How to Improve Your Launch with a Strong Influencer Marketing Strategy

Does your B2B product launch strategy need a little pizzazz? If you’re looking for ways to improve your product launch, then your influencer marketing strategy might just hold the key. 

We’ve seen impressive results when we incorporate influencer marketing tactics into product launches. It has a huge impact on not only the success of the launch, but also the brand itself.

But how does it exactly work?

In this post we will consider:

• Why influencer marketing is a great strategy for your product launch
• How to launch a new product with influencer marketing tactics
• What specific influencer marketing tactics will help your product launch succeed

Why Use Influencer Marketing as Part of Your B2B Product Launch Strategy?

The answer can be boiled down to two simple words: Social proof.

Influencers have established trust and familiarity with their audience. When you bring them onboard, it’s as if you have added a trusted seal of approval to your product label.

The nifty thing about using influencer marketing is that it’s not limited to one stage of your product launch strategy. As you will see later on in this post, influencer marketing is a chameleon tactic — it can fit seamlessly into many areas of your launch.

For instance, you can use influencer marketing even before your launch goes public. Many B2B businesses find it helpful to collaborate with influencers to improve heir product pre-launch. Since influencers in a given industry use similar products daily, they have unique and valuable insight to offer.

Let’s take a look at 8 powerful ways that you can use influencers to improve your next product launch.

8 Genius Ways to Leverage Your Influencer Marketing Strategy in Your Next Launch

1. Have Them Do an Instagram Takeover

Instagram is becoming an important part of B2B social media marketing — and this opens up many new opportunities for brands, including Instagram takeovers. According to the social media app Buffer, an Instagram takeover is “a taking over of someone else’s Instagram account temporarily and sharing content with their audience.”

Many companies have found amazing results from allowing influencers to take over their feed including companies such as Adidas, Sephora, and Airbnb. It works so well because it demonstrates a high level of trust between you and the influencer which in turn attracts followers.

Once you’ve chosen an influencer that fits your audience and industry, establish your product launch goals with the influencer and the type of content you’d like to see in this exchange. They will then post content that both fits their area of expertise and supports your product.

2. Create a Special Hashtag for Them to Use

Hashtags are a powerful tool in modern marketing and can unite your campaign efforts on social media. Companies of all sizes have begun to use this simple but effective tactic in their product launches with phenomenal results.

How do you create an effective hashtag? A hashtag should be:

• Short
• Memorable
• Unique
• Emotional
• Tied to your product

A great example of this is Adidas’ #ORIGINALis campaign to promote its new Original product line. Adidas paired with some big names on the pop culture scene, including Snoop Dogg and Stormzy. The hashtag took off on social media, with many people using it.

3. Give Them Discount Codes

An influencer’s audience is a loyal bunch. But even a loyal audience reacts to incentives. Give them an added reason to trust and use your product with discount codes, shared through the influencer.

 

 

 

Do a roundup post that includes posts from several influencers on a topic that touches your product launch. Work with these influencers to get quotes and content for the post, and ask them to promote the post among their audience. 

This piques the interest of the influencer’s followers and gets them to your page where they can check out your product. 

For example, if you’re releasing a new internet security package, you might do a roundup post on: 9 Experts Weigh In on Internet Security Dos and Don’ts. Feature a call to action that promotes your product launch. 

5. Give Them Early Access

Giving influencers early access to your product can help in several ways. First, they can give you real, expert feedback on what you’re doing well and what might need some work. 

In exchange for exclusive early access, encourage influencesr to review your product, perhaps in a written review, blog post, or a YouTube video. Use the review as part of your launch materials.

6. Create a Contest 

Human nature 101: Everybody wants to know what’s in it for them. Use this to your advantage by creating a contest with a valuable prize for the winner. You might promote a contest with an influencer where audience members send in a picture of themselves using your product.

Get the influencer’s fans and followers involved so they post pictures of your product in action. Work with the influencer to promote it, with something as simple as “I am working with ABC company to launch its product XYZ — and ABC is giving away a free, 3-month subscription to the person with the most creative picture of the product in use.”

Contests like this can also motivate someone who ordinarily would be on the fence about such products.

7. Don’t Forget About Trade Associations

While you may think you need to lure big, fancy names, they may not have as much influence as you think. In B2B marketing, trade associations, while old school, often have clout and carry weight with their members. 

Check into various trade associations in your industry to see who might be willing to work with you to promote your product launch. 

8. Collaborate on Content

Influencers know their audiences. They know what kinds of content formats and topics work best — it is, after all, what made them an influencer in the first place. So listen to them. Bring them in early on your creative process.

For instance, if you want to create a blog campaign that showcases your new product, your influencer will probably know what their audience cares about, what subjects might go over well, and what might not.  

In review…

If you’re in a pinch on how to boost your B2B product launch strategy, these influencer marketing strategy tips could make all the difference. 

Have you used influencer marketing to improve your product launch? Let us know how it went in the comments below!

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