New England in mourning

I realize no one in libraryland watches football except us marketing types and advertising affectionados, but I can't help but comment on the game last night. Who would have predicted it?

Just goes to show--it ain't over until it's over (unless there's only 1 second left on the clock...). Remember the Giants when you're in a tough funding situation, hiring situation, or new board members who are flexing their board member-right to question everything.

Most of us here woke up still dumb-founded!

Warm summer days

We are having such a gorgeously warm day here. I couldn't resist taking a break from the task list to say hello and check in with IAG readers. Like everyone lately, I've been on the road.

I did a presentation on "How to Market the Archives" at the MAC/SOA conference in Columbus, OH last week. It was really fun to think about archivists for a bit (as opposed to my usual dominant thought-audience, librarians). Note to self: Archivists Do Not Necessarily Identify with Librarians.

The Brand is not necessarily the same, and the public's perceptions of the Archives are not necessarily the same. It sparked a really good conversation about what IS the Archive Brand, and how is it differentiated from libraries, museums or historical societies. And how is it relevant to today's users (esp. if the original source materials are NOT digitized!)?

Any archivists or would-be archivists, chime in here.

What else have I been doing? I spent about a week and a half crossing the country from east coast to west for our National Library Advocacy project, listening to people talk about libraries, their library experience and what they think about library funding.

The results have been very very interesting. We did indeed go to Jackson County, Oregon, to hear what people had to say. We also went to Minneapolis, Minnesota--because the library funding there has been a hot topic for the community and community leaders. We went to small towns, big towns, and many places in between.

In reflecting back on it, many people in this country deeply value what the Library has to offer, and the richness that librarians bring to their knowledge-seeking endeavors. Of course, many people wonder what the right answer is, for library funding in their communities, too.

Next week I am off to Dublin and then Maryland, to talk about DataSPIKE and more DataSPIKE with the UpCounty Libraries. Should be fun!

Citizen Marketers recap

Ben McConnell of Church of the Customer, Creating Customer Evangelists and now Citizen Marketers fame came and spoke to OCLC staff and area marketers on Thursday, Feb. 22. I've been slow to post my notes from his talk--but here we are, finally:

There are 48 million content creators out on the Web. (That is like the population of all of South Korea.) Most of these are amateur content creators. Meaning--they are not being paid to create this content. So when this creative group of people connects with products, they become "Citizen Marketers." It's the idea that your brand reputation is in the hands of a customer, for good or ill. Anyone who interacts with you has the power to praise you or to vilify.

More stats:

• 55% of kids aged 12-17 use social networks.
• 84 million households have broadband.
• There are 1 million new broadband subscribers per week, worldwide.

The democratization of access to information is spreading like wildfire.

An example: my.Barackobama.com is the Barack Obama for President community. The tagline--"This campaign is about You." You can join in, find other supporters, create a blog, learn more about the senator's stance on issues and more. In the first week it was launched, it gained 700,000 members. Those members in turn created 40,000 blogs and 2,400 groups. (Alice editorial note: Who says youth don't want to be engaged in the political process? They just want it on their terms!)

The Control of the Message (previously the realm of marketers and strategists) is now totally Out of Control. And if you give people a voice, a vote and a vocation--they can influence your brand in today's culture.

What are the top 5 most influential media?
5. Articles
4. Newspaper inserts
3. coupons
2. TV
1. Word of Mouth

Ben and Jackie have separated the Citizen marketers into four broad categories: Firecrackers, Filters, Fanatics and Facilitators. They've got great examples for each type--and each type is someone to encourage, be ready for and respond to--immediately.

One ominous note: You are your Google results!! Ignore natural search engine rankings at your peril, because for many people that's the only way they see you.

Ben and Jackie also brought up something they call the 1% rule. And it's that a whole multitude of people may READ or WATCH stuff--but only 1% of people will be motivated enough to create something. So how do you work with those Citizen Marketer 1%ers?

• Enable co-creation: Ben's example is Shakira's fan-only "Hips Don't Lie" video--Shakira used all the home video segments on her real video. It was co-created by her and all her fans.
• Enable community: The Discovery channel formalized their evangelist network of 1%er educators to help train one another. (And sure enough, usage skyrocketed...)

In marketing traditionally there are 4 Ps: Product, Price, Placement and Promotion. Ben posits that in today's world, there is a 5th: Participation.

So how do we integrate the 5th P into our libraries?

1. Blogs
2. Reaching out to your 1%ers: your advisory boards/teen panels/Friends of the library groups and empowering them even more to take the message out
3. Lay the foundation for social networks. (Alice editorial: Alane and I are part of the last week next week of Five Weeks to a Social Library!)

The book has lots and lots of examples and stories. It's a quick read with lots of YouTube clips mentioned.
One parting question: How recommendable is your product?

View from the outside

Amanda, from Notes from the Digital Frontier, does a nice bit on why she thinks libraries will continue. Keep in mind she is in no way connected to a library, that I can tell. (Other than being a user.)

Another good tidbit from inside and outside the library world: a colleague at OCLC in charge of social marketing for WorldCat.org pointed me over to Ning.com. And would you look at that, Bill Drew has set up a Library 2.0 social network with 14,275 views so far in four (4) days ...Ning looks to be a very easy way to set up a social network that has friending, photos, blog posting capabilities and so much more. It may not be absolutely beautiful, but it's an easy way to get started and not re-invent the wheel.

I also wonder if Gather.com would be a good social networking place for library or WorldCat-ophiles...so I started a WorldCat group. Go Join!

Citizen Marketers: When People Are the Message

For those avid readers of the Church of the Customer blog, you already know what's coming in this post. If you don't yet read Church of the Customer (or listen to the podcast), I would recommend it! Basically, author Ben McConnell is coming to OCLC to speak to staff about the idea contained within his and Jackie's new book, Citizen Marketers: When People are the Message.

Here's the write-up on why we think it's cool (thanks Carrie!):

Ordinary people (i.e. consumers) are banding together to form whole communities of online advocates. The power to publish is no longer held by gatekeepers. Anyone with an internet connection and some knowledge of social media can broadcast their opinions to many.

Businesses are quickly learning that these individuals can either boost their sales or plummet their revenues, sometimes overnight. Suddenly, anyone has the ability to influence consumer loyalty, product innovations and marketing campaigns.

A new participatory culture of business has emerged. Are you prepared?

Since 2000, Ben McConnell and Jackie Huba have been researching the effects of word of mouth on customer loyalty and how that can build into customer evangelism.

Their previous book, Creating Customer Evangelists: How Loyal Customers Become a Volunteer Sales Force, was praised by The New York Times as “the new mantra for entrepreneurial success,” and Forbes dubbed it “the word of mouth gospel.”

McConnell and Huba have advised companies such as Starbucks, Microsoft, Ulta, General Mills, Discovery Education, Eli Lilly, PBS, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and others. They are also advisory board members to the Word of Mouth Marketing Association (WOMMA).

Ben McConnell will speak at OCLC Online Computer Library Center in Dublin, Ohio February 22, 2007 from 2-3 p.m. This event is free and open to the public, but registration is required. (So we can plan for seating!)

Ben McConnell will also be available for signings after the presentation.

For directions to OCLC, click here.