Bertha's Blog: 9 Unbeatable Tactics For Launching A Product Using Social Media

Are you worried about your product launch failing? Why don’t you use social media to promote your product launch? You can find plenty of creative product launch tactics to effectively engage social media users and get them excited about your newest product.

Statista predicts that there will be around 2.55 billion social network users by 2018. With the growing number of users on social media, it can serve as an excellent channel for reaching the most people with your product launch.

Executing a successful product launch isn’t simple though. Combining it with social media marketing can be even tougher if you’re new to it. In this article, I’ve compiled nine unbeatable product launch tactics to help you attract social media users more easily.

Create a Memorable Hashtag – Designate a unique hashtag for categorizing your product before its launch. This will make it easier for people to find relevant information about the product. You can also use the hashtag to keep track of conversations regarding your upcoming product launch. It’s important that the hashtag you choose is unique and catchy so it stands out from similar hashtags.Ben & Jerry’s offers an excellent example of these product launch tactics in action. The ice cream company invited fans to suggest a name for their latest flavor. They asked fans to use the hashtag #benjerryflavor with the name suggestion.
Employ Click to Tweet – Making it easy for people to talk about your latest product is one of the key product launch tactics. This helps them share their excitement with their friends and followers. I suggest using ClicktoTweet to come up with pre-populated tweets that your followers can easily share without the need to type anything extra. Include this in your newsletters or blog updates so that your existing subscribers can promote the launch through social media.
Make a Statement Across All Channels – The best way to ensure effective social media product launch tactics is to spread the “coming soon” message loudly. Advertise the launch across every social media channel you use. Perhaps you could come up with a profile banner or cover photo that properly defines the product launch. The point is to make a bold statement so that people notice you and your message.For instance, Taco Bell had a social media blackout when they were launching a new app. They used black squares for their social media profile pictures. They also used their Instagram account to upload a series of pictures and spell out an ominous message. Taco Bell definitely made a statement using this audacious move.
Have a Teaser Campaign – Mysterious teaser campaigns are among the top product launch tactics for building hype and suspense on social media. Give your teaser campaign a catchy name, preferably one that connects with the hashtag you’ve created for the product. Otherwise, you could develop a hashtag based on the project name itself. Then post images that don’t reveal much except for the hashtag, a catchy headline, and a “coming soon” message.For this to work, you’ll need to post regular updates to ensure that the social media buzz doesn’t die off. You could simply post a teaser image with your product launch date to get people wondering what’s going to happen on that day. Take for example this teaser image posted before the launch of the Microsoft Lumia phone in 2014.
Provide Behind-the-Scenes Insights – Update followers with short “making of” videos or a series of images. By showing them the process of creation, you’re bringing potential customers closer to the product and getting them excited for the launch. No matter what you’re introducing, share a few details involved in product’s conception and design. For instance, Samsung posted an album on Facebook with “making of” photos before the launch of its Galaxy S5.This is one of the product launch tactics that’s easiest if you’re selling physical products. You can share information about the materials used, sketches or mock-ups of the product, and even the actual manufacturing process. With software and services, it’s a bit more challenging. But you can turn the attention towards your team. Maybe you could show followers how your team is working hard to bring the product to life.
Get Fans Involved in the Creation – Improve fans’ engagement with your new product by getting them involved in the creation process on social media. Perhaps you could invite them to make suggestions on design features. Or you could ask for their opinion on a certain application. People are more likely to get excited about a product that they’ve personally contributed to.The Ben & Jerry’s campaign shown above also depicts a good example of getting fans involved in the product launch. Lay’s used similar product launch tactics by inviting fans to submit their flavor ideas. They sweetened the deal by offering a $1 million reward for the winning flavor. Not only will people rush to submit their ideas, but they’re also going to keep a close eye on the product’s creation and look forward to its launch.
Host an Exciting Contest – One of the best product launch tactics to create awareness on social media is getting people involved in a contest. If they’re given the opportunity to win something great, they’ll likely get more excited and wait in anticipation for the product to launch. Brainstorm a fun, interactive contest where followers’ chance of winning improves the more they spread the word.The Lay’s contest mentioned above is an excellent model of an exciting contest revolving around a product launch. Take a look at another example created by CourseMinded below. Notice how launching the contest to promote the new product also encouraged people to share the news.
Give Regular Updates – Product launch tactics #5 and #8 are closely related. However, this one involves providing a more detailed update on your product’s progress. In addition to photos and videos, you could post about new features that you’ve developed. You basically want to take customers through the journey of your product creation using social media. This is effective for keeping the hype alive, especially when you’re getting close to the launch date. If you’ve just finished building a new feature, let your followers know about it.
Start a Countdown – When you’re getting closer to the launch date, you can start a countdown on your social media account. This is one of the successful product launch tactics to prepare people for your new product. There are various ways to organize your countdown. Maybe you could update your profile pictures every day as the day grows closer. Feature the product image and a text blurb showing the number of days left.You could also simply upload images or post status updates regarding the time left. Check out a perfect example from the official Facebook page for Intel. The status update counts down to the launch of the 4^th Generation Intel Core Processor in nanoseconds.

Conclusion

There are endless product launch tactics that can help you capture the power of social media. Doing so will help expand the reach and potential success for your product launch. Of course, avoid using social media as the only tool to promote your new product though. Advertising, email, online giveaways, crowdfunding, and influencers are some more great vehicles.

Got any questions or more product launch tactics to share? Feel free to leave a comment below.