You’ve invested time, energy, and money into crafting a product you believe in and it’s finally time to reveal it to the world. No doubt you want to give it a running start. The best way to do so is with a strong Public Relations (PR) campaign that helps your organisation and product put its best foot forward. Producing an effective campaign shouldn’t be mission impossible, so we’ve put together a simple guide to using PR to launch your product or service.
Determine your objectives
The first step for any successful PR launch is to define exactly what you want to get out of it. Do you want to raise awareness of your new product or service? Do you want to build your brand’s reputation? Do you want to change your existing image? Like any project, determining your objectives is the best way to set your own Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) and measure your Return on Investment (ROI) down the track.
Know your audience
Who is going to be interested in your product or service, and what are their needs? Knowing their demographic information helps you develop a buyer persona that represents your ‘ideal consumer’ so you can align your brand with their interests.
Create a targeted media list
You know your target customer inside-out, so it’s important to find the best way to talk to them. Engaging publications relevant to your particular trade or industry is the first step. Do some desk research and create a list of all the outlets you think your product or service could feature in, then within these outlets, find journalists that write about your industry and offerings. When compiling your list, make sure you gather details including the names and emails of specific writers and Editors so you can contact them directly. You should also create a list of influencers with a common audience you can target for reviews of your product.
Define your key messaging
Carefully crafted key messaging is essential to getting your point across to your audience. Draft five to six key bullet points which tell your audience who you are, what your product is and why they need it. Make sure to keep them simple and straightforward – you want them to be memorable. Keep these on hand whenever you are writing your media materials so your message is always clear and consistent.
Create a press kit and landing page
Creating a high-quality press kit with engaging visual content, your press release and your key messages is the last part of your preparation. Make sure you’re also investing in high quality visual content like videos and images. Not everyone is a graphic designer, but everyone can tell if an image is blurry or isn’t quite right. Putting in that extra attention to detail elevates your content and grabs people’s attention.
Once you’ve drummed up interest in your product or brand, you also need to have somewhere to send people. Your website landing page is your business’ first impression, so it should include all the key details about your product.
Reach out to the media
You’ve gathered your media list, distilled your key messages, put together a flawless press release and have a selection of high-quality photos of your product or service. That’s great! Now it’s time to reach out to journalists, editors, and influencers to create the buzz you’re looking for.
An effective media pitch is punchy and gets straight to the point. Make sure you use an engaging email subject line, address the journalist directly and show that you’ve done your research into their past work (tell them why they should care). Open with an engaging first liner to your pitch to grab the journalist’s attention and convince them it’s worth reading further. If possible, give media and influencers the opportunity to review your product as this will help build trust and legitimacy in your product or service through third party validation.
Monitor your results
It’s important to see how your PR efforts are tracking. It helps you know what you’re doing right, or where to make adjustments if you’re not achieving the results you aimed for. Measuring data like how many stories your brand was mentioned in, how many impressions you have generated, and whether your campaign has led to increased website traffic are good ways to determine success.
As an integrated strategic marketing and PR agency with over 27 years of refining our skillset, the Taurus ‘No Bull’ approach to PR and launching your brand and product is second nature. If you’re interested in using our unique and integrated TaurusBullseye© Methodology to give your product launch a great head start, reach out to us today at [email protected].