Your library should have a regularly reviewed plan for communications, marketing, and promotion. It is also suggested that there be a policy on communication and marketing in order to provide guidelines for this stage of your planning.

A marketing plan should do the following:

1. define objectives
2. determine target group(s)
3. develop marketing strategies to meet needs of the target group(s)
4. determine the channels of communication that will most effectively deliver a message to each target group that can be measured against defined objectives.

Your plan should include three components:

• marketing/promotion strategy
• communication strategy
• evaluation plan to assess your strategies

More specifically, your plan should include the following:

• Strategies for reaching the target user groups that you identified in an assessment of community needs, as well as appropriate formats for reaching these different groups. Should you send out a newsletter? Develop a brochure? Place posters in public places? Present information at Board meetings? Some other strategy?
• Strategies for targeting politicians, educators, and community leaders as well as industry and business persons.
• Strategies for marketing your library through affiliated agencies or partners.
• Designated “champions” of the library who provide examples of the diversity of users.
• A mechanism for addressing user concerns and suggestions for change.
• An evaluative process to determine the success of your planning and where possible gaps might be.

Marketing to Specific Groups

If you are marketing the library services to specific groups of persons with disabilities (e.g., vision impaired, developmentally disabled), it is important to collaborate with their affiliated organizations and agencies to discuss promotion of library services. Often, these organizations already have a means of communicating with their members, such as a newsletter or website that you could use to channel your information.

Participation in Community Life

An effective promotion strategy is to participate on local committees and boards and become active within the community. Examples of possible participation are membership in:

• local service clubs
• relevant professional organizations
• organizations that oversee different groups for persons with disabilities
• advocacy organizations
• consumer groups

Planning the Promotion

Some of the first things to think about are the following:

• Do you have written materials, posters, and so forth that capture the resources available in your library?
• Do you currently post information or put advertisements in the local newspapers about the library and its services?
• Do you have a network of organizations and individuals who are avid promoters of the library and its resources for everyone? Can you get the word out to them in an organized fashion so there are even more supporters of the library?
• Do you go out into the community to speak about the library? Are you the biggest advocate for the library?
• Do you try to get media coverage on the local radio station or in the local newspapers so that more people will know about the library?
• Do you have information sessions at the library with special themes? For example, “E-mail Monday” where patrons can learn how to use e-mail?
• Can you set up an open house for service providers or other organizations within your region who may assist their members to use the library?
• And, if there are users who cannot come into the library, can you go out to them? Do you have any planned outreach to the community?