When the economy is in an economic downturn, businesses rolling out new products may face a dilemma – they want to actively advertise and market their latest launch, but they also need to reduce expenses and conserve cash flow. Fortunately, there are some effective ways to market your product that are also affordable.
Get social (but prioritize)
Social media is a great tool to raise awareness about your product, but it can be costly and time-consuming to cover all the various platforms. Create original content for just two platforms (pick the ones your target demographic prefers), and then, repurpose that content on other platforms as needed. Strong photos and videos that display your product will perform better on social media platforms, so be sure to bank a catalog of imagery that will hook your audience. Interacting with followers is a cost-effective way to increase your page’s engagement and yield a positive brand experience for customers. Do this by responding to comments, sharing positive posts from customers and answering questions when applicable.
Connect with influencers
Dubbed the new version of word-of-mouth marketing, influencer marketing is a powerful tactic to expand your product’s reach to new audiences. Influencers are often regarded as trusted sources or subject matter experts in their particular field, so consumers tend to trust the product recommendations they give. Engage with popular content creators in your niche and send them your new product as a gift in exchange for an honest review. Even if they have a small but loyal following, this can be an effective, inexpensive way to spread the word about your new product. Hosting an event for content creators that features your product and gives them an in-person opportunity to engage with your brand, is another effective way to build brand exposure, while securing content for social media.
Use product reviews
Let your customers do the talking for you by sharing their reviews of your product. A product that solves a problem or does something exceptionally well will automatically generate good reviews over time, but you can speed up the process by asking your new customers to write a review. You can also offer some incentives, such as providing reviewers with a discount code for their next purchase in exchange for their honest opinion. Then you can highlight the reviews on your website, on social media posts, or in your advertising. Google reviews can boost your ranking on Google overall, so it’s good practice to encourage your customers to submit reviews there, as well. Using the promotion feature on Google My Business allows you to share promotions with customers on your account’s ‘Offers’ tab, ‘What’s New’ tab, and on the ‘Events’ tab, so that they’re aware of your latest offerings.
Offer a giveaway
Giveaways (especially on Instagram) are a fun way to help achieve new product awareness and spread the word. Running a social media contest generally requires people to enter by liking a photo, commenting on it, tagging two friends, and following your brand’s account. These criteria increase engagement, reach, and encourage brand loyalty. You can also partner with other brands in your field to create a giveaway box or bundle – then you get the exponential power of cross-marketing across brands.
Promote and upgrade
Offer promotions and/or upgrades on both tangible and non-tangible products to engage customers. If your company provides a service or a non-tangible product, consider offering a promotion in which new customers can earn one month’s worth of service free for purchasing a year-long subscription. If you sell a tangible product, consider offering customers a monetary discount if they purchase an upgraded version. These types of promotions can help your business maintain a healthy profit, while encouraging customer loyalty.
Blog about it
Consider building a blog on your company’s website, as it can be a great place to showcase your product or service. Through blog posts, you can highlight product features, demonstrate how the product is used, and answer customer questions. It’s important to use SEO-optimized content to ensure your blog posts will appear in search results. SEO-optimized content includes keywords that have a strong search volume and are popular in social mentions, long tail keywords – phrases that are more tailored to your product or service – keyword questions, phrase match keywords, and untracked keywords to boost your blog’s reach. Promote your blog post over email and on social media to notify and attract current and prospective clients and increase your blog’s position in search engines.
Contact Valley
At Valley, we understand that every new product launch is important to you, and we want to do everything we can to make sure it is a success. Look to us for any financial services your business might need, and visit our Business Insight Center for more helpful resources created just for you. Talk to a financial expert who can help you get your business off to a great start.
