Entrepreneurship

How to market your product: 4 ways to get your message out there

This article was inspired by a talk at Future Rewired 2023.

As many entrepreneurs know, coming up with a new product or service is hard work, which never stops when it's finally ready. Launching a new product or service needs thorough planning and if it is done ineffectively, then you're likely to end up losing opportunities and money down the line. 

When promoting a new product or service, you'll want to consider where and when you're going to spread the message about your item. There are many low-cost options for spreading the word about your new product or service for your business, with social media platforms mainly being free-to-access, newsletter-creating platforms often having free tiers and the most effective tool of all 'word of mouth'. 

With that in mind - in this article, we are going to take a look at the types of promotion you can undertake to give you the best results. 

Utilise the PESO model to get your message out there. The PESO communications model stands for, 'paid', 'earned', 'shared' and 'owned' media, and it represents a modern way for companies to integrate communications efforts while reaching audiences in an efficient, effective manner. Black Vanilla's Krista Osbourne and Chris Leaman explain that PESO encompasses the big-picture, all-channels-inclusive way of communicating that is the only method in which a company, entrepreneur or cause can earn the attention of the stakeholders that truly matter. Though this model came from the world of public relations, it can also be an indispensable tool for all marketing professionals, regardless of your marketing background or speciality.

Let’s break down what the individual PESO channels mean:
Paid: Exchanging money for distribution, whether an ad or content
Earned: Trading valuable content for an established authority’s audience, by utilising platforms which are shared by you and your audience.
Shared: Amplifying content through your own audience
Owned: Aggregating an audience that seeks you out for content and then distributing your content to that audience, in short - any channels 'owned' by your organisation.

Diagram from Gini Dietrich's book 'Spin Sucks'

4 ways to market your product or service using the PESO model

  1. Get your brand to your targeted audience: Using paid advertisements to reach your customers is not only reliable but also a quick and scaleable option when it comes to marketing your product. Being able to target a wide audience with controlled messaging to build brand awareness also comes with the benefit of being able to track the results for later reporting. It does come with its own cruxes, it is an expensive option if not budgeted properly, and has an ephemeral quality, as once you stop investment the returns will also drop off quickly. Then there is the question of the low trust in paid placements and ads, as adverts can be seen as annoying and irrelevant. To combat this, Chris and Krista suggest trying to make your ads very light-hearted but to the point. Use this awareness opportunity to get the main points across, ie. your company, mission and a short description of the benefits of the new product/service you are launching. Try to keep any loud obnoxious viral attempts out of your ad planning. Paid ads can be scheduled on social media channels, Google ads and video ads on Youtube, there is also the option of advertising in print.

  2. Boost trust levels with earned media: This arm of the PESO model includes free placements from media relations campaigns, such as press releases, bylined articles, “newsjacked” placements, investor relations, blogger relations/link building and word of mouth. You can use earned media to generate sales leads for your service/product, as well as driving traffic to landing pages that convert to show value. Social sharing can also extend the reach of earned publicity. Chris and Krista suggest networking, strong thought leadership coupled with a strong brand and winning the hearts of your customers with a unique story.

  3. Sharing is caring: The value of shared media comes from engagement with your content. Through simple shares, comments and likes, an extra dimension of third-party validation and credibility is granted. This kind of brand advocating comes at no extra cost and does wonders to increase value, this includes content across channels such as forums, blogs and reviews. While this enables you to reach a wide audience at a relatively low cost it can be hard to control the messaging that can come after in the instance of going viral. To achieve this Chris and Krista recommend creating a thorough social media strategy and getting involved with community efforts - engaging with your stakeholders, local charities and businesses.

  4. Believe in evergreen owned media: Owned media's value rests with its proprietary nature - consisting of the things you own: your website, branding, events, videos, visual content, merchandise and even your own office space. Your business's ability to control its own message and tone, as well as the delivery across multiple communication channels, helps to drive value, and can even help drive earned media coverage through thought leadership and be multiplied by social sharing and paid media. Not only that but the risk is low, you own the content so it cannot be taken from you. It may take time to build an organic audience for your website and channels so Chris and Krista suggest working with collaborators to create quality content such as web designers, graphic designers, brand designers and videographers etc.

Your starting point

So armed with the PESO model its time to plan your content, to do this ask yourself the following questions:

  • What is my USP (unique selling point)? How can I incorporate this into my messaging?
  • What are my key messages? This isn't a catchphrase or slogan, rather it's a specific thing you want your audience to understand and remember that also explains the value of the product/service you provide. 
  • What do I want my audience to feel? How can I use the PESO tactics to help influence that?

Want to know more about Future Rewired 2023?

Read more here

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