Standing out as a library in the modern age can be difficult. With the emphasis and heavy use of digital devices everywhere, there are now tons of alternatives to printed books. E-books are easily available in apps accessible on phones and tablets leaving less of an incentive for people to visit libraries.
It becomes even more crucial for libraries to use advertising and marketing to drive people to visit them. Luckily, there are numerous promotional techniques you can utilize to get your library out there and inspire people to use it. By using digital and social media marketing techniques, you can give your library a steady user base in the modern age.
Make Posters
When anyone mentions posters we often think about those large flyers pasted up on walls and bulletin boards. However, the term has evolved in the modern age and posters are now used digitally as graphical posts on the internet. Posters are often used on social media but they are also shared on other sites as well, such as your library’s website.
Images have better information retention than text and as such, you’ll have a better experience promoting your library using posters. You can create them easily with PosterMyWall’s poster templates. Use these professionally made templates to make your job easier and save time. Potentially, you can create several posters in a very short time which you can then post or schedule periodically.
This template is a good example of what you can achieve with posters. The poster advertises a book club meeting at a library. Instead of using a ton of text, the designer used an appropriate background image that depicts a library bookcase. They then put some appropriate text advertising the location, time, and event. It gets the message across in an eye-catching and engaging way. You can use something similar for your library as well.
Email Marketing
Email marketing is often looked over and ignored as a means of promotion in the modern age. People generally like to favor strategies that reach out to a mass audience. Email marketing on the other hand targets a number of people but it has a high return on investment. Meaning a majority of the people you reach out to will take action the way you want them to.
As your patrons visit you and read books, they’ll sign in to your system, especially when they borrow books to read at home. As such, you’ll be taking their information to keep track of things. You can also collect their email addresses to create your mailing list. These will be the target audience who will receive your promotional emails. You can then send them newsletters, any special offers, information about any events taking place at the library, and more.
Optimize For Search Engines
A website is like a digital business card on the internet. Chances are you already have one where you may offer updates and allow your patrons to check your catalog digitally. However, it is only useful if it is optimized for search engines like Google. Search engine optimization ensures your website appears to people in their searches and ranks higher. Higher ranks mean your website will appear on the first search page.
Most people don’t bother checking the second or third search page when they look up anything on the internet. And this is why search engine optimization becomes crucial because it will help you rank on the first page. Search engines often change their algorithms to provide a better experience to their users. Their criteria for rankings also change over time. So it’s a good idea to be proactive and ensure your website is properly optimized for search engines according to the latest standards.
Host Events
Libraries make great venues for different literary events such as book club meetings and author signings for their latest book releases. Of course, you’ll need to ensure they respect the rules and don’t create a lot of ruckus and interrupt other patrons. Doing so will increase interest in the community and even beyond. People who come to attend such events can also check out your library and see what you have to offer. If they like something then they can become long-term patrons and regularly visit to check out books, magazines, journals, and the like.
You can also host special offers and events for particular days like World Literacy Day. Anything that can inspire people to visit your library can work here.
Social Media Marketing
Social media usage makes up the majority of internet traffic these days. This means that social media platforms are an excellent place to reach out to a large number of people and promote your library. You should have accounts on multiple social media networks. But for the purpose of promotion, you should focus on a few. Facebook allows you to make pages for your business and Instagram is great to upload visual content to. Both these platforms are interlinked so you can post on both with a click.
You can create posts to upload there with PosterMyWall and their Instagram Post Templates. Like the posters we discussed earlier, these are all partially made and you can edit and use them as per your requirements.
The New York Public Library used Instagram to advertise a special card celebrating 50 years of Hip Hop music. They will undoubtedly have books on Hip Hop, its history, its artists, and the like which people can check out too. Patrons will be inclined to visit the library to pick up the card and will be inspired to browse the library for a book to read.
Final Thoughts
Despite many literary works being available online, many people still prefer to use physical books. As such, they visit libraries and bookshops to get them. The interest among the public is there and you only need to reach out to them and inspire them to come to your library.
The tips above will help you with that goal. As long as you stay consistent, you will have a steady stream of patrons.
