So, you’re launching a new product, and you want it to be a smashing success? Well, you’re not alone. U.S. companies are launching hundreds of new products every month. If you’re going to stand out, your product launch needs a press release that doesn’t just announce the product.
Highlight the story behind the product and your company. Include all the ups and downs that led you to this glorious moment. Discover all the ways you can spice up your product launch with a stellar press release.
Focus on the Customer’s Relationship with the Product
Before your product launch, research how your customers are likely to engage with the product. Hopefully, you’re launching a product that will make a tangible difference in people’s lives.
However, the only way to be sure is to put the product in the hands of real-life consumers by investing in what’s known as beta testing. Invite some of your loyal customers to participate in an interactive demo and try to gauge as much information as you can in terms of how your customers feel about the product. Ask a few questions such as:
- How and when would you use this product?
- What comes to mind when you use the product?
- How would you describe the product to a friend?
The more you test out the product before you launch, the more valuable insights you can use to your advantage when you write the press release. As Martin Jones, Senior Marketing Manager with Cox Communications, writes,
“As you solicit feedback about your product in beta tests, you can also collect valuable information on your user demographic. Surveys and interviews of your testers can give you a snapshot of your ultimate audience. You can use this info to tailor your tests to specific focus groups and track the responses from group to group.”
Lead with the Story Behind the Product
Every product has a story, whether you realize it or not. The press release writer should be able to talk about the entire history behind the product, including where the idea came from, how the product fits in with the larger narrative of your company, and how the finished product came to be.
Human beings connect with the world through stories. That’s how our brains are wired to think. If the product has changed several times during the development phase, don’t be afraid to include some of those details in the press release.
The more your audience understands about the story behind your product, the more they’ll appreciate the final results.
Host an Event for Your New Product
Your product launch should be more than just adding another page to your ecommerce website. Use this as an opportunity to host a marvelous event. Hosting a product launch event is about generating content that you can use to advertise the product going forward.
Invite members of the press, beta testers, loyal customers, and social media influencers from your industry. It’s all about getting the right people talking about your product. According to Influencer Marketing Hub, influencer marketing industry reached $16.4B in 2022. Moreover, influencer marketing budgets will increase next year.
That means consumers are placing more trust in influencers, thus brands are turning to influencers instead of traditional advertisements.
How to Choose Influencers for Your Press Release?
When it comes to promoting a press release, influencers are an important asset. Here are some tips for choosing the right influencers:
- Identify Your Target Audience: Identify the target audience of your press release and find influencers who appeal to that demographic.
- Study Their Content: Before reaching out to them, take some time to get familiar with the content they’re producing and their social media presence.
- Choose According to Popularity and Relevance: Look at the influencer’s following size, engagement rate, and relevance to your topic before making a decision.
- Reach Out Personally: Connect with influencers on a personal level by taking an interest in their work and engaging with their content.
Use the Press Release to Promote Upcoming Engagement Opportunities
To stick to your landing, add some information about upcoming events and opportunities in your product launch press release.
You can participate in an industry event, host a community webinar, or conduct a taped interview with an industry influencer in the next several months after you launch. This helps add to the momentum behind your new product and creates new opportunities for press releases in the future. It’s not just about coming up with a compelling story; it’s about continuing to tell that story over long periods of time.
It all starts with an eye-catching press release. As you continue reaching out to the press, consider hiring a press release writer that’s dedicated to expanding the reach of your company.
Using a custom writing service will help you take some of the guesswork out of your PR campaign. If you’re ready to take your outreach strategy to the next level, contact the professionals behind AWC today!
How Engaging Are Your Posts?
As a rule, aim to include either a photo, video, link to an article, or other “attachment” on every post in order to engage your followers. By simply adding a photo to accompany a post, the post engagement will increase by roughly 35%. In fact, “in 2017, 90% of all content shared by users on social media is video.
The biggest challenge is how you can capture your audience’s attention in the first 3 seconds” (Smart Insights, 2018). It’s important to catch someone’s eye as they’re scrolling through their newsfeed.
