Now that MLA is over and we are all gearing up for the summer time, I thought I'd focus this month's PR hint on how we can promote our libraries for free during the summer months.
Hope you find some helpful information!
Patricia
MLA PR & Marketing Committee
It is summer time and that means tourists, kids looking for something to do, and lounging by the pool with a good book! It also means we are presented with new opportunities and formats to promote our fabulous libraries and summer events and programs*.for little or no money!
Tip #1: Just because you've tried it in the past and it didn't work, doesn't mean you shouldn't try again.
So you sent your local paper a press release about a fabulous program and they didn't run it*that doesn't mean that they won't run future articles about events at your library. Often times, it simply means that they had a lot of news items to choose from and your press release was overlooked due to lack of space.
Send out a press release for every event, some will make it in and some won't so don't take it personally. But remember the golden rule of effective press release writing, K.I.S.S: Keep it Super Simple (or my new favorite, Keep it Short and Simple!) Long press releases don't get read, not even by those who like to read. We glance through the article to discern if the event is of interest to us and if so when and where it will be and how much; so save the prose for other items. And remember, press releases are printed for free!
Tip #2: Tap into local community calendars and events pages.
Don't just stop with sending press releases to your local paper and broadcast media, send information to your Chamber of Commerce to publicize on their website and tap into local organizations who produce "Things to do this summer in your town" publications and postings.
Often times these organizations will include your programming and event information at no charge, you just need to simply ask.
Avoid one of the main pitfalls of public relations: never, never assume that the Chamber or other community organizations know what events you have on tap for the summer. You need to actually make contact with people and tell them about your fabulous summer line up. This means following up the submission of press releases with a phone call.
Tip #3: If there is a big annual local event coming to town, offer to let the local broadcast media set up in front of your library.
Offering to a let the local broadcast media run a live remote from outside your library is a fantastic way to get thousands of dollars of free publicity*even if you don't listen to the radio station yourself!
Each time the DJ goes live they will begin with "This is Bob broadcasting live from the El Paso Public Library for the 10th annual running of the turtles."
The Lewis & Clark Library in Helena recently did this for the annual Governor's Cup Race. Local radio station KMTX was looking for some place to plug in their equipment and the Lewis & Clark Library offered to let them use some space in front of their building and electrical outlets for the station's 3 hour live coverage of the Governor's Cup Race. The library was mentioned each time the announcer began a broadcast, earning the library more free publicity than they could afford to buy.
Tip #4: Use your website to your advantage.
If your library has a website, make sure you are keeping it updated with programming and event information. Tourists, as well as locals, will access information from your website when deciding on their summer plans.
Make sure that information is prominently displayed in an area that is easy to access on the web page, if the information is hard to find chances are it won't be found. Also, make sure information is accurate and consistent with press releases and other postings so that visitors and patrons aren't confused.
Tip #5: Leave your Library! Take your information to community events.
Set up an informational table at local community events. It is a great way to get out of the library for a few hours and connect with faithful library users as well as those who haven't been in the library for years. Keep it simple; take bookmarks or flyers with up-coming programming information printed on them, library card information, hours information, and any other items you have that you can give to people*such as stickers or magnets.
Use this as an outreach opportunity to get people into the library for an up-coming event or to simply check their email*.chances are, they'll be back and will spread the word about what a fabulous library you have to their friends and relatives who might not be regular library users.
Tip #6: Be Consistent
Consistency is important in publicizing events and programs. If your event or program has a theme, use it throughout all of your marketing materials.
People identify logos with events and companies, so place your logo on everything from flyers and bookmarks to press releases and print ads.
Your goal is to create brand identification.
Provide the media with one consistent contact. In other words, the same person should represent the library to the media. This way if questions arise the media knows who to contact and you can begin to build a relationship with your local media representatives. This is helpful for a few reasons. One, if they know you, they are less likely to say no.
Secondly, on "slow" news days, they will often contact you to showcase something going on at the library which is more free publicity for your library!
Patricia C. Spencer
Outreach & Volunteer Coordinator
Lewis and Clark Library
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