Kristen McCormick, Content Marketing Manager at WordStream, states that you could be offering the best new product or service around, but if you don’t promote it properly, you are likely to miss out on opportunities or even end up losing money down the line.
The best way to digitally promote your new product or service will depend on what channels your audience frequents and what their online behaviours are. Regardless, you should use multiple channels and cross-promote. The truth is, there are many low-cost ways to promote your business.
Make use of Google My Business
There are several ways you can promote your new product or service using your Google Business Profile, provided you have a Google My Business account. The first is via Google My Business posts.
If you are just announcing the new product or service, you may want to go with a ‘What’s new’ post. Just remember that Google My Business posts expire every seven days, so you’ll need to repost. On the other hand, if you are running a special introductory deal, an ‘Offer’ post would be best, as you can set a timeframe. Regardless of which post type you use, be sure to include a picture and a call to action.
You can also promote your new product or service by uploading photos of it to your Business Profile via the Photos tab of your GMB dashboard, as well as adding it as a new item via your Products/Services tab.
Post on social media
If you are using any of the tactics mentioned above to promote your new product or service, make sure to spread the word of your deals and offerings via your social media accounts. This is an easy way to reach your audience, and your followers can easily share your post to their own profiles. Another benefit is that customers/prospects can ask questions about the product in the comments section.
If you have a niche audience or loyal following, you may also want to use a custom hashtag in your promotion post. This will not only expand the reach of your campaigns but may also inspire customers to share posts and pictures to their accounts, using the custom hashtag. And you know what that means: user-generated content that can then be used to get even more people to try out your new service or product.
Run a social media contest
Social media contests are a fun, easy way of connecting with customers and bringing in more fans/followers and prospects for your business. Facebook contests garner an average of 34% new customers per campaign, which is a great way to combat the platform’s low organic reach.
As far as positioning is concerned, the winner(s) of your Facebook or Instagram giveaway should gain the opportunity to be the first to get their hands on your new offering and get it for free or at a discounted rate.
Be sure to announce the content across all of your marketing channels and not just the social platform you are using to run the main campaign. This includes your other social media channels, your website, email newsletters and even paid ads.
In addition to generating more excitement and buyers for your new offering, the increased engagement with your social media account will likely drive more traffic to your website, put your business in front of new customers, and create a fun means of connecting with your audience.
Spread the word via email
Did you know that 82% of consumers open emails from businesses, and that 76% of email subscribers have made purchases from an email marketing message? Email is a fantastic channel for getting the word out about your new product/service. Plus, it makes a great incentive to get subscriber signups in the first place.
You can run an email campaign specifically about this new offering — perhaps even as a series of emails building up to the day of launch. Or you may want to announce it as the focus piece of your next email newsletter. This email could go out to your general audience, or, in support of method number 2, it could be a subscriber or customer-exclusive offer.
Write a blog post
When promoting your new product or service, you may not have a landing page for customers or subscribers to go to. After all, your new offering could just be an upgrade on an existing platform or account. In this case, your goal may not be to get more customers but to get your existing customers engaging, or to re-engage dormant customers.
Having a blog post written on the newly launched item is a great way to go into depth on all of the details, features and benefits you would otherwise include on a landing page, and you can share the link to the blog post via your emails or social media channels. Even if you do have a landing page, a blog post is still a great channel for getting the word out about your new offering and provides ample opportunities for you to link to the landing page.
Host a virtual event
During the pandemic, virtual events still serve as an effective promotion tool. You might:
- Host a Facebook Live session demonstrating the product and highlighting its features.
- Run a live or recorded Q&A on the product itself.
- Centre the event around an influencer who has expertise around your new product or service, with the promise to unveil the new offering at the end.
Share customer reviews
One of the best ways to promote a new product or service is to let your customers promote it for you. If you take advantage of some of the ideas previously mentioned (like offering an upgrade or free trial), you can then ask them to write an online review of the new service or provide material for a testimonial.
Reviews and testimonials will be invaluable when rolling the product out to your more general audience. After all, 84% of consumers trust online reviews as much as personal recommendations.
Run Facebook ads
With 1 billion daily active users, Facebook advertising is a window to a large base of people who will be interested in your new product or service. Facebook ads are particularly useful because the personalised data voluntarily provided through users’ profiles makes for unbelievably specific audience targeting. You can factor in gender, age, location, interests, marital status, profession, and more, ensuring you’ll get the most bang for your buck. There are also several options for ad type, budget and duration of the campaign, so you can accommodate your goals within your means.
This article was sourced from WordStream.
