What’s the secret to a successful product launch? {Great content}
There’s nothing quite like a product launch to send your anxiety levels soaring. You think your latest development is a stroke of utter genius. You’re pretty sure your customers are going to fall just as in love with your product as you are… but still, nagging doubts will ensure the night before a launch is sleepless. You’ll worry people won’t understand it, or won’t feel inclined to part wth the hard-earned cash and actually buy it. But even worse, what if no-one even notices it? Now that’s a problem I, as a freelance copywriter, can help you avoid.
When working with clients on product launches, it’s my job to create content that not only makes sure people know about the product, but also gets them talking about it. It’s all about building excitement, and ensuring the product makes the grand entrance to market you envisaged. What makes this easier, is having a suite of cohesive, brand-boosting launch content in your armoury.
I thought I’d share the key elements of a recent launch I worked on with UK tech company, Timecode Systems.
1. Pre-launch teaser
Using a teaser campaign to encourage speculation is definitely a way to make sure your audience is ready and eagerly awaiting your big announcement. Short teaser videos were used to engage existing audiences across the company’s social channels pre-launch day. And finally, there was an unboxing video to conclude the teaser section of the launch by adding a bit of drama to the official unveiling.
2. Press release
Social media and blogging have changed the PR landscape but there is still space for traditional press releases. A good, tightly targeted announcement will give you valuable exposure (and endorsement) from respected, independent media outlets. It’s also a great launchpad to provoke a discussion with an editor about feature opportunities to amplify your media coverage. Take a look at the UltraSync BLUE press announcement.
3. But don’t expect your press release to do all the work
Use the power of social media and the microblogging culture to get your message across in bitesize chunks to reach your audience from an alternative angle. For the UltraSync BLUE launch we took to Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, LinkedIn and YouTube to maximise engagement opportunities. We created quirky imagery and introduction videos (I led on the script and direction). And always make the most of the content you create by repurposing it into blog posts and using it to reach out to established bloggers who have audiences you want to connect with.
4. And talking about social media, make it easy on the eyes
Your social media posts need to be visual if you want them to make an impact. On average, a 37% increase in engagement can be achieved if you add a good photo or video to a Facebook post. You’ll also be looking at around a 35% boost in retweets on Twitter for doing the same. But don’t rely on stock imagery and memes, be original. Getting my camera out is now part of my role – written content just isn’t enough anymore.
5. Make you website content work hard for you
So you’ve grabbed the attention of your audience with some sparky social media posts. Web content is key to retaining their interest. It needs to respond to their curiosity and answer their questions. This takes the art of creating web-friendly prose that hits a delicate balance between being keyword-rich for search engine rankings, informative for those looking for detail and engaging enough to capture the limited attention of a skim-reader.
6. Email marketing
Our inboxes are flooded with emails everyday (anyone else not really noticing a reduction post GDPR?) The challenge is making your emails noticeable. With UltraSync BLUE we kept it simple and bold and as a result achieved a 44% open rate and 20% click rate.
7. It’s not all about customers
Like many technology companies, Timecode Systems a network of international resellers are an important sales channel. A reseller presentation ensured they were fully informed and had all the messages and detail they needed to sell the profit effectively from day one.
All this content sounds a lot of hard work, right?
That’s where I can help. Product launches cause a peak in marketing activity and producing all this extra content often goes beyond the capabilities of the regular resources of a company. I work with clients on a flexible, freelance basis to help their teams through these busy periods by providing them with the range of content that will ensure a product launch that is brimming with personality and destined to make a huge impact.
Planning a product launch? Let’s talk about content.