Event planners discovered in 2020 that they might expand their audience while also saving money.
How? Completely by chance.
To survive the Pandemic, exhibitions, conferences, trade exhibits, and career fairs all shifted online. They not only survived, though; they also thrived.
There was some positive news for marketers wanting to launch a product in the midst of a pandemic despite all the chaos.
It rapidly became evident that, when professionally planned and executed, virtual events offer a lot of advantages over live ones as a virtual product launch came to light, a trend we were already experiencing but that the Pandemic exacerbated.
For instance, a virtual product launch enables flexible follow-up opportunities in close to real time, larger reach, more engagement, and flexible selective audience targeting at a lower cost.
Regarding viewers, 56% of them believe that viewing live streaming may be just as satisfying as actually attending an event.
Announcements for new products didn't alter much. You describe the issue, the necessity for your solution, and the advantages of your product.
But the environment was very different. Instead of a crowded auditorium, you're staring at a camera. Additionally, in a virtual product launch your audience is seated at home and is glued to their screens.
You must take specific actions to close the communication gap between you and your audience in order for such a disjointed arrangement to succeed.
Let’s look into how to launch a product online and other tips for a virtual product launch.
How to Launch a Product Online
Due to the difference in environments of in-person product launches and a virtual product launch creating the same experience and getting the same results can be difficult.
There are certain aspects and tips that you should keep in mind when you consider a virtual product launch to gain the same success.
Let’s go over some of the best tips on how to launch a product online.
Establish the Scene with Your Prelaunch
Working early is the first guideline for a successful virtual launch.
How could businesses make plans for 2020 when there was so much uncertainty? Even though the specifics of the launch event were not yet set in stone, they made do with what they had.
You may create buzz and anticipation before you have finalized the specifics of your virtual product launch if you approach your prelaunch as a "save the date" for the big reveal.
Create an Engaging Experience
The goal of a product launch is to immediately engage customers and pique their interest. Your viewers will quickly lose interest if you don't provide an equally captivating interface.
You must offer an immersive and comprehensive experience if you want to really succeed with a virtual product launch. How do you do it, then?
Create a presentation style for your products that fits your brand: The voice of your brand should be present everywhere, from the background music to the colour palette.
The same can be seen to be true for the launching of your products. Work on developing a certain presenting style that is consistent with your brand before your event.
This includes focusing on event branding, and ensuring that the visual elements, messaging, and overall experience align with your brand identity.
By incorporating your brand's colors, fonts, and design elements into the event, you create a cohesive and recognizable presence that reinforces your brand image.
Remember that your audience is most likely sitting at home where there are multiple other distractions from your product launch. Keep them interested by allowing participation.
Participation is key to an engaging experience. This is when virtual events start to receive a poor rap.
Most attendees of virtual events will describe the experience as being highly disjointed and uninteresting, and around 50% of event planners believe that matching live involvement with virtual events is their major source of irritation.
You can do this through question-and-answer sessions, polls, or even gamification features different product launch platforms offer.
Additionally, you may ask members of your email list to schedule private meetings with you for explanations or inquiries.
Use Online Platforms to Promote Your Virtual Product Launch
Aggressive advertising is the secret to achieving high attendance for all types of events. If you're planning a virtual product launch, you should run a thorough campaign to advertise it.
This entails identifying your target market, tailoring your marketing efforts to them, and then distributing them through digital channels like email.
The number of email subscribers is predicted to reach 4.1 billion in 2021, making it the ideal platform for event promotion. You must first and foremost send event advertising to your email lists because of this.
Social media should be your second marketing channel of choice.
A few weeks beforehand, provide indications on all your social media platforms that "something fresh is cooking." This will raise interest and increase audience involvement in the details of your product launch.
When people start browsing for your postings, publish the event information and invite them to sign up using the link you provided.
Send email invitations and include a registration link when the event is just a week or two away. Give them the opportunity to add the event to their calendars to make it easier for them to attend.
Continue on after this. The majority of participants that join up for the event quickly forget about it. Send out reminders with diligence.
The first one should be sent out a day ahead of time, and the second one, an hour ahead of time.
Consider Audience Feedback
Helpful for product development is audience feedback.
With audience feedback you will better understand what potential consumers are anticipating and what future improvements you need to consider.
