People put products on the market every day. People fail every day too. Consumers are overwhelmed with blinkies and emails and popups that tell them to buy this or buy that. Without the proper product launch, without a substantial amount of buzz and attention for the product launch, your product will be lost in the 3,456 page of a Google search. There are three basic steps to generating buzz around a product and taking those steps can send your product launch into the stratosphere.
Step one: Get in touch with your social media side. If you aren’t already on Twitter or Facebook then get there. Set up an account on YouTube. Start sending out messages about the “product you are developing” like little teasers. Maybe even ask others for input on what they think your product should include, or do, or offer. People love feeling involved. Society is stimulated by a variety of forms of media so don’t be afraid to create a simple YouTube video talking about your product or maybe just an audio podcast.
Step two: Now that you’ve teased about your product, let someone have it. Put your product in the hands of a few people. Bloggers are a great source of buzz. Find a blogger whose readers are in your target audience and offer them a free product for honest review and one to giveaway. Entry into blog contests like this often require readers to visit your company site and come back to comment on the blog about something they like or something they read. It also generates additional tweets and posts on Facebook all linking to your product. When the giveaways are over you will have several “social proofs” (testimonials) to use in your actual product launch. You’ve also generated anticipation since they were offering out a product not yet available.
Step three: Simple economics. If you can’t limit the quantity being offered up front then limit the time frame that it’s being offered at a “deal”. People can’t stand it when it’s scarce. They jump to make sure they don’t miss out.
Get your product into the social media streams, generate positive feedback with a few freebies for review and then make them think there is a limit to the availability. These are the three keys to generating buzz for your product launch.