Product Launch Plan: How To Use Influencers for a Product Launch

Launching a new product can feel like a high-stakes game where losing comes with dire consequences. But fear not, as leveraging influencer marketing can be your secret weapon to winning big in the digital space.

Imagine having a trusted voice with a dedicated following rave about your latest offering. For social brands eager to make a splash, using influencers strategically can boost your product's visibility and credibility as you launch.

Today, almost every reputable brand in the world has turned to or considered using influencer marketing as part of their digital marketing efforts. For that reason alone, you can't afford to ignore its impact.

In this guide, we'll dive into actionable tips on how to seamlessly integrate influencers into your product launch plan, ensuring your brand gets the attention it deserves as you launch your new product into the world.

Using Influencer Marketing for a Product Launch

What is influencer marketing?

Influencer marketing is a strategy where brands collaborate with individuals who have a significant following on social media platforms to promote their products or services.

These individuals (or sometimes even businesses), known as influencers, use their credibility, reach, and influence over their audience to create authentic and engaging content that resonates with their followers.

Often, these are creators, professionals, subject matter experts, bloggers, investors, reviewers, etc. As long as they have a dedicated and engaged audience. They're usually found with high follower counts on social media platforms such as YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, Pinterest, Tumblr, LinkedIn, and/or Twitch.

The types of influencers out there can be divided into four categories:

• Mega-Influencers: Celebrities with millions of followers.
• Macro-Influencers: Individuals with large followings, typically in the hundreds of thousands.
• Micro-Influencers: Everyday consumers with followings ranging from a few thousand to about 100,000.
• Nano-Influencers: Individuals with smaller, more niche followings, usually under 10,000.

All of the above can be used for your product launch and digital marketing efforts. Yes, even nano-influencers can be incredibly impactful for brands hoping to showcase new products. So remember to consider all your options when preparing influencer marketing campaigns.

How To Use Influencers for a Product Launch

A product launch is basically when a company introduces a new product to the market. As a big reveal moment, aiming to grab the attention of your audience, your execution needs to be flawless.

For years, the main way to launch products was to host events, buy ads, put out media press releases, and hope enough coverage was generated. But in the age of social media, new opportunities arose, and the power of the influencer was made clear to brands.

Now it would be considered foolish to not at least think about working with an influencer or influencers for the launch of a new product. Your launch should be about creating excitement and making sure people know the new product is out there and why they should care.

So partnering with a creative who has an engaged and interested audience can not only generate buzz for your existing followers but also help you find new people who end up loving your products.

The launch process can essentially be divided into three steps:

Pre-Launch: A pre-launch refers to the phase preceding the official launch of a product, service, or project. During this period, companies or individuals engage in various activities to prepare for the eventual release to the public or target audience.

Launch: The launch phase is the culmination of all the preparatory work done during the pre-launch phase. It's the moment when a product, service, or project is officially introduced to the public or target audience. The launch phase is a critical juncture that can significantly impact the success and trajectory of the initiative

Post-Launch: The post-launch phase is the period following the official launch of a product, service, or project. While the launch phase focuses on introducing the initiative to the public and generating initial momentum, the post-launch phase is about sustaining and building upon that momentum and addressing any issues or challenges that may arise.

As a brand, your job is to figure out which influencers to partner with and how to execute your product launch strategy in a way that helps you see a real return on investment. This may seem a little overwhelming but we're here to help.

A step-by-step guide to influencer marketing campaigns for a product launch

Determine Your Goals

Like with all digital marketing campaigns, step one is to outline your goals. In the case of a product launch via influencer marketing, your goal is likely to build hype surrounding the new product and secure sales.

Without a clear and definitive target, it's difficult to measure the ongoing successes or failures of your influencer marketing strategy.

Whether you hope to increase the visibility of your new product, drive interactions and conversions, or boost sales and signups - make your intentions clear to everyone involved in the influencer marketing campaign.

Remember the golden rule when it comes to setting goals: keep them specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound. AKA, be smart.

Find the Right Influencers

Now comes the difficult part: finding the right influencers. You'll need to do some thorough research and consider your target audience when deciding on which influencers to partner with.

Think about the demographics, psychographics, and behaviour of your existing followers, fans and customers. Creating detailed buyer personas can help you understand who your product is for and where they spend their time online.

The influencers you choose to work with should align with your brand values and appeal to your target audience. They should also have dedicated and engaged followers that may align with your target audience.

Don't just reach out to the first influencer whose audience aligns with yours though. Review the quality and creativity of the content they post, the engagement levels of followers, and previous collaborations to determine if the partnership makes sense.

The actual process of finding influencers can be cumbersome, but luckily there are powerful influencer search tools on the market that help to search and filter through millions of influencers across multiple social media influencers.

One such tool is the ttagz Search platform - a user-friendly platform that makes finding the perfect influencer an effortless process. You can also use it to group multiple influencers for improved influencer campaign management.

