A few months ago, I created an Instagram account with over 1 million followers. Since then, my career has been on a roller coaster ride! It’s almost like I have no control of what happens next.
My job is to grow your brand by creating content that people are going to want to see. That means producing engaging material about products and services you sell.
But it doesn’t stop there. I also have to make sure all those people who follow you on social media look at your product or service as positively as possible. They may try to find reasons why your product isn’t good enough or why they can do something better than you.
And finally, I have to get these negative reviews out in the open so that your customers will trust your company more. At the very least, I need to address them directly so they don’t go unheard.
It’s a lot of work, but it’s part of my job. And I would be lying if I said I wasn’t getting paid for it!
That being said, here are some ways you can maximize the effectiveness of your product marketing strategies…
Avoid Overselling Products
Most professional marketers spend time brainstorming different ideas before picking one thing to promote. This is because they know how powerful advertising can be.
Product marketing is the process of enhancing your company’s reputation through creating, promoting, and selling products and services that resonate with people.
Product marketing includes everything from developing new products or improving an existing one, to influencing others to use or buy your products. It also means getting out in the community to promote the benefits of your business’s offerings and meeting like-minded individuals who can be influenced by your products or service.
It is not about what you are trying to get away with, it is about inspiring people to invest in things they know are good for them. That is why it is referred to as “marketing” – to gain attention for something by putting it out there and hoping people will respond.
The best way to achieve this is by investing in research and testing to see which strategies work and don’t work for your target audience.
A touchpoint is an activity or occurrence that stimulates action to connect with a company, service, or product. It can be an interaction with someone else, exposure to advertisements, pictures, or features of a product, or listening to a podcast or watch movie about it.
Interaction between parties is the most common type of touchpoint. This could be talking with another person about a product, reading an article written about a product, viewing a YouTube video related to a product, etc.
Exposure is another common form of touchpoint. This could be seeing a feature of a product exposed through social media, watching a TV show or film episode featuring products using the product, reading an article written about the product, etc.
Features are something special about a product that attracts attention. These might be descriptive (telling you what the product does) or promotional (advertising the product for sale). Reading an ebook if no one paid for it is a formal way to advertise the product.
Posting about a product on Twitter or Facebook is creating a casual interactive exposure.
As we mentioned before, creating a video is an excellent way to promote your product or service. But how to do that? There are many ways to achieve this!
The first thing you need to understand about YouTube is that the easier you make it for people to find your content, the more likely they will share it with their audience.
That’s why there are two main types of videos on YouTube- short films (or clips) and longer ones. Short films are good for generating attention and engagement, while longer videos are better for establishing influence and building relationships.
Clips usually focus on one or several points of information, whereas long form videos typically combine storytelling with some type of lesson or tip.
When deciding which length to go with, stick to what feels natural for your brand and message. People watch longer documentaries and stories than advertisements, so use that as a basis for yours!
Another important part of making great YouTube videos is editing. Even if you don’t have advanced software like Adobe Photoshop, you can still edit most media files using free applications such as Google Docs or Microsoft Office Online.
As we mentioned earlier, being able to relate to your audience is one of the most important things you can do as a product owner. You need to be someone they feel comfortable talking to about your products and services!
That’s why it is so crucial that you find out who your potential customers are before investing time in creating content or finding and engaging with people on social media.
You should spend time looking at their blogs, listening to them talk about brands they like, reading reviews of their past products and experiences, and asking if anyone they know uses your competitors’ products. By doing this, you will not only get some great insights into what types of products appeal to them, but also learn something about how they shop and use products.
By being aware of these things, you will have more ideas for ways to promote your own products while also developing strategies to win over new audiences.
Starting your marketing career with a personal web page is a great way to get into the game. Yours can be anything you want it to be!
It does not have to be professional, but we recommend that if you are seeking employment or promotion in the workplace or for your company that you use of neutral tone sites that people can access.
This helps promote an open dialogue and understanding about the site’s content as well as you. You can also use it to share information related to your job position!
You do not need to include all the details of your life on this site, just like having a small profile picture on social media sites, but including at least your first name and last initial makes sense here as well.
Something to keep in mind is that although your colleagues may perceive your webpage as more formal than what is typically used, there is no reason that you cannot add some fun touches to make it yours.
As mentioned earlier, marketing is more than just telling people about your products and trying to get them to buy something from you. It also means distributing your product or service so that it reaches the right audience at the right time.
This can mean putting up posters, posting online advertisements, sending emails, handing out flyers, talking in public events, creating social media accounts, and much more. Yours job is to find effective ways to spread your message and expose new people to it.
You can’t expect anyone to use your services if they don’t know who you are! Don’t even start thinking about spreading your messages until you have done some basic things first.
These basics include publishing a business website with an HTS (honest, trustworthy, reliable) web host, setting up email addresses, and formatting your documents properly. Beyond that, there aren’t too many extra steps you should take unless you feel very comfortable doing so.
As we discussed, marketing is more than just advertising products to people. It includes finding out who your potential clients are, what they want, and how you can help them achieve their goals.
This is called product marketing or customer research. When done well, it helps you create effective campaigns that connect with buyers in the right way.
By understanding your audience, you’ll know what messages work for them and why. This will allow you to continually refine your approach and succeed in reaching your goal — whether that is increasing sales, improving brand perception, or both.
What if I told you that most companies don’t do this? They try to reach out to everyone, but that isn’t working anymore. In fact, it's backfiring.
Too many businesses assume that everyone wants their specific product or service. But sometimes, that assumption is wrong.
Some of your potential clients may be looking for something similar from another company. Or maybe they’re seeking an alternative to yours. Or perhaps they're trying to find the best overall value.
In any case, they're not searching for your specific product or service. And even if they were, they might not buy it if they feel like they've tried everything else and nothing worked.
That's why it's important to understand your market -- what types of services and products appeal to their spending habits, and which ones don't.
After deciding what you are going to offer your product or service, now is the time to set a price. This seems like an easy thing to do, but it can be tricky!
The hardest part about setting a price is knowing when to stick to your guns and keep charging your current price, and when to lower yours.
If you have already done some marketing for your products and services, then chances are that you have a cost per lead, a cost per hour, or a total budget that was invested in research and advertisements.
Using those numbers as guides, you should know that if you drop below your costs, people will notice and might stop doing business with you. If you go up though, people may find other providers more appealing.
So, how much money should you ask for? Honestly, there isn’t one hard and fast rule for this. It depends on several factors such as competition, your own personal savings, and the value of your product to your potential customers.
However, we would recommend staying within two dollars of your average cost per conversion. That way, you get credit for being competitive, while also keeping enough profit to invest in future advertising campaigns.