A virtual product launch provides a far more practical means of communication and information exchange when done properly.
Numerous attendees crowding to the same booth or inattentive salespeople are not your responsibility.
Collaborate with Influencers
For your virtual product launch, collaborate with influencers in your field to expand your digital reach.
Product launches benefit greatly from influencer marketing because influential people give your event more awareness (and legitimacy) by bringing their audiences along.
Invite influential people to serve as hosts or participate in a speaking session at your event so they may share their perspectives.
To ensure a wider audience, you could also request that your partners publicise your event on their social media pages and make their attendance known.
Offer those influencers who agree to speak at your event early access to your product and invite them to talk about their experience at the event if you want to take things a step further.
Industry leaders are reliable sources, and their endorsement of your new product might result in a significant increase in sales.
Additionally, the event provides guests with a convenient opportunity to meet their heroes.
Maintain Awareness via Post-Launch Initiatives
It might be easy to move on to the next item when the event is finished and consider it a job well done.
However, the companies who had the most successful virtual product launches the previous year made sure to step up their advertising.
Depending on the kind of product being introduced, the way to follow up a virtual product launch will differ. When a product is immediately available you can follow up launches with creatives that explain where and how customers might purchase the item.
The most effective virtual launches for items with a waiting period, feature a post-event marketing that emphasis the benefits and demonstrate how users could test the product online. This makes it possible for buyers to remember the goods.
Play Around with Free Goodies and Games
Explore gamification or freebies to improve your engagement game!
Any gathering may benefit from games to liven things up. You may set up a scavenger hunt with questions pertaining to the new product that direct participants to booths where they can speak with salespeople or learn about features and price.
Early access or free products might be awarded as rewards at the conclusion. Your audience is likely to pay closer attention to the speaker if there were such high risks involved.
To distribute goodies to guests, you could also utilise a spinner or a lottery of sorts.
Freebies are always appreciated, especially when they can be obtained without leaving the house. Here are a few possibilities:
- Discounts or free coupons;
- Early product release;
- cash awards;
- brand merch such as digitally delivered merch like wallpapers, or mailed merch like keychains or notebooks
Benefits of a Virtual Product Launch Event
What advantages can a virtual product launch offer, then?
In spite of some aspects of in-person activities that the virtual environment will not be able to duplicate, they can compensate in other beneficial ways.
Tracking
You may gather contact information from anyone who joins up for your virtual product launch, watches your launch video, or downloads any associated materials.
Their email address, name, and any other pertinent information may then be utilised for follow-up marketing campaigns or further communication.
Budget
Hosting a virtual product launch event allows you to avoid paying for the venue, employees, travel, lodging, and other expenses linked to in-person events.
It can also save unnecessary expenses and enable you to allocate a more focused budget to the video or other launch-related material if you are producing a video or other launch experience.
Reach
Anyone may be reached for a virtual launch, there are no restrictions on this.
With live events, the audience is frequently constrained to locals or guests who travel. If they have the knowledge to access the event in the virtual setting, they can go.
The expansion of reach is essential, especially if your company targets international brands.
Oreed Your Product Launch Platform
Oreed is a single-platform event management solution. Users may manage many aspects of events using the tool's unified system from a single platform.
Through an immersive online experience, Oreed seeks to mimic real-world events, enabling businesses like yours to host a successful virtual product launch that will appeal to potential buyers.
Oreed also provides features for businesses like yours. You'll develop a deeper comprehension of your clients.
Customers may register with Oreed, acquire all the information about the activity, allowing you to know all the events the user has attended, and how many activities he has participated in over a period of time. A 360-degree understanding of the user is present.
Because you will have a greater knowledge of your clients, you may create events that will have increased engagement and attendance, which is made possible by Oreed.
And this is just a small look into what Oreed offers.
Virtual Product Launch: Final Thoughts
When executed well, a virtual product launch may rival their physical counterparts in excitement.
You may get a lot of eyes on your new release as long as you're using your digital tools wisely and taking the time to respond to questions and communicate with your audience.
Just remember to market widely, design imaginative event venues, offer an engaging experience with the product and your staff, and try out new activities.
And as a result, your audiences will eagerly anticipate all of your next activities!
