Current Digital Marketing Landscape in Libraries

Social media has taken a central role in most libraries’ marketing strategies. Not surprisingly, many libraries manage multiple social media accounts in addition to traditional marketing channels. However, not many libraries have developed a strategic digital marketing strategy that synthesizes areas such as video marketing, email marketing, search engine optimization (SEO), mobile marketing, and even outreach through traditional marketing channels. These additional digital marketing channels are equally as important as social media, yet play different roles in attracting, retaining, and engaging users. As users spend an increasing amount of time searching online, it is essential for them to identify the right library resources in a search engine, find the right event in their email and social media, and develop a sense of loyalty through valuable content generated in videos and blogs. Planning for channel overlap as well as users that a campaign may have missed is an essential part of this strategy. This paper provides an overview of the multi-channel digital marketing landscape and its application in libraries. Twitter activity from 113 Association of Research Libraries member libraries is analyzed, showing the impact of multi-channel marketing strategies.