What are effective ways to market your library's reference services?

1 Identify your target audience

Before you design your marketing strategy, you need to know who you are trying to reach and what their needs and preferences are. You can use various methods to gather information about your potential and current users, such as surveys, focus groups, feedback forms, analytics, or observation. You can also segment your audience based on criteria such as age, location, education level, occupation, or interests. This will help you tailor your messages and channels to suit your audience and avoid wasting resources on ineffective or irrelevant marketing.

2 Communicate your value proposition

Your value proposition is the statement that summarizes why your reference services are worth using and what benefits they offer to your users. It should be clear, concise, and compelling, and it should highlight your unique features and advantages over other sources of information. You can use your value proposition to create slogans, taglines, logos, or images that capture your brand identity and convey your message. You can also use testimonials, stories, or examples to illustrate your value proposition and showcase your success and impact.

3 Choose your channels and tools

Depending on your audience and your goals, you can use a variety of channels and tools to market your reference services. These can include online platforms, such as websites, social media, blogs, newsletters, or podcasts, as well as offline platforms, such as flyers, posters, brochures, bookmarks, or displays. You can also use events, such as workshops, webinars, orientations, or tours, to demonstrate your reference services and engage your users. You should select the channels and tools that are most appropriate and effective for your audience and your budget, and that complement each other and reinforce your message.

5 Evaluate and improve your marketing

Marketing is not a one-time activity, but a continuous process that requires evaluation and improvement. You should monitor and measure the results of your marketing efforts, using indicators such as user feedback, usage statistics, return on investment, or satisfaction ratings. You should also seek and incorporate suggestions and ideas from your users, staff, or partners, and test and experiment with different marketing approaches and techniques. You should also keep up with the latest trends and best practices in marketing and reference services, and adapt and update your marketing accordingly.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?