond immediately Be prepared for involvement across the

organization – PIO, customer service, administration, “behind the scenes” folks

Getting in on the conversation

Measuring Word-Of-Mouth

What is the depth of our user’s engagement? Web, email, and social media analytics Net promoter scale- How likely are you to

Exercise #4

Adapt a Case History

They may forget what you said, but they will never forget how you made them feel.

-Carl Buechner