Trends in Web Development: 2020 and beyond
Each year, we see the flood of new technologies and tools that shape web development and ease the work on digital products. Web development continuously evolves by adopting new […]
Go to next article
Try portals and forums where you can suggest your app as a solution to a problem. On websites like Quora or Reddit people ask others about certain issues and what they suggest would be best in a given situation. You, as a marketing specialist, can mention your product in one of the answers. At the same time write a opinion about its functionality. It is a form of an indirect sale which generates a great ROI however, to achieve it, remember about some essentials.
Always look at the quality of the portal as well as of its publications. Bear in mind that the forum has to include your target audience. Also, consider the number of posts and if the subjects discussed by the people are somehow related to what you are trying to sell. It is crucial because otherwise there is no point in suggesting your product to anyone. They may consider your comments as spam and ban you. Speaking of spam, avoid platforms where there is full of it. It says a lot about the quality of the forum and what kind of people belong there. And one more thing. Don’t register to the same portal as your direct competition.
Some forums have rules which you may read but you can skip it just as well. However, there are portals where certain online behaviour is not tolerated and may result in being banned. For this reason, you should pay attention to phrases which include warning about:
The first impression is important so don’t experiment with your avatar or crazy details of your life. Create a good description of your experience and expertise in the field. Choose a good username, preferably including your real name. Additionally, to make a good impression set up a picture of yourself or you with your family. Anything that would make your profile more realistic but also professional. Remember it’s all about building trust with the community. They need to believe that you know what you are talking about. The way you introduce yourself online matters as you strive to become a respected expert in the field.
This may lead to a situation when you as a member will be portrayed as biased because of your business. You don’t want that. Instead, introduce yourself as a user and spend some time reading the forum. Try to know your community and the problems they face with. Getting insight into this circle of people will help you to fit in.
You may, of course, include your brand name and some useful information in your signature block. It will be much more subtle and with time it may reach the right people. Lastly, do not use bots to spam on forums. This online move will ruin your reputation and the opinion about the product.
A quick way to gain a lot in the eyes of the people is to always give them useful advice possibly supported by trusted links. This way you engage and try to solve problems and if it works then most likely you are going to be remembered. When you gain respect and some level of authority you can easily recommend your own company in the comment section. If someone looks for the best tool to offer their employees an easy option to set up a meeting, the marketers behind Appoint.ly or Calendly can easily get a new client. What is worth mentioning is that those startups gained a lot of big collaborations working this way. It’s important to first be as objective as you can to show people you know more options and not only your product. That would be too obvious.
Social media campaigns are a form, where the users can help the brand in creating the content. The user-generated content is very convincing and is proved to directly influence people’s choice when it comes to purchases. For this reason, you need to come up with an interesting idea that would encourage people to take a look. But to create a viral is not an easy play. It requires an understanding of the community around your product. Sometimes it is all about timing that changes simple ideas into viral content. You can also read Viral by Piotr Bucki that should explain some more about the topic.
A fine example can be #WhiteCupContest campaign performed by Starbucks. A brilliant idea that was meant to bring customer together and connect them through art. People were asked to design white paper cups for the brand. The best design becomes a new limited edition of coffee cups, available in stores. In just three weeks the company noted four thousand entries on their contest page. Everyone wanted to try their creativity and buy their own project. The enthusiasm of people brought Starbucks the publicity they wanted and even after the contest the company was receiving a lot of engagement from the users.
Let’s say your product is a fitness app. You can use Fat Thursday to organize various contests, sales, and events connected to your app. This is how people get familiar with what you’ve created and the message will be spread. During various holidays people often expect special discounts, free samples or events where they can know something more about the product. Take advantage of such situations and use them to bring more eyes to your company.
There are other ways in which you can start your social media campaign. Try to sell your brand by encouraging people to share pictures of your product with a special hashtag. The pictures would be then posted on the company’s Instagram or Facebook profile. Maybe there is an issue or an event that you want to be connected or associated with your company? Is there a subject that is important to you that you want to publicize? Think about what can present your product in a good light and attract users.
The last move that will guarantee you an increased interest is the opinion of users. It is crucial just like the user-generated content as it has an influence on people who hesitate before trying something for the first time. This type of users often assesses the quality by looking at the comment section or counting stars gained by the product. The more positive comments they read the closer they are to try out the thing. It gives them a solid proof that the product is worth their time and will change their daily experiences.
Offer beta access to your product in an exchange of a comment on functions that are great and those that should be improved. This is how you can show people that even if your product isn’t perfect, your team still works on the development and the opinion of users is very important. Receiving the feedback you see your work differently. The new perspective may bring up more ideas on how to develop the product.
Putting it all together, all of your marketing steps have to be well-thought before applied. To surprise and create a wave of positive emotions connected to digital products is getting difficult year by year. And it doesn’t matter if the product is being sold in a B2B or B2C model. That is why as CEOs and founders we should search for new channels to sell and promote our products. What is more, we need to carefully observe all the biggest companies and our competitors’ strategies. Finally, we should find specialists who are able to not only present us with some innovative solutions but also bring them to life.
