Teen Read Week ™

1. Teen Read Week™ Promoting @ your library, school, community and beyond www.ala.org/teenread

2. Marketing – why do it? • Create awareness – if no one knows about it, what’s the point of doing it? • Great opportunity to reach out to community and build relationships • This will allow you to have a solid foundation and support for future projects, causes, etc. • Chance to build awareness about the unique role the library plays in the community – highlight what you offer that folks can’t get anywhere else

3. Three Easy Steps to Plan • Decide who you’re trying to reach • Create the message • Include relevant details • Use language your audience will understand • Does it need to be translated into more than one language? • Assess your resources and determine needs • What existing communication channels can you utilize? • Do you need to reach out to the community for assistance? If so, who do you reach out to?

4. Get Organized • Create a marketing plan & schedule, by identifying: • The best vehicle(s) for getting the message out (library web site, schools, local radio or news stations, social media, community partner resources, etc.) • The kind of promotional materials you will use (fliers, graphics for web use, emails, posters, etc.) • When to get the message out and how often

5. Implement & Follow-up • Implement marketing plan • Revisit and make adjustments as needed throughout the process • Evaluate marketing plan • What worked? • What didn’t? • Did we reach our goals? • Write down suggestions for next year

6. Engage Teens • TRW Flier/Poster Contest • Hold a TRW poster contest where teens create their own TRW promotional flier • Flier can be of anything TRW related • favorite book, theme interpretation, etc. • Hang up entries around library/school • Hold a vote to determine winner, or have local VIPs pick the winner • Winner receives a free book of their choice (or whatever the library sees fit) • Use winning flier to promote your TRW activities

7. Be Visual • Create a TRW display at entrance • Have interested teens create a TRW display or bulletin board • Place display in an area with high visibility and patron traffic • Provide little “take home” postcards or fliers with info about TRW

8. On the Web • Place a TRW banner on library website that links to info about your TRW activities • General TRW logo can be found on the TRW website under the planning tab • TRW digital files can be purchased from the ALA Store. • Create regular reminders and announcements about TRW on library website, Twitter, and Facebook accounts

9. Other ideas • TRW bookmark contest • Create a TRW recommended book list • Ask teens for their favorite titles of the year • Compile the list and create a display of the books

10. Promoting in your community • Press Release • Use the press release template located on the TRW website and distribute to local media • Proclamation • Ask your local town councilor school board to make a proclamation about TRW in your community • Bring teens with you to the meeting to make the request • Be sure to get photos to post on your web site • Use the sample proclamation on the TRW site

11. Promoting in your community • Public Service Announcements • Contact local radio stations and ask them to promote TRW as a courtesy (sample PSA scripts & recordings can be found on the TRW website) • Contact local news stations and ask them to promote TRW • Ask schools to promote TRW using their outdoor announcement display or closed circuit TV • Make it easy for them by providing them with messaging and artwork/graphics

12. Promoting in your community • Presentations • Ask teachers and after school providers if you can visit to talk about TRW • Social Media • Tweet local schools, community partners, bookstores, etc. and ask them to help promote TRW through tweets and retweets

13. Other tips and ideas • Promoting • Be consistent! • Make it a priority to promote TRW & create a marketing schedule • Clearly state the benefits • What will schools, teachers, the community, and most importantly, teens get out of TRW? • Make adjustments as needed to the message or method • Contact the local college or university to see if any marketing students can help you out

14. Other tips and ideas • Enlist help of others on all levels • Library, school, youth focused organizations, city, bookstores, the PTA, etc. • Engage others • Internal: recruit circulation and reference desk staff and other library staff who interact with teens • External: reach out to parents, grandparents, local businesses, community centers, etc. • Don’t reinvent the wheel • Get marketing resources by researching about similar events, causes, and ‘cause marketing’

15. Resources • For TRW planning and promotional materials, please visit the official YALSA Teen Read Week website at www.ala.org/teenread • American Library Association Marketing Resources Wiki • Media Relations Handbook

16. Resources on Creating Marketing Plans • Know This – Principles of Marketing • Curators of the University of Missouri – Marketing • Small Business Trends – One Page Marketing Plans