How to Promote a Product

Co-authored by Christine Michel Carter and Madeleine Criglow

Last Updated: February 14, 2024 Approved

Promotion is one of the best ways to turn a solid idea into actual profits. Whatever your role in the business world happens to be, if you're trying to sell a product, you'll want to boost your sales and build brand recognition with a well-balanced promotional effort. While a lot of this may sound complicated, it's pretty easy once you do some market analysis and figure out what kind of promotion you want to run. This article breaks down the many different ways you can go about promotion. Find the ideas that make the most sense for your product!

Things You Should Know

Social media and email are excellent (and free!) ways to market your product to the general public. ^{[1]
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Expert Source

Brian Honigman
Marketing Consultant

Expert Interview. 16 April 2021.}
Rewards programs, promotional deals, and discounts are phenomenal ways to keep return customers loyal and happy.
If you do any kind of business online, Google Ads is an invaluable resource that you can use to track how successful your advertisements are.
You can always hire a marketing firm to revamp your promotional materials for you.

1

Leverage social media posts.

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This is an awesome way to advertise online for free. While pop-ups and banner ads cost money, advertising on Facebook or Twitter is free. Use your company’s social media accounts to share fun information about your product with others online. You can even live stream, or comment on other people’s posts to draw more attention to your page. Social media is also a great place to showcase other promotions, like discounts and giveaways. ^{[2]
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Research source}
- Remember, most people on social media aren't looking to be sold a product. Instead of directly advertising, try posting interesting, relevant content that will build awareness about your product. Be inviting and playful, not cold and calculated with your posts. ^{[3]
  X
  Expert Source
  
  Christine Michel Carter
  Global Marketing Expert
  
  Expert Interview. 30 September.}
- Interact with the people who comment on your posts and ask you questions about your product. The more engagement you get, the more likely you’ll be to see growth!

2

Utilize email marketing.

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Do this to reach your customers directly. Start an email newsletter that you release each month. Include features on your latest products and the latest goings-on at your company that would appeal to your customers. You can also try promotional emails to specifically highlight new products. ^{[4]
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Expert Source

Brian Honigman
Marketing Consultant

Expert Interview. 16 April 2021.} ^{[5]
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Research source}
- Make the subject line refer to the product so that your customers are more likely to notice it, and give more information on the product and how to buy it in the body of the email.
- Expand your email list by announcing your newsletter on social media channels and linking to a signup page on your website.
- Offer a special discount code or another incentive for customers to signup to your email list

3

Write a blog post to highlight a new offer.

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This is a great means to give potential clients more info on a product. If you've just launched something new and want to let your customers know, write a blog post that highlights all the features it offers. Include details on how it differs from older products and why it would appeal to your customers. Publish the blog post on your website and link to it on social media sites like Instagram and Facebook. ^{[6]
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- Let's say you run a popcorn brand and you just launched some new flavors. Write a blog post that mentions all the new flavors, with a snappy description for each. Be sure to include how and where your customers can get the product!
- You can also send out an email that links to the blog post to get the word out about your new product. ^{[7]
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  Research source}
EXPERT TIP

Melissa McDermott
Designer & Social Media Manager
Melissa McDermott is a Musician and accomplished Social Media Manager at coBranding Studio based in New York City. She has over seven years of experience teaching piano and music theory, she currently works as a Piano Instructor at O DiBella Music Inc. Additionally, she specializes in creating meaningful, informative, and quality social media content for health and wellness brands and musicians. Melissa received her B.A. in popular music studies from William Paterson University.

Melissa McDermott
Designer & Social Media Manager

Strong branding and demonstrated expertise both matter in health & wellness marketing. While marketing wellness brands, define your visual and ethical brand identity clearly and stick to those values in all content. Educate and engage your audience with informative, mission-aligned content. Thought leadership builds trust and makes your brand stand out through authentic expertise.

4

Issue a press release.

