I once had a client who was launching a really terrific golf product. We were discussing what the best plan was to get the word out about his item, and he told me he wanted to send out the initial wave to editors of business magazines.
I thought that was strange, so I asked him why. “Businessmen play golf,” he said. His line of thinking was we need to get the story into a business magazine so the people who play the game would see it.
Not a terrible line of thinking, except for one problem: none of the magazines he mentioned reported on anything remotely close to golf products. The editors would see our press release and immediately toss it – why wouldn’t they? It didn’t fit in their magazine.
When considering where to announce the launch of your product, it’s important to consider where it REALLY fits. You can take the shotgun approach all you want, where sending out as many press releases to as many people as you can might get some bites. But for a real focused effort, you may want to try another tactic entirely: hyper-targeting.
All Around
Hyper-targeting is everywhere these days, though you may not be aware of it. We’ve heard and seen examples of it on sites like Facebook, where an ad will pop up and be oddly specific to your tastes and needs. Websites are constantly trying to figure out new ways of finding out what you’re interested in to sell to you more directly.
But it’s not just on social media, nor is it simply contained to the Internet. Hyper-targeting happens anywhere a group of people with shared interest congregate.
For instance, when you go to a baseball game, do you expect to see ads featuring gardening or space exploration? No, you expect to see ads that have something to do with baseball. “I need this TV to help me watch baseball better,” things like that. That’s the essence of hyper-targeting: know what your audience likes and show them where to buy stuff that relates.
When choosing an appropriate outlet for your launch, it is important to think of your audience, much like my client did. However, just because you know your audience doesn’t mean everything they read or use will be an appropriate medium. It’s important to do this research as well.
The benefits of hyper-targeting over a shotgun style? You’ll most likely find your audience already has a vested interest in paying attention to your message. If you try to market a golf product to “middle aged businessmen,” you might have some luck, but not all businessmen play golf. However, all golfers play golf (to some extent). Immediately after telling them you have a new golf product to check out, they’re interested.
Now, all you have to do is convince them they need to buy it!
What’s been the most successful media outlet for your product?
This article is written by Mickie Kennedy, founder of eReleases (https://www.ereleases.com), the online leader in affordable press release distribution. Grab your free 160-page copy of the Big Press Release Book – Press Releases for Every Occasion and Industry here: https://www.ereleases.com/free-offer/big-press-release-samples-book/