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5 Marketing Tips to Make Your Library Stand Out!

Home 5 Marketing Tips to Make Your Library Stand Out!

Once you’ve identified your goals, marketing can be fun and bring in a fresh new audience to take advantage of everything that your library has to offer.

However, it can also be time consuming and frustrating when you’re not seeing the results and engagement you were hoping for. We’re here as a resource to take the frustration out of marketing with these five tips to help attract new patrons to your library. We know that libraries have so much value to add to the community and now it’s time to show it through digital marketing. Let’s get started.

Kid raising her arms in celebration while looking at laptop in front of bookshelf.
Photo by Annie Spratt on Unsplash

Create a Plan

You know that you would like to engage more people in the community, but first you’ll want to create a plan or a schedule on what you’ll focus your marketing efforts on. For anyone who likes to cross T’s and dot I’s, this is the role for you. Creating a content calendar based around the events that you’re offering, national days that are relevant to the library, and a program schedule, can make your marketing game plan more organized and centralized, especially if it’s a team effort. You’ll want to focus on how often you’d like to post content on each social media channel and how often you’d like to reach out through email as well. Once you’ve got a handle on the timeline and frequency of your marketing plan, you can get down to the details.

Email Marketing & Newsletters

Utilizing your database of patrons to send email blasts and newsletters is a great way to stay engaged, especially at a time when face to face contact has drastically decreased. It’s a delicate balance to alert subscribers of news and upcoming events for your library, without spamming their inbox. A monthly newsletter is a great way to give a rundown of everything coming up while also linking back to your website for more information. Reminders for events (especially virtual), and providing additional details and updates for attendees as it gets closer can also be helpful. Use your social media channels as well as your website to promote email blasts and get new subscribers to opt-in.

Post on Social Media Consistently & Engage

Consistency is key on social media and can be challenging to keep up with. Creating the content calendar with goals and a schedule will help with the frequency of posting. Then, you’ll just have to come up with the content. Should be easy, right? Not always! Coming up with original content multiple times a week might not be feasible for your library and that’s ok! Sharing other blog posts or social media posts that are relevant can be just as effective. As long as your social media pages are up to date with consistent branding and quality content (original or otherwise), patrons will look to your social channels as a  resource, making your social networks great marketing tools for your library. It’s also important to always engage with your audience. Social media is there to help strengthen that community that you’ve already built through the services you offer at your library. Be sure to answer questions and respond to comments that get posted.

Share Events in Local Groups

Many local communities have groups on Facebook or LinkedIn that would be a great place to advertise your upcoming events to increase attendance. Of course you’ll want to plug your events through your social media channels, website and newsletters, but finding specific groups with your target audience could bring a much-needed boost. Always make sure that it’s within group guidelines to advertise events before posting!

Don’t Be Afraid To Try Something New

Social media and marketing trends are dynamic, so don’t be afraid to try a new platform or use a different feature to reach new people. Staying informed on the changes that are occurring and giving them a try is a great way to keep innovating and stay creative through sharing your brand. Showcasing the events, programs, resources and community that your library offers doesn’t need to be static. Try creating a short video through Reels, TikTok or the story features on Instagram and Facebook. Host a discussion or small event through Clubhouse. Hopping on trends could bring in a new audience and put the fun back in marketing!

The NJ State Library and Talking Book and Braille Center will also be closed on Monday, February 17, 2025 for Presidents Day.
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