Promotional Activities That Work Richard Comley, Outreach Librarian OBMH

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Promotional Activities That WorkRichard Comley,
Outreach Librarian OBMH

• Athens Promotion at OBMH
• Library and Training promotion at OBMH
• The work of SCOL

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General Principles

• Relevancy
• Give them something they need
• Catch the eye - Title encapsulates content
• Promote via a number of different avenues
• Exploit Context and Contacts
• Exploit links between things, and bundle
• Provide incentives
• Keep at it!

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A Bit More Detail

• Relevancy
• Make the Most of Athens grew out of a request at
  Ridgeway others saw the adverts and asked
• Ridgeway needing access to wider resources
• Came at a time of change Dialog to Search
  2.0/HDAS
• Knowledge Officer (Hill Report) becoming embedded
• CKO/TKO
• Inductions necessary/compulsory
• Library resources Athens underpinning CPD

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Further General Principles

• Give them something they need they may not know
  they need it!
• Ridgeway Current Contents has improved awareness
  of Library (but only start something you are able
  to maintain)
• Nurses on a ward did not appreciate the
  usefulness of e-books before seeing a
  demonstration (done at a Team Meeting)

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Catch the Eye!

• Title encapsulates content
• Make the Most of Athens does what it says on the
  tin!
• Title courses or sessions so that the essentials
  come to the front
• Finding the evidence using the literature
  databases and Search 2.0 poor response
• Worthy but unhelpful!
• Athens Saved My Life (and Got Me a Free Pen
  Drive!)
• Communications Dept changed this - impact lost

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Promotional Activities That Work
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Promote via Different Avenues

• Posters and handouts in the Library
• But they become part of the wallpaper
• Announcements on the Intranet
• But people only read the first page, if that
• Emails to key people
• Follow them up
• Have a rolling programme (Forth Bridge!)
• Take a stand in the canteen!
• Then at least they know who you are!
• Catch the eye giveaways

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Promotional Activities That Work
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Why This Marketing Approach?Fighting inertia

• Whats Athens? (OR Just something I used at
  college)
• Whats NHS Evidence? (So please dont keep
  changing the name!)
• I always use Pubmed (but how well do they know
  it?)
• I just use Google (so show them Advanced Search)
• We dont need background info we know our job
  (but show them easy access stuff they are
  interested)
• I dont have time for training (but get what you
  do on to CPD and they get a benefit)

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Promotional Activities That Work
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Context and Contacts

• Exploit where you are placed in the organisation
• At OBMH, within Learning Development
• Library Courses certificated, part of CPD
• L D manage inductions Library slot
• Situation different for every organisation

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Promotional Activities That Work
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Context and Contacts

• Exploit existing structures cycles
• Team meetings time already diaried, whole team
  together often looking for activities quick
  promo
• Inductions
• Courses
• Rotations
• Exploit the way things are linked together
• Athens resources within SWIMS promote together
  enhances awareness of each

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Promotional Activities That Work
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Provide Incentives!

• Giveaways
• Have a promotional budget (however small)
• Gives you the freedom to be creative!
• Use free stuff (less about at present)
• Envelopes as publicity
• Catching the Eye

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Promotional Activities That Work
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Promotion is

• A Forth Bridge job!

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Rolling Programme

• Contact with Teams
• Devise a schedule
• Calendar of Events
• AGM
• Research Development Days
• Rotations
• Expect the Unexpected!
• Flexibility Be Prepared
• Conferences suddenly happening on your site

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Promotional Activities That Work
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Resources to help you

• SCOL website
• Shamelessly plunder this!
• http//www.nesc.nhs.uk/ and follow links

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Resources to help you

• SCOL website
• Presentation on technicalities of effective
  promotional literature
• Example leaflets
• E-books, NHS Evidence, etc.
• Evaluation material
• SCOL minutes

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Promotional Activities That Work
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And finally

• Have fun with it!
• It wont work unless you enjoy doing it!

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Promotional Activities That Work