With so many businesses already using the platform, you want to stand out by providing people with consistent, engaging content that they find useful or entertaining. “Having a high-quality social content strategy is a must!” (Smart Insights, 2018).
Here are 3 tips for more engaging social media content:
- Shorter is better! Posts between 100 – 250 characters get 60% more likes, comments, and shares than posts over that character count. (HubSpot)
- Ask the Q! Prompting people with simple, opinion-based questions or “fill-in-the-blanks” will bring in 90% more engagement than the average post.
- Test your post timing! Don’t be afraid to test out posting content at different times throughout the day, to find the best times to connect with your audience. The 18 to 24 year-old demographic is most active between 9 – 10pm in the evening.
Did You Know? According to Entrepreneur, “a recent study conducted by Goldman Sachs concluded that Generation Z was more valuable to most organizations than millennials. Today, the oldest Gen Zers are 22 years old. They are just beginning to enter the labor force, and will have increased buying power for some time.”
Are You Responding to Comments and Questions?
One of the greatest opportunities social media offers a business is the ability to interact with their current and prospective clients. Therefore, it’s super important to always respond back to comments, questions, and feedback you receive in a timely manner – ideally, within a 24-hour timeframe.
Having the opportunity for real-time interactions with your customers is powerful; you can address their concerns, answer any questions they have on your services or products, and even inform them better about your company. “Think like a human being, not like a “brand”’ (ClickZ).
Don’t waste this opportunity by ignoring their comments on your page! Not enough staff to execute your social media and customer response strategy? We can help! Explore our social media content services today.
“The ability to interact with our customers, and potential customers, in a meaningful way via the Facebook platform is incredibly powerful for our brand” Andrea Lope, Nissan North America.
What’s Your Long-Term Objective?
There are multiple objectives a company may have when they begin implementing social media. One goal may be to better connect with their existing clientele. Another objective may be to increase traffic to the company’s website. A common objective is to increase a business’s online reputation:
Reputation Management — Social media allows you to see firsthand what your current and prospective clients are saying about you. If you suspect there may be negativity around a specific aspect of your business (perhaps your prices are a bit high, or your customer service is lacking), you can not only monitor and track these types of brand mentions, but you can address them in your posts.
Many social media sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, allow you to search their user base for mentions of your company. This is a great way to check the pulse of what is being said about your brand and what may need to be addressed.
Are You an Expert in Your Field?
Social media is the perfect place to offer valuable information and helpful advice, but your page needs to be executed properly. Facebook allows you to position yourself as an expert in your industry, ensuring you’ll be top-of-mind when it comes time for your fans and followers to buy the products or services that you offer.
If you’re not confident that your staff has time to utilize your company page to its full potential, hire an expert to get the job done right. Whether you’re a small business looking for a flexible outside team of social media content writers, or a large corporation that wants to focus solely on your company’s growing goals and not on Facebook, we have a social media services solution that’s perfect for you! Learn more about our social media services and copywriting process today.
By reviewing these six key elements, and gaining an understanding of what’s important for the success of your Facebook page, it will become easier to generate quality and engaging content that your followers will enjoy.
Building strong relationships on social media will help to create brand advocates and positive awareness of your company or organization.
Free Press Release Template
Writing a press release can help spread the word about your product or company. But knowing where to start and what to include can be tricky. A press release template makes it easier by providing you with a structure for crafting your own statement. Use this free template to create an effective, professional press release that gets the information out there quickly and accurately.
Edit this template in Google Docs
Open the press release template in Google Docs, click File – Make a Copy and customize the template as you like.
Or open the document, copy the text and insert in any text editor of your choice, for example, Word and edit it.
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David is the Founder and Director of article-writing.co, the fastest-growing content creation agency in North America. He has transformed companies by offering high-quality content that has impacted their SEO ranking, revitalized websites with engaging and industry-relevant blogs and website copy, and championed successful email campaign copy.
