Grassroots Strategies for Connecting with your Community Instructor: Penny Hummel [email protected] An Infopeople Workshop Summer 2004 This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project Infopeople is a.
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Transcript Grassroots Strategies for Connecting with your Community Instructor: Penny Hummel [email protected] An Infopeople Workshop Summer 2004 This Workshop Is Brought to You By the Infopeople Project Infopeople is a.
Grassroots Strategies
for Connecting with
your Community
Instructor:
Penny Hummel
[email protected]
An Infopeople Workshop
Summer 2004
This Workshop Is Brought to You By the
Infopeople Project
Infopeople is a federally-funded grant project
supported by the California State Library. It
provides a wide variety of training to California
libraries. Infopeople workshops are offered
around the state and are open registration on a
first-come,
first-served basis.
For a complete list of workshops, and for other
information about the Project, go to the
Infopeople Web site at infopeople.org.
Today’s Agenda
What is grassroots promotion?
Identifying audiences
Developing a message
Working with internal audiences
Tools and partners for promotional success
Implementing your promotional plan
Who Am I?
Public Relations Manager at Multnomah
County Library
Past lives:
Public relations consultant
Foundation and humanities council staffer
Library volunteer: FOL president, foundation trustee,
advocate
Passionate promoter of libraries!
Introductions
Name
Library
Position
One thing that’s happening at your
library that you feel really good about
Unleash your ferocity upon an
unsuspecting world!
-Bette Midler
What is Grassroots Promotion?
Economical
using the resources you have
Entrepreneurial
creative and ingenious
Engaging
connecting with people and organizations
Evangelical
involving everyone you can think of!
Why Grassroots Promotion?
Starts from the ground up
Emphasis on partnership
Huge budget not necessary
Homegrown and practical
Why is Grassroots Promotion
Essential?
There will never be enough...
staffing
funding
resources
There will always be too many…
other things going on outside the library
competing priorities within the library
Nothing’s more important than
connecting people with your library!
Components of Effective Grassroots
Promotion
Connecting with your audience
Building relationships with
individuals and organizations
Small steps (taken by many people)
make a big difference
PR and Marketing -What’s the Difference?
Relatives, not identical twins!
PR: communication designed to
deliver a message
Marketing: activities designed to
inspire an action
• Peter Persic, Melissa Richardson Banks,
2004 PLA Presentation
Questions for the Group
Why is it important to encourage more
people to use, attend or support your
library’s services, activities or events?
What are some of the common pitfalls
of promotion in “Library Land”?
Services and Activities to Promote
Summer Reading
Story times
Book discussions
Homework help
Volunteering
Reference
Outreach
Computer classes
Online databases
Reader’s Advisory
Events to Promote
Author visits
Celebrations and anniversaries
Opening of new/renovated buildings
Community forums
National Library Week
Your Audience
Who are you trying to reach?
Finding out about their priorities
Creating a tailor-made strategy
Who’s Your Audience?
Age
Neighborhood
Gender
Language
Race/Ethnicity
Interests
Socioeconomic
status
Other
characteristics
Secondary Audiences
Library users (in
general)
Voters
News media
Elected officials
Volunteers
Friends
Donors
Trustees
Staff
How to Find Out Your Audience’s
Priorities
Staff reports
Comments (cards, e-mail, letters)
Focus groups
Surveys
Research and analysis
Staff: The Internal Audience
Your eyes and ears in the
community
Your mouth in the community
Ensuring that their contributions
are for good (not evil)
Question for the Group
How have library staff helped or hindered
your efforts to promote what’s
happening at your library?
Engaging Library Staff
Include them in planning
Keep them informed
Provide training and tools
Keep asking for their input
Encourage those who “catch the
fire”
Key Messages
A call to action
Short, clear and to the point
Offer what your audience wants
Library-positive
Examples of Library Messages
Have fun playing the Summer
Reading game!
Join the library’s community reading
project.
Learn new computer skills by
attending free classes at your library.
Good message or bad?
With 63 online databases available to its
customers (some of these can be
accessed from a computer at home or at
work, for others, the library user would
need to visit a library location), the Smith
library is ready to serve the information
needs of the Bedford community…
Promotional Tools
Newsletter
E-mail lists
Checkout
receipts
Displays
Web site
Events
Signs
Billboards
Banners
Advertising
Publications
Project-Specific Materials
Brochures
Flyers
Bookmarks
Graphics
Stationery
Pins
Giveaways
Web pages
Tools and How They Complement Each
Other
Print publications
traditional format that can be distributed where
the people are
Web pages
top choice of younger users
E-mails and listservs
easy to share the latest developments
What Makes a Tool Successful?
Tells people what they need to know
Easy to figure out
Uses appropriately clear language
Visually pleasing
Consistent with messaging for the
project and the library
Examine Your Examples
1. What works about this promotional
piece?
2. What doesn’t work?
3. How would you improve it?
Community Partners
Multiply your ability to reach out
throughout your community
Contribute expertise and tools that focus
on specific audiences
Leverage support from other partners
Give credibility to library projects
How Your Partners Can Help
Distribution of library materials
Web site links and articles
E-mail lists
Donated programming
Related materials
Donate: Supplies, food, graphics,
exposure
Engaging Community Partners
Include them in planning
Utilize their expertise
Keep them informed
Provide tools that work for their needs
Keep asking for their input
Encourage those who “catch the fire”
What About Sponsors?
Offer a major cash, media or (major)
in-kind contribution
Participate to meet their own
promotional and marketing goals
Need to be acknowledged appropriate
to their level of support
Identifying Partners & Sponsors
Brainstorm to identify connections
Involve other staff, library supporters,
existing partners
Clarify why their participation is a
win/win
Create a timeline and work plan
Implementing Your Plan
Keep listening to your audience,
partners and staff
Use your tools wherever you can
Work effectively with the media
Stay on message
Evaluate
The Rules of Engagement
Communicate frequently and emphasize
success
Make course corrections if needed
Do what you say you’ll do
Move towards “the tipping point”
Acknowledge contributions!
Working With the Media
It’s a reciprocal relationship
Libraries have an important story to tell
We need to understand their needs in
order to get ours met
The Reporter’s World
Deadlines, deadlines, deadlines
A glut of information about too many
things
Constant shifts to new and unfamiliar
topics
Media Magnets: Examples
Positive
making a dent in big social problems
bringing the community together
an individual’s triumph over adversity
Negative
conflict
good guy vs. bad guy
disaster and destruction
How to Engage a Reporter
Be accurate, succinct and clear
Focus on your key messages
State conclusion, then demonstrate it
Tailor your message to the recipient
Use stories, not statistics
Avoid library jargon
Questions to Ask Yourself
Why should people care about this project?
What makes it interesting, unique or
particularly timely?
Do the partnerships you’ve created make it
more newsworthy?
Tools for Media Outreach
News releases and media kits
Pitch letters or e-mails
Phone or personal contact
Questions for the Group
What’s been your most challenging
experience working with the media in the
effort to promote a library project?
Evaluating Your Success
Document
usage
attendance
exposure
Analyze
what worked
what didn’t
Emphasize the positive in final report
Find out who you are and
do it on purpose.
- Dolly Parton