You can set the filters to the metrics you deem most important and quickly identify nano-influencers, micro-influencers, macro-influencers and/or mega-influencers who meet your needs. You then just need to choose who you're going to reach out to.

A key tip: nano-influencers and micro-influencers tend to have higher engagement rates than macro-influencers.

Prepare Your Influencer Marketing Strategy

Your campaign strategy serves as a guide for the content that influencer marketers post as part of your product launch campaign.

Ask yourselves the following questions:

• What types of content do we want to be posted for the pre-launch phase?
• What types of content do we want to be posted for the launch phase?
• What types of content do we want to be posted for the post-phase?

Your campaign strategy should cover the content for each phase, the social media channels you plan to post on (YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, etc.), the full campaign timeline, and the set budget.

Consider using a mix of content types (unboxing videos, reviews, tutorials, giveaways, etc.) to maximise your reach and engagement throughout the launch campaign.

In the example below, we see an influencer showing off a new product as part of a launch campaign for Motorola.

Send Influencer Campaign Briefs

Once you've decided on influencers to work with for your product launch, it's time to prepare and send campaign briefs.

Getting your influencer outreach right is pivotal for a successful influencer marketing campaign. Consider these key tips when reaching out to influencers:

• Personalise your pitch to each influencer and discuss why you chose them specifically.
• Be clear on your campaign goals, deliverables, timelines and compensation.
• Prepare thorough contracts or agreements that cover content ownership, exclusivity, payment terms, regulations, and more.

The actual process of reaching out can be time-consuming, but once again, influencer marketing too can save you. Many tools have outreach functionality included to help you send mass personalised emails to all of the influencers you're considering.

You can also find campaign brief generator tools to help you craft the perfect message.

Content Creation & Approval

The briefs sent out should generally serve as a guide to the types of content you're looking for but don't place too many limitations on the influencer. Giving influencers the creative freedom to maintain authenticity will only benefit your brand.

You should, however, review all drafts before posting to make sure that your standards and values are met. Creating a feedback loop that is both constructive and respectful of the influencer's style helps maintain open and transparent communication processes.

One bad post could have a lasting negative impact on your brand and launch campaign, so be as thorough as possible when it comes to your approval process.

Launch and Promotion

Okay, it's launch time - perhaps the most important part of the process. Getting your execution right will essentially determine whether or not your influencer marketing strategy is successful.

So how do you do it? First and foremost, make sure influencers are posting at optimal times for maximum visibility and engagement.

You should also encourage your influencer marketing partners to respond to comments - a marketing tactic that leads to more frequent engagement on posts. You can even use paid ads to amplify influencer posts in certain circumstances.

The best marketing campaigns come from brands that can adapt to changing circumstances and manage unexpected issues promptly. Stay focused on your goals and monitor influencer content at all times.

Measure & Track Influence Campaigns

As with everything in digital marketing, you need to track, measure and report consistently. Review your Key Performance Indicators, and use digital marketing tools such as Google Analytics, Instagram Insights, and influencer marketing platforms to examine the key stats.

You should also collect feedback from relevant influencers and their audiences to see how the product launch is being received on social media platforms. Review your goals to determine whether your influencer campaigns are on par to meet them, and adjust accordingly.

Post Campaign Tips

At the end of each influencer campaign, make sure you prepare a comprehensive report covering all key metrics and insights.

Speak to the influencers and brand ambassadors you worked with, get feedback, and show appreciation for their efforts. For the influencers who saw the most success, foster and develop lasting relationships for future collaboration opportunities.

The insights from each product launch and influencer marketing campaign should serve as a guide for refining your strategy going forward.

Additional Influencer Marketing Tips for a Successful Launch

We've covered all the basics, but here are a few additional tips to help you get the most out of your influencer marketing campaigns.

Offer Exclusivity

Giving your creative partners, AKA influencers, early access to your product is a smart move. By doing this, you're starting the hype train early.

Create Teasers

Create teaser videos that hint at something big coming. Leverage your partnerships to create buzz. Let the people know that a new product is on its way, and it's going to shake things up.

Do Giveaways

Everyone loves free stuff, and hosting contests and giveaways is a great way to build hype. Influencers can help you generate sign-ups and entries to competitions

Don't forget about email marketing

The power of email marketing is often understated in the world of influencers, as most tend to focus on popular social media channels such as YouTube, Instagram, and TikTok. There are, however, plenty of influencers with popular email newsletters that can be used to your advantage.

Closing Remarks

The digital space is dominated by influencers, and brands are steadily embracing the power of influencer marketing for product launches and more.

Following the above tips can help you prepare and execute the perfect influencer marketing campaign for your product launch - building sufficient hype, boosting visibility and securing key sales.

A powerful influencer strategy can lead to a successful product launch and ultimately take your business to new heights.

At ttagz, we provide a robust influencer marketing platform designed to make finding and reaching out to influencers an effortless process. To learn more about our tools and services, reach out or book a demo today. 

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