How to Use Social Media to Hype Your Product Pre-Launch
You’re excited about the release of your new product. It’s going to the change the world and everyone is going to love it.
You’re thrilled and you want people feel the same.
So let’s make sure your product doesn’t just launch, but blasts off into the space. Here are six tips on how to use social media to get there.
6 ways to generate buzz for a product release
1. Create a hashtag
Herschel’s unbranded hashtag encouraged users to share their own content and offered the appeal of being linked to like-minded people who love to travel. As a result, the #WellTravelled hashtag has attracted millions of users around the world.
Explore the vast terrain of Nevado de Toluca. #WellTravelled #Mexico
This is a good example of a hashtag generating buzz without directly promoting a product—similar to a pre-released product. Instead of advertising its brand name or an actual product, Herschel shared a theme that’s tied to the brand: traveling.
You could create a hashtag to spread the word about your product when it’s about to be released. Having a designated hashtag makes it easier for fans to find content related to your brand and its products.
Hashtags are also a great way for you to keep track of the dialogue surrounding your business. You can look up your hashtag and see what kind of comments and conversations are being shared.
2. Host a contest
When people are given the opportunity to win something, they’re likely to be more excited for the product launch.
Choose a fun prize (it could even be your new product) and organize a contest that encourages people to spread the word. Ask users to retweet, share, repost, or tag a friend to participate. We suggest using Instagram. It’s a popular choice for contests because it’s a great for user-generated content (UGC).
Need more tips on running a successful Instagram contest? Check out our step-by-step guide How to Run a Successful Instagram Contest.
3. Find a following by crowdfunding
Crowdfunding is more than simply raising money for the development of a product—it’s a smart way to hype a product before it comes to life.
When people are putting money towards your crowdfunding campaign, they’re also saying they believe in the concept. With this, you’ve assembled a fan base even before the product has hit the market.
These fans want to see a successful launch and so they’re likely to spread the news of your campaign—telling their friends and family, and sharing your message over social media.
This is also a good place to do some audience research, as campaign backers sometimes link their social profiles. Use this information to see who’s interacting with your campaign on social and check out their profile to get a sense of where they’re from, their age, and their interests based on the content they share. This data can be used to further develop your business’ buyer persona.
We're beyond excited to debut Fidget Cube, now LIVE on @kickstarter: https://t.co/4XjdMUdtoL #fidgetfever
— Antsy Labs (@antsylabs) August 31, 2016
As a brand, you can share updates on social media about how your crowdfunding campaign is progressing. Highlight milestones and note how close you are to your goal. For example, a key part of Fidget Cube’s success was the video that circled on Facebook and Twitter, and was picked up by viral news sites. The Kickstarter campaign ended with 154,926 backers and collected $6,465,690—far beyond their $15,000 goal.
4. Give a behind-the-scenes look
Give people a closer look into what your product does and the people behind it. This can help bring potential buyers closer to the product and get them excited for its release.
We suggest using Snapchat or a form of live video to do this. With these channels, you can focus on authenticity and real-time engagement—treat it like a conversation between you and the viewer. Demonstrate how the product works, present the creative process, or host a Q&A session. You can do this by asking users to send in their questions during a set time and date.
It’s also a means of adding a human face and voice to your product, which further establishes a relationship with your audience.
Kylie Jenner does this well by releasing Snapchat videos to promote color releases for her Kylie Jenner Lip Kits:
5. Give your product away to reach different demographics
As a start-up, Girlfriend Collective decided to market its new line of $100 leggings by handing them out for free. This of course created buzz and helped the company grow its audience by reaching several demographics—from women looking for a deal to those supporting the environmentally-friendly concept of the brand.
Girlfriend Collective also asked participants to share the campaign on social media. This helped get the word out and cast a wider net to pull in potential customers.
Its main site features a page dedicated to social media reviews and the brand often reposts reviews on their Instagram handle:
There’s no better way to market your product than having potential consumers try it out for themselves. People love free stuff.
6. Host an event
Before Netflix’s release of “Gilmore Girls: A Year in the Life,” the streaming service set up their own version of Luke’s Diner—one of the show’s key settings—in cities across North America.
Not only did this build awareness for the series release, the campaign boosted audience engagement by supplying each coffeehouse with Luke’s Diner cups.
Each cup carried a snap code and when scanned through Snapchat, it featured a custom Geofilter centered around Gilmore Girls and its release date:
There's even a snap chat filter!!!! #lukesdiner http://pic.twitter.com/xZ50qs8e3H
— Ericka So (@erickaso_) October 5, 2016
Thousands of fans shared a photo on Snapchat, as well as posting a picture of their Luke’s Diner coffee cup to social media.
So what better way to engage than in person? Create an event to build anticipation for your product launch. Choose a set date, venue, and other event details that people can count on. Invite fans over social media and include something to look forward to, like a custom Geofilter on Snapchat.
Want to make sure your product launch gets the buzz it deserves? Try social advertising with AdEspresso by Hootsuite or Hootsuite Ads. Both are powerful options that make it easy to get real-time results, optimized campaign returns, and A/B testing for your next Facebook Ad.
The post How to Use Social Media to Hype Your Product Pre-Launch appeared first on Hootsuite Social Media Management.
Contributer : Hootsuite Social Media Management http://ift.tt/2qiCzn1
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