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Get the word out about your new product in local newspapers. First, brainstorm what makes your product new or interesting. Ask yourself what you think is most appealing about your product, and what will excite journalists to cover its release. Once you start writing, make every word count. Keep the announcement brief at about 300-400 words maximum. Email it to any news organization in the area you think might be interested. If your product is available online and you have some budget to spend, consider using the help of a press release firm. They can write articles for you and post them on hundreds of relevant news sites. ^{[8]
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- Make the first line of your press release clear and to the point to get journalists' attention.
- If your ice cream shop is giving away free ice cream to promote your new menu, write something like, "Ice cream shop will give free ice cream to first 100 customers next month."

5

Give out free samples.

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Offer a free sample to customers to get them to try your product. Nothing shows confidence in your product like letting your customer sample it for free before buying. Additionally, a customer is more likely to buy something if they have just experienced its benefits. You can’t do this with every product, but if you can let folks “test drive” your product, they’ll be more likely to buy it. ^{[9]
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- A sample doesn't just refer to food products. The same principle applies to other products and services. For instance, if you're selling cars, test drives or a free trial subscription to an online service are the rough equivalent of a free sample.

6

Run a promotional deal.

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Give out coupons, special discounts, or deals to attract customers. Most people dislike the idea of "missing out" on a good deal, so they're more likely to buy a product if there’s a special bonus that's not normally available. A lot of consumers will buy something they wouldn’t have normally purchased just because it’s on sale or comes with some kind of extra benefit. ^{[10]
X
Research source} Potential incentives include:
- New member discounts. If you offer cheaper prices for people who make an account, sign up for a mailing list, or become a member of your service, you’ll build up a larger reoccurring customer base.
- Buy-one-get-one-free deals. Offer the customer a free reward (this can be more of your product or a different product entirely) if they buy a certain amount of your product.
- Holiday deals and sales. Running a promotion for holidays can really generate new business. People tend to buy more goods on certain holidays, and a sale is a great way to attract folks.
- Rebates. By putting the responsibility to claim a discount on the customer after the purchase has been made, you can save money relative to other promotional deals because many will forget or neglect to send in their rebates.

7

Create a rewards program.

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Rewards programs are a perfect means to keep customers loyal. Offer discounts, deals, and special privileges to return customers. When you’re promoting your new product, offer rewards program members a discount or a free product. The same way you want to demonstrate your product's value to your customer, you also want to demonstrate your customer's value to your company. ^{[11]
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Trustworthy Source
Harvard Business Review
Online and print journal covering topics related to business management practices
Go to source}
- This is the perfect option if you have an established business and you’re trying to get a brand new product off the ground. By getting your first round of inventory into your most loyal customers’ hands, they’ll be able to spread the word about your product’s quality.

8

Use influencers to push your product.

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Ask popular influencers to review your product online. Influencers are well known members of an industry who people trust, such as hairstylists who have a strong social media presence and review hair products. Identify influencers in your industry who might be able to spread the word about your product and make an impact on its reception. Contact 2-3 influencers via email to try out your product and review it. ^{[12]
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Research source}
- You can offer to give them your product for free in exchange for the review. If they’re an especially popular influencer, they may ask for some kind of monetary compensation on top of it.
- For example, if you’re developing a fitness app, you might ask a popular fitness guru from Instagram to try the app and review it on their platform.

9

Pay for views on Google Ads.

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Set up a Google Ads account to pay for clicks and views. Google Ads is an easy way to promote your business or product online. Sign up for a free account and include the link to your business page alongside a short, punchy description of your service. Set your budget and include the maximum amount you’d like to bid on a given keyword. Google will automatically display your ad if their algorithms determine your bid is successful. ^{[13]
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- You have three options when it comes to ways you can bid on your keywords. You can use:
  - Cost-per-click (CPC). You will only pay a fee when a user clicks on your link.
  - Cost-per-mile (CPM). You will only pay for every 1000 ad appearances.
  - Cost-per-engagement (CPE). You only pay when a user does something on your website, like watch a video or sign up for an account.

10

Use paid social media ads.

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Social media advertising is a uniquely strong way to push a product. ^{[14]
X
Expert Source

Brian Honigman
Marketing Consultant

Expert Interview. 16 April 2021.} Advertising on social media gives consumers the chance to comment on your ads and interact with other consumers who are interested in your product. You can also tailor your ads to appear to specific demographics of people based on other things they’ve looked for online. Most social media sites also allow you to track your ROI (return on investment), so that you can see how much benefit you’re getting from your ads. ^{[15]
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Research source}
- Instagram, LinkedIn, and Facebook are especially popular venues for social media advertising.
- You can also pay to promote your social media posts. This is a good way to get more people to interact with your brand.

