With over 4.9 billion users, Social media is one of the best places to launch your products. When done well, it will enable you to reach millions of people. According to one study, 22% of consumers prefer to find a product on social media than search engines. However, there are many factors to consider when deciding which social media platform to use to craft a social media campaign.
Why Social Media Is Important For Product Launches
Here are several reasons to consider social media for product launches.
Build a Product Hype
Many social media product launches often begin with a product teaser that starts with hyping a product. When done right, it can help you grow your distribution channels even before the product goes live. When doing a product teaser, you should include these key elements:
- Provides a fast glimpse and not a full demonstration
- Spark curiosity
- Offer critical details of the launch, such as when and where
- Be visually compelling
- Be shareable
Send Invitations to Events and Demo
Social media can be a good place to develop relationships with key people and stakeholders. You can use it to send an invitation to attend the product launch event.
Determine The Product Fit
According to a CB Insights study, 42% of small businesses fail because of a poor market fit. By launching your product on social media and inviting various stakeholders to try it out, yOu can find out if it is a good fit for the market.
Target a Certain Demographic
Social media also enables businesses to target a specific demographic with their products. Platforms such as Facebook and Instagram provide excellent information on the demographic that uses your product.
How to Use Social Media for Product Launches
Here are the steps you should follow when launching your products on social media:
Create a content calendar
Many businesses assume that a product launch is also about hyping the product. Therefore, they ignore an essential step: creating a content calendar. This is important as you must align your product launch with your social media marketing goal.
Consider the timeline of the launch and the team that will be responsible for the content creation. Some of the content details you should have in mind are:
- Images and videos of the product
- Product Description
- Marketing emails
- Social captions
- Landing pages
- Blog posts
- CTA and Ad Copy
When creating a content plan, keep your goals and KPIs in mind. Are you looking to make direct sales, increase brand awareness, or drive engagement? The goals must be smart and measurable, so you must also set up your KPIs.
Use Anticipatory Content to Create a Buzz
As noted earlier, the main goal of a product launch is to create hype on social media. Some of the terms you can use to create anticipation in your posts are:
- Coming soon. You can use a cryptic message that will leave people guessing.
- Countdown posts. These can remind your followers of the launch without mentioning the product.
- Product preview. Create posts and videos that will make your followers visualize the product in their hands.
- Giveaways and contests. This can improve your engagement rate as it will nudge your followers.
- New Product ads. Running target product ads can be a good way of retargeting former or bounced customers.
Use Hashtags to Spur Conversations
Promotional hashtags can drive conversations, especially on Facebook and Instagram. They provide content related to your launch and also work to reinforce your brand identity. Hashtags can also help you to track the success of your campaigns. When combined with mentions, they can be used to measure if your product built the kind of excitement you were creating.
Keep the Customers Talking
You should look for a way to engage your audience to keep the conversation going during the ad after the launch. You can do that by publishing content and updates about the launch. If customers are satisfied with their purchase, you can encourage product tagging and user-generated content. This will ensure that your customers act as your billboard.
Track Customer Feedback and Mentions
Your product launch should be accompanied by exemplary customer care. You want to find out if your customers are getting hitches when they try to buy the product or what they feel after trying it. Are they encountering shipping delays or buying cart problems? You should keep track of brand mentions to find this information.
Assess Your Return on Investment
Finally, you must watch what worked and what didn’t. This is where you should track your KPIs. Consider if your efforts resulted in a direct sale or traffic to your site. You can use Google Analytics to determine the traffic source to your social media site.
Wrapping Up
Launching a product on social media can create a buzz and cause your product to go viral. By using the above tips, you can be assured of success with this process.
