10 Tactics for Launching a Product Using Social Media As  seen  on  the  Harvard  Business  Review  blog  

So you’re launching a new product, and you think it’s a really good idea.

But how will you tell people about it?

OVER.

The days of an

embargoed launch date

& exclusive media story

are pretty much

Why?

The Internet has changed the launch process.

Now companies seed products with influencers,

leak information to reporters, bloggers, and

consumers, live-stream launch events globally, and

reward brand advocates with exclusives.

Social media levels

the playing field

for brands and

lets consumers

share their opinions

freely.

According to Schneider Associates’ 2014 Most Memorable New Product Launch survey,

is now the second-most used source for new product launch information

behind TV commercials.

How do brands use social media to their advantage when launching a new product?

?

10 Tips Here are

1. Use social media as a supporting character, not the star performer.

Meaning…

Use social media to support your

other integrated launch tactics.

Remember when Taco Bell sent Twitter followers on a chase to find the Blue Bouquet for the Cool Ranch Doritos Locos Taco launch?

They still supported the launch with a press release, national media relations and a TV spot.

2. Use social media to leverage and support an in-person launch event.

Like Amazon did for the launch of the Fire phone. Although the phone was somewhat of a flop for technical reasons, Amazon took a page out of Apple’s playbook with a launch event backed by social.

three. Use social media to build or

capitalize on a consumer’s

emotional connection to a brand.

You could say the social media world was pretty happy when Twinkies had “The Sweetest Comeback in the history of ever.”

The relaunch generated more than 350 million Twitter impressions and 500,000 new Facebook fans…

4.) Know your target

demo & their social media preferences. 

Like when Madonna launched

her new pop song on

Snapchat.

5 Use social media to host contests that foster loyalty and reward brand advocates. Rewarding brand advocates and fans with the chance to win products through social media drives engagement and repeat fans.

6. Use blogger outreach to help launch your product.

For the Swiffer Sweep & Trap launch…  

P&G invited mommy bloggers to bring their children to an

event and make messy crafts, then use the Swiffer Sweep &

Trap to clean up.

The bloggers took photos of the event and documented

their experience with the product on their blogs.

#7 Use a hashtag to

create, ignite, and track

the conversation on

social media.

Wendy’s used #PretzelLoveSongs to launch its Pretzel Bacon Burger, asking

fans to share their thoughts about the

new product.

The brand chose the best ones and

activated singers like Nick Lachey to

sing the tweets on video.

8.) Use visual social media to give people an inside look at a B2B company. 

Like Instagram and Pinterest.

Use social media to let consumers create the new product.

9

Brands want to create products consumers will buy. Consumers want control. Social media allows for both.

Lay’s did this with its “Do Us a Flavor” campaign, asking consumers to suggest their own new chip flavors. The brand chose a winner (Kettle Cooked Wasabi Ginger chips) and made it available in stores.

NUMBER TEN To maximize

effectiveness of a

social media

campaign, always

stay ahead of

“the next big

thing.”

Do you want to learn how to incorporate social media into your next product launch?

Contact us! launch@schneiderpr.com Read the Harvard Business Review article: http://bit.ly/1b7odyF