Whether you’re a company that makes a handful of products or hundreds, every new launch is a time of excitement and fear. So much effort, money and reputation has been sunk into this new direction. But if you don’t promote it properly, it’ll be for naught.
So what is this thing you’ve invested so heavily in? Maybe it’s a revolutionary piece of software. Perhaps it’s a device that’s going to solve countless existing frustrations and problems. Or it could be a service that will allow other businesses to better manage their time. Well, without being too dismissive, it kinda doesn’t matter what it is. Because, regardless of the specifics, you’ve devoted resources to create something that will make an impact. But all of those endless hours of toil will amount to nothing, if your intended audience doesn’t know this product exists. And we’re not just talking about an overblown debut with excessive fanfare. There’s actually a lot of nuance to this sort of promotion. And in order to achieve the results you want, you need a solid gameplan.
So, while we’ve established the ‘thing’ itself doesn’t necessarily matter (at least not yet), we should talk about the ‘why’. Why did you, as a brand, launch this product? Is this a pivot shift or more of the same? If you’re a perfume designer, for argument’s sake, why did you create a new scent? To fill a gap in the market, to jump on a new trend or to revitalise a stagnating brand? Is this new direction the replacement or does it work in tandem with your current line? And where’s the urgency? Why should the audience care? Why now? So many ‘whys’. And it’s important to have answers for these questions because they will feed into the narrative of your promotional marketing. If not overtly, then through subtext.
Let’s talk about delivery method. And more importantly, the power of video. Because video is the best way to get across the benefits of a new or existing product. If you had the time, you’d sit each individual customer down, show them the product, detail how it works and they’d be hooked. But who honestly has the capacity to do that? Thankfully, video does. It goes out into the world with your most refined message and sells for you. It’s your hype man, singing songs of your achievements and pumping up what’s to come. All before pointing the now eager audience in the direction of where they can get more.
But before it can do its job, you need to construct this clear, well-rounded explainer. To get the viewer’s attention, you have to captivate them and keep them gripped. You need to convey to them what this product is, detail how it solves a problem they are experiencing and the ways in which it stands out. All to establish a sense of trust, cultivate desire and generate intrigue, while being informative and entertaining. And video does all of this better than static imagery, better than copy and better than the product by itself.
Now that you have an eye catching video that emotionally resonates with the audience, it’s time to get it out there. So many companies love the idea of ‘going viral’ but that just means more eyeballs – not necessarily the right or intended ones. So it’s important to position accordingly across the five proven methods for spreading your message effectively.
The first is your website. Whether a product page or landing page, including relevant videos both increases your site traffic and helps the consumer progress along the marketing funnel.
Then there’s blogs and SEO keywords. Which ensures anyone entering search terms along the same line as your product, will be snapped up and plonked in front of your video. This not only directly connects the user with the product, it also notifies search engines that you are a point of authority in this particular field.
Email marketing may feel a little rooted in the past but it is still incredibly powerful. And when paired with video, the results are even higher. For example, adding video to email will increase your click through rate 300%.
Stepping away from your own sites, having a strong social media presence is necessary. While you could opt to put your full video all over socials, we recommend repurposing your video into bite-size chunks that hook the audience. Encouraging to investigate further and bringing them closer to making a purchase.
And finally, we have trade shows – industry events to catch the passers-by and draw them over. As with socials, we have found tailoring your video to act as a looping non-linear narrative, works wonders. Grabbing attention by detailing thought-provoking single headline statements.
And this is just the start. Over the years, there have been a number of novel ways to get your product out there. But if you want results that work and yield success, video is the ideal starting point.
