Marketing for Inventors: Facebook Best Practices
Facebook can be a powerful tool for building awareness about your new idea before it even hits the market as a product. In fact, according to a 2014 survey by Schneider Associates, Facebook is now the second-most used channel for launching new products and services (behind TV commercials). But like all new business development efforts, using Facebook requires careful strategy and a healthy dose of precaution. Read on to learn Facebook best practices for inventors. Protect before you promote an idea First things first: At Idea Design Studio, we frequently talk with inventors about how to protect your idea and the value of nondisclosure agreements. Since you can hardly get NDAs signed by every Facebook user who likes your page, it logically follows that any activity on the platform should take place only after you have secured a patent for your latest idea. Or, if you want to get ahead of the game, be mysterious about bringing your invention to life. Teasers that don’t give any real information away are great promotions (just look at movie trailers).
Give your product its own profile A customized, dedicated landing page lends your product instant credibility. A Facebook page provides a concise, easily shareable marketing tool for your product—a great place to build buzz, collect email addresses, and conduct contests and giveaways. Just make sure to create clear calls-to-action, directing the user to either learn more about your product, sign up to receive more info, or purchase it directly. Define your efforts with a single goal Speaking of calls-to-action, keep your efforts focused with one overarching goal. Marketing your idea in this way makes it easy to measure results and achieve success. Decide what is most important to your launch based on your individual situation: Do you need leads for future marketing efforts? Then make your goal to collect email opt-ins via a contest, giveaway, or free video series. Is your product already available for purchase? Then make your goal driving sales on your website.
Conduct a soft launch It’s the rare product that goes straight to market exactly how it was originally envisioned. Research and development is a valuable step in how to make money from an idea, one that allows inventors to fine-tune their idea and make it the most appealing to their target audience. Once you’ve built a loyal following, invite users to test your product and provide feedback as volunteers. You can reward them with a special discount or gift once you launch. These early testers can turn into vocal advocates for your product if they enjoy being part of the process and truly appreciate what your product has to offer. Build buzz and activate your fans The chief rule of Facebook promotion is to be creative and engaging—if your product page is just a one-note stream of sales pitches, you’ll lose followers fast. Instead, offer sneak-peek content including photos, videos, and teasers of behind-the-scenes content during your run-up to the launch. Host giveaways and contests with rewards that will genuinely appeal to your target audience. And don’t forget to include your call-to-action! For more insight into how today’s most successful inventors are using social media, contact us. We’d be more than happy to chat about your idea and how to get it to come to life.
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