In this day and age of content saturation, it’s really hard to get people to pay attention online. People scroll through their video feeds and they only stop when something really interesting catches their eyes. Unfortunately for marketers, 9 out of 10 times their target customers are more interested in cat videos than their products.
Things are also not so different in the physical world. Bombarded by direct mailers, billboards, and logos on every conceivable surface (caps to delivery trucks) have made consumers immune to traditional marketing tactics.
The challenges are real, but there are still certain ways to launch a product that garners consumer attention. What are these? That’s what this article is all about. The following are 3 launch strategies to promote a new product, service, or business. We intentionally kept the list short and crisp. This way you can really process the ideas in your mind before putting them into action.
Find the Right Trade Shows and Participate
To understand why trade shows work, let’s look at Comic Con. TV shows, Marvel trailers, and movie teasers get launched in the platform and it instantly becomes a sensation. The reason why every brand part of Comic Con becomes a buzz is that it attracts the right kind of consumers. These consumers take photos and videos and share them on YouTube and other social media platforms to get the word out.
Trade shows do the exact same thing, but for products that are slightly more boring. Even a simple 20 x 20 trade show booth becomes a point of interest because these shows attract the right crowd. A real estate show would only attract people interested in investing in a house. They would thus find a booth that offers good financing schemes interesting. Similarly, an electronics expo would get all the attention from the tech enthusiasts. Even if you sell the most mind-numbingly boring product, you will find a trade show that’s relevant to your industry and thereby find people who are interested in your product or service. Case in point, PestWorld. Yup, an entire trade show for pest management companies. If you are not surprised yet, the show attracted more than 4,000 people last year.
Most of these trade shows have influencers in the industry. This opens up partnership opportunities to market your service or product. These shows are also frequented by business customers, which gives you an in to score bulk orders. Just pick the right show, rent an attractive trade show exhibit, and start networking.
Focus on Benefits and How Your Product Impacts Lives
If you are launching your product, you probably already have a budget set aside for print campaigns and online ads. This is where this tip comes in handy. Make sure your brand message is focused on the consumer and not your product. Features are good but they only help attract people who are already looking for a similar product or service. Highlighting benefits, on the other hand, also targets those who had no plans of buying or even finding out about your product.
Stay clear of the technical mumbo jumbo and focus on how your product is going to be a life changer. Make your customers visualize the positive impact in their lives. Now that you know what to do, employ this philosophy when designing your print and online marketing campaigns.
Partner Up with Influencers
Social media was a major disrupter that really shook up and changed how people marketed their products. It changed the rules of the game. It made old marketing tactics obsolete while spawning new and more effective ones. One of those effective new age marketing tactics is influencer marketing. Influencers are people who are relevant to your industry and have a considerable social media following. According to current stats, influencer marketing industry is now worth $4.5 billion, and it’s projected to be a $10 billion industry by 2020. Its rapid growth is only possible because it delivers results.
People do listen to or want to emulate their favorite YouTube celebrities and the celebs they follow on Instagram. Therefore, in a way, influencer marketing is like hiring a mini brand ambassador. The only difference, instead of hiring a big Hollywood star, you spend money hiring influential people online who are going to help spread your message. Their shares and retweets not only get more eyes on your product, but they are also cheaper than hiring A-list celebrities. This makes influencer marketing a great choice for small and medium-sized businesses looking to launch their new products. There are several great platforms to find influencers online and make them an offer.