11

Hire a marketing firm.

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If all of this sounds like a lot, pay someone else to do it! There are tons of marketing firms out there that specialize in creating promotional materials and getting them out into the world. They can also help with your social media marketing strategy. If you have a lot on your hands or doing your own promotion seems like a tall order, paying someone else to do it for you will make things a lot easier. Contact a reputable marketing firm in your area and sit down to discuss a deal. ^{[16]
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Research source}
- If you only need a little bit of extra help coming up with designs or slogans, hire a consulting firm to help you out.
- There are marketing firms out there that specialize in TV ads, radio, social media, or print media. Check each firm’s website to see what kind of marketing they specialize in.

Expert Q&A

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Question

What is the most effective type of promotion?

Amber Rosenberg, PCC
Pacific Life Coach
Amber Rosenberg is a Professional Life Coach, Career Coach, and Executive Coach based in the San Francisco Bay Area. As the owner of Pacific Life Coach, she has 20+ years of coaching experience and a background in corporations, tech companies, and nonprofits. Amber trained with the Coaches Training Institute and is a member of the International Coaching Federation (ICF).

Amber Rosenberg, PCC

Pacific Life Coach

Expert Answer

An effective promotion is well-researched and well-timed. For example, if you want to start promoting your product in a different geographic location, make sure you research that geographic market first. Just because your product does well in one location doesn't necessarily mean it will do as well somewhere new. Also, if you release a product before the holidays, you may have increased sales.

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Question

How can I use Facebook to market a product?

Christine Michel Carter
Global Marketing Expert
Christine Michel Carter is a Global Marketing Expert, Best-Selling Author, and Strategy Consultant for Minority Woman Marketing, LLC. With over 13 years of experience, Christine specializes in strategic business and marketing consulting services including market analysis, organizational alignment, portfolio review, cultural accuracy, and brand and marketing review. She is also a speaker on millennial moms and black consumers. Christine holds a BS in Business Administration and Art History from Stevenson University. She is a leader in multicultural marketing strategy and has written over 100 articles views for several publications, including TIME and Forbes Women. Christine has worked with Fortune 500 clients such as Google, Walmart, and McDonald’s. She has been featured in The New York Times, BBC News, NBC, ABC, Fox, The Washington Post, Business Insider, and Today.

Christine Michel Carter

Global Marketing Expert

Expert Answer

Facebook is a social media platform, and the majority of users aren't looking to be sold a product. Think of it as an indirect way of advertising to consumers. Post interesting, quality, relevant content on a consistent basis to build awareness and engagement.

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Why should I convince people to purchase my product?

Community Answer

You need to convince customers to buy your product, so you can create revenue, which is money. Also, this will increase your customers, increasing sales, which is every entrepreneur's dream.

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Before you start promoting a product, make sure the product is compliant and legal. You don't want to run into trouble down the line because you didn't dot all of your Is and cross your Ts. ^{[17]
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Amber Rosenberg, PCC
Pacific Life Coach

Expert Interview. 26 February 2019.}

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If you want to start promoting your product in a different geographic location, make sure you research that geographic market first. Just because your product does well in one location doesn't necessarily mean it will do as well somewhere new. ^{[18]
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Amber Rosenberg, PCC
Pacific Life Coach

Expert Interview. 26 February 2019.}

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Carefully time the release of your product. For example, releasing a product before the holidays when everyone is shopping may increase your sales. ^{[19]
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Amber Rosenberg, PCC
Pacific Life Coach

Expert Interview. 26 February 2019.}

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How to Promote a Product

Things You Should Know

Steps

Leverage social media posts.

Utilize email marketing.

Write a blog post to highlight a new offer.

Issue a press release.

Give out free samples.

Run a promotional deal.

Create a rewards program.

Use influencers to push your product.

Pay for views on Google Ads.

Use paid social media ads.

Hire a marketing firm.

Expert Q&A

Video

Tips

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References

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