Virtual events are becoming increasingly common. Today, virtual conferences, interactive webinars, and online workshops are the standard across many industries. Virtual product launches are also on the rise, with major brands like Apple and Canon using them to build anticipation and unveil new products.
However, you don’t need to be a global enterprise to leverage the potential of virtual launch events. With enough planning and the right tools, even smaller brands can dramatically extend their reach with a virtual event.
What is a Product Launch Event?
If you’re introducing a new service or product to market, a product launch event is a must if you want to generate buzz and drive sales. An increasing number of companies are ditching live launches in favor of virtual and hybrid events. However, if you want to ensure a successful product launch, you can’t cut corners when planning an online event.
As with traditional launches, you need to think seriously about your guest list. Looking to secure future funding? Make sure investors are included. Want to give your promotional campaign a shot in the arm? Enhance social media marketing by inviting influencers and bloggers. If your product is consumer-ready, new and existing customers should also be on your list.
Why You Should Host a Virtual Product Launch
Virtual product launches aren’t wildly different from conventional ones and the ultimate goal remains the same. A virtual or hybrid event is ideal if you’re looking to reach out to a global audience. In the past, interested parties might not have been able to attend due to travel restrictions. With a virtual event, anyone with a passing interest in your product can join in. What’s more, virtual launches aren’t lacking when it comes to interactivity.
They’re also more cost-effective and alleviate the pressures on event management teams. Unless you’re staging a hybrid event, you don’t need to budget for venue hire or hospitality. If sustainability is at the heart of your brand, a virtual launch is a more eco-friendly option. All that energy consumption and carbon created from international travel isn’t a concern here.
You can also tap into the potential of analytics. Digital behavior can be tracked to monitor things like dropoff in audience engagement. Live polls and surveys can also be used to gather instant feedback from virtual attendees.
8 Tips for Captivating Product Launch Events
Ready to start planning your first virtual event? Read on for 8 product launch ideas that will ensure success.
1. Identify Your Target Audience
For a successful event, you need to ensure you’re inviting the right people. If you’re unveiling a new feature for a previously released product, focus on existing customers. If it’s a completely new product, you’ll need to think more broadly.
For brand-new products, you’ll need to create multiple buyer personas and cast the net wider when compiling a list of potential invites. These buyer personas will also help you craft a winning narrative that will appeal to the wants and needs of your audience.
2. Use Social Media to Promote Your Event
If you’re hosting a virtual launch, event marketing needs to get underway early. Use social media to gradually tease new details about your product to increase engagement. This approach works particularly well for established brands with sizable online followings.
However, even smaller brands can leverage social media channels effectively. By investing in content creation, utilizing hashtags, and running promotional giveaways, you can create buzz for your product, long before the event itself.
3. Choose a Captivating Topic for Your Launch Event
A launch event should introduce audiences to your product. However, you need to get creative with launch event ideas. Think like a storyteller and integrate relevant subjects to create a compelling narrative around your product.
Are you selling software to digital marketers? Turn to emerging digital marketing trends for potential talking points. Unveiling new developer tools? What kind of hot topics are being discussed at worldwide developers conference events?
4. Interaction is Crucial
Virtual events can be just as interactive as live ones. Use engagement tools like quizzes, surveys, and polls to keep your attendees focused on the event itself. To increase hype, actively encourage participants to post updates to their social media channels and offer live streaming to a more general audience. You can even incorporate social media posts into Q&A sessions.
5. Combine Live Performance with Pre-Recorded Material
If you have high-quality pre-recorded content available, use this to punctuate presentations and live sessions. It’s ideal for keeping your audience engaged and can drum home the USPs of your product effectively.
When it comes to live content, make sure you’re keeping things interesting. Captivating visuals and interactive elements will deliver a more dynamic experience for attendees.
6. Select a Suitable Launch Event Platform
Whether you’re hosting a virtual launch or a hybrid event, you’ll need a full-featured product launch platform. However, don’t assume any video conferencing solution can be used here. You need something robust and reliable, with the option to invite hundreds of attendees.
A launch event is not only an introduction to a new product, it’s a showcase of your brand. As such, you’ll need a platform that can be heavily customized. With Gloww, you can tailor virtual launches to your liking. As well as ensuring your event is on-brand, you can incorporate all manner of interactive elements. First time hosting an online launch event? Make life easy by using ready-made templates.
7. Maintain an Active Online Presence
If you’re looking to make virtual launches the standard, you need to ensure audience appetite is there. A simple way to do this is to be as active as possible across online communities and social media platforms.
Focus on creating rich promotional content that can be shared across many different channels. For example, short-form videos can be embedded into emails delivered to loyal customers, added to social media posts, or included as part of digital press releases.
8. Follow Up
For a launch event to be truly successful, you need to maintain engagement and nurture relationships with attendees. The first round of a follow-up campaign should be email correspondence. As well as touching base with those who attended virtually, be sure to reach out to those who failed to appear.
Now’s also the time to deploy surveys to gather feedback. Find out what worked well and what areas you need to fine-tune before hosting another virtual launch event. Providing a summary of the event is another good idea. Add a section to your website that breaks down key points discussed, along with presentation snippets and Q&A overviews.
Benefits of Using Gloww for Your Next Virtual Product Launch
Looking for the perfect platform for virtual launches? Below are just a few of the reasons why you should be thinking about using Gloww.
Beautifully Designed
With Gloww, it’s easy to create stunning online events that make a lasting impression. You can start from scratch or use one of our ready-made, interactive presentation templates to make life easier.
Easy to Engage with an Audience
Keep your event as engaging as possible with Gloww’s interactive tools. Launch polls for real-time feedback or gamify the experience to mix things up.
Create Pre-Planned Scenes/Slides
Use pre-planned scenes and slides to take the effort out of hosting a virtual launch event. Without having to worry about the little things, you can focus on delivering a first-rate experience for your audience.
Customize Layouts
Make sure your launch event is on-brand with Gloww’s powerful editor. Play around with layouts, add your company logo, use your corporate colors, and more.
Add Call-To-Actions, Live Polls, Word Clouds, and Whiteboards
Thanks to Gloww, it’s easy to keep audiences engaged. Use live polls and word clouds to gather instant feedback from attendees. Alternatively, turn to digital whiteboards to encourage collaboration. If you’re focused on securing sales, you can even incorporate call-to-actions.
Upload Your Own Media Assets
Make your virtual event stand out with 4K HD video. Use your existing assets or explore Gloww’s extensive library of music and video content instead.
Host Your Next Virtual Product Launch with Gloww
Virtual product launches are quickly becoming the standard across many sectors. Even industry leaders are turning to online events to bring their products and services to a wider audience. For less established brands, they’re a cost-effective way to reach as many people as possible. What’s more, with the added benefit of digital monitoring tools and analytics, brands can access a wealth of insights to help them fine-tune future launches.
However, you need to think beyond a simple live stream if you want to unlock the full potential of a virtual product launch. With a platform like Gloww, you have all the tools you need to engage new audiences and turn a list of attendees into loyal customers. New to the world of virtual events? You’ll find plenty of ready-made templates you can tailor to your liking, such as our virtual team building games, online Friday team building, or interactive presentation maker templates. What’s more, it’s easy to engage with your audiences thanks to an impressive stack of Gloww interactive features.
Ready to get your next virtual product launch underway? Get started with Gloww today or take a look at our pricing plans if you’re eager to learn more about our premium features. Got a question about Gloww? Drop the team a message using the online contact form.
