Marketing and Social Media: A Guide for Libraries, Archives, and Museums

Citation

Ryan Scicluna (2015), "Marketing and Social Media: A Guide for Libraries, Archives, and Museums", Library Review, Vol. 64 No. 4/5, pp. 400-401. https://doi.org/10.1108/LR-03-2015-0025

Christine Koontz and Lorri Mon provide an extensive guide to marketing for information institutions. Starting from core marketing concepts and transitioning into information science territory, they use examples and case studies to further highlight aspects, such as market evaluation, market segmentation, market research and using the marketing mix. Thus, the guide is a detailed explanation of traditional marketing theories combined with uses of new technologies, such as social media enabled by the Internet culture. This is not, however, a how-to-do manual. Rather, the case studies provide insight into adapting and improving marketing concepts for the particular need of the institution. Marketing research is an important point that is present throughout the book and this makes this resource ideal for information professionals that need assistance in developing their own marketing strategies.

Chapters 1-5 provide tools on how to analyze and identify potential marketing opportunities while showcasing the importance of outside elements, such as the environment and customers. Frameworks are provided for organizations to develop marketing strategies, paying attention to segmentation and the marketing mix. Chapter 6 is all about the four-step marketing model. This model was expanded by Philip Kotler in the 1970s to also include non-profit organizations. In this chapter, the model is explained in detail and used in various contexts and examples. The book further dives deeper into the marketing mix which includes the 4 Ps of marketing (price, product, promotion and place) as a business tool to create effective marketing plans. The book expands on each point by using examples from various memory institutions, such as The Denver Public Library, The Florida Museum of Natural History, The Children’s Museum of Indianapolis and more.

Having recently worked on a project to introduce comic books and graphic novels in libraries in Malta, I have experienced the importance of effective marketing strategies personally. Working for the non-governmental organization (NGO) Graphic Novels Library Malta (GNLM), we had to create a long-term marketing strategy. We used the 4Ps of marketing to first identify what the product was vis-à-vis the market and environment GNLM was trying to infiltrate. Then, focusing on a social media approach, the NGO created various SWOT and PEST analyses to determine the right approach for the right issue; reading this book, we could see how useful the guidance it provides actually is. In this case, the book also confirmed the validity of our approach and gave me some insights for the future. The long-term approach was important because the NGO was dealing with a cultural change, not simply implementing a new service or product. Looking at case studies and examples of other institutions, we learned from both the successes and failures of others.

I highly recommend this book to information science students and professionals who want to expand their knowledge about effective marketing in their profession. Also manager, directors and professionals involved in the promotion and marketing of their respective institution should use this book as an eye opener on a number of issues. This resource should be used as a comprehensive text together with other similar resources by anyone who is interested in marketing for libraries, archives and museums.