Push marketing campaigns may now become obsolete to get results for product launch programs. Unsolicited phone calls, sales professionals showing up unannounced, direct mail campaigns, and pop-up advertisements are both irritating and ineffective ways of launching a new product. By embracing modern marketing solutions instead of relying on traditional push campaigns, businesses now have the opportunity to be more productive and successful. Technology solutions are the key to changing the way businesses connect, communicate, and collaborate.
Push marketing campaigns may now become obsolete to get results for product launch programs. Unsolicited phone calls, sales professionals showing up unannounced, direct mail campaigns, and pop-up advertisements are both irritating and ineffective ways of launching a new product. By embracing modern marketing solutions instead of relying on traditional push campaigns, businesses now have the opportunity to be more productive and successful. Technology solutions are the key to changing the way businesses connect, communicate, and collaborate. As marketing professionals, it is our responsibility to find the best methods to connect with our constituents, to understand how they look for information, and to communicate on their terms.
Tap into the Untapped Value
It’s no secret; social media platforms provide businesses with marketing channels that connect them directly to their target audiences. According to Forbes, over 80% of executives believe that engagement in social media has led to increased sales. Up until now, the business use of social media has been limited to marketing, but a strong social media strategy can provide much more value for companies across multiple business units. A recent survey from McKinsey Global Institute reported $1.3 trillion in untapped value from social media that lies in “improved communication and collaboration within social enterprises.” By utilizing social media’s maximum potential, businesses can tap into collaborative solutions that expand networks and directly increase consumer communications.
Utilize Social Media as Part of Your Product Launch Program
While most successful companies are engaged in social media, most do not feel that they are using it to its fullest potential. Take Twitter, for example. Forbes reports that 73% of Fortune 500 companies are active on Twitter for marketing purposes, but it can also be used to detect trends and generate leads. Twitter, as well as other social media outlets, can be used to engage with customers, providing feedback and solutions through Q&A formats, not just “pushing” product marketing messages. According to PR Professional, Jeremy Pepper, social media can be a support system for clients, which will “empower customers and power users to be a de facto resource for [the client’s] company.”
Collaborate & Engage Followers
Business is all about relationship-building, so consistent engagement is critical to brand success. Your product launch program should always incorporate stakeholder maintenance and integrate new engagement strategies. In 2011, Google launched its own social media network, Google+. This is an excellent forum for businesses to network, share ideas, exchange information, and collaborate. Companies of all sizes and across sectors are taking advantage of this platform. Within the close-knit, targeted Google+ communities, businesses can keep followers informed of what they are doing through videos and town meetings.
Business to business connectivity is not just limited to social media, and it doesn’t begin with the consumer. In a successful product launch program, engagement begins before products ever hit the market, when the media decides which trends to feature, and which products to highlight. With so many PR professionals pitching stories, sending media alerts, and writing content, it is imperative that relevant product information is getting in front of the right people in the right format.
In addition to what we are doing at Launchmetrics, companies like IDS Picture Desk and WGSN use technology as part of their product launch programs to build new models that allow users to search and engage with PR and Marketing content distributed from brands.
At Launchmetrics, we use Fashion GPS Radar to connect editors and bloggers with top fashion brands, allowing them to share content from runway show images, new product shots, and brand news. As the first virtual industry community of its kind, Fashion GPS Radar also allows members to manage their own events and calendars through one portal that is available online and on the go via the GPS Radar app.
With 25,000 new photographs uploaded daily, IDS Picture Desk provides a forum for leading newspapers and magazines across the globe to search for the images and information from brands as to what fashion labels celebrities are wearing, what events they are attending, and more.
WGSN is an online trend forecasting service, providing unparalleled “at your fingertips” search functionality to find trends by pattern, color and beyond. Digital tools like this allow fashion and media professionals to discover the undiscovered without leaving the office.
Let innovative technologies and social media work for the success of your business. Abandon the old push campaign and move forward by embracing social media as a tool that goes beyond traditional marketing. Use technology as part of your product launch program to expand your network and grow your business. Above all, provide your captive audience with relevant content, when they want it, in the format that works best for them.
By Launchmetrics Content Team
The Launchmetrics content team is always on the lookout for new trends in the fashion and technology sector. We are geeks with style and lovers of good stories!
