7 Product Launch Essentials for Start-Ups

If your a start-up, small business, or a one-man show, you may not have an enormous budget to launch a product like say Microsoft or Apple. Never spend more than what you can afford to lose or gain a new customer. Below are 7 essentials for a successful product launch with limited budget.

1. Social Media. Set up a refresh of your Facebook page, send out product launch tweets (schedule tweets 24 hours a day), create a LinkedIn group, create a webinar (webinars are huge right now, and they are the easiest way to connect with your audience). If your in retail, use Groupon. If you have a physical location your customers frequent, utilize geolocation tools like Foursquare or Gowalla.
2. Website refresh. Create new product-specific landing pages, feature photos (.png's), blog content, online collateral. Adjust and enhance your website meta tags/keywords to reflect new product information.
3. Review copies. Reach out to influential bloggers +online publications. Send them copies 1-2 weeks before launch with an embargo date. Make sure you have some type of "blogger relations" program at least 6 months before launch. Relationship building with bloggers is key. Get to know them, comment on their blogs, reach out to them and introduce yourself.
4. PPC campaign. Stick to one advertising platform like Google Ads, Amazon, or Facebook ads.
5. E-mail marketing. Consider offering a pre-order for your new product, exclusive only to e-mail recipients. Or, offer a sneak peek at the new product before it’s released to the public.
6. Press Release. If you have some budget, use Business Wire. A cheaper alternative is PR Newswire. These PR distribution companies now are fully automated and support Social Media + mobile (iPad, smartphone) tools.
7. Work your ass off. Rather then using a ton of money, you use time, energy and creativity.

After launch its crucial to measure your results. Go back and re-double efforts on which of the above techniques are working and abandon the ones that are not working.

Bing to Index Facebook Data

Last week, Microsoft Bing (search engine) and Facebook announced a partnereship that will give search results a social media flavor. This new partnership will allow people who use Facebook to see Bing search results that incorporate information from their friends.  Bing will now be able to search your friends (likes/dislikes) and deliver you a more custom search result. This will also help you find people (using facebook data) as well as recommendations on products and services.

This could be good or bad. Good if you want a more personalized social media result. Bad is you want to be found or your personal Facebook information out in the public domain.

This new social search integration has numerous SEO opportunities for small and large businesses. This integration can also be a good tool in reputation management. Bottom line: This deal symbolized the importance of social media in search results. This is just a first step, in the future most all social media platforms (data) will be indexed by some or all of the search engines. That's why online marketing tools such as corporate twitter accounts, Facebook fan pages, etc., will become a crucial part of any online marketing strategy.

How Not To Ruin Your Brand On Twitter

Don't........

1. Twitter about how drunk you were last night. You will ruin your brand name. Bottom line = don’t get to personal. Think of Twitter more like a blog.
2. Don't Twit your everyday micro actions. No one cares if you just went to the bathroom or thinking about a dream you had last night.
3. If you can’t Twit your thoughts in 140 characters.....create a blog!
4. Don't get to "into" Twitter i.e., it consumes your life and you never leave the house.
5. Don't use profanity in your Tweets. Never.

This is just a very short list. I'm beginning to see these trends among professionals that I'm following. If it’s a complete distraction I just "unfollow" them and their off my radar. Just be a Pro. Own you brand online and don't get distracted. Don't push your business and SPAM at every opportunity. Post quality sound bites and interesting links. Use tinyurl.com for those long URL's. Also, don’t ask for more followers. If you tweet quality content, follows shall come!

Las Vegas Hotel/Casino Social Media Review Primer

I'm finally putting together my Las Vegas Hotel/Casino social media review. In this review I will contact 5-10 Hotel/Casino's in Las Vegas and ask them the following questions:

Do they have a Social Media Strategy & how responsive is their PR communications with Bloggers?

What Social Media tools are these companies using? i.e., Tweeter? Podcasts? Video? Advertising on social media sites?

Which Social Media sites are they using to promote their Brand?

How do they measure success?

I will take the first five (5) companies to respond back to me. I will contact them (PR department) first by email, then if they don't respond, by phone. Scoring will be based on the A,B,C,D,F grading system. I'm curious to see if this industry fully embraces the web/PR 2.0 environment. Hang tight people, the review is coming!