Product Reviews/New Product Releases are Your Best Sales Tools

Most of us read reviews of movies, books, games and CDs before making a purchase decision. Well, it’s often the same with other products too. With so many choices in every product category, we generally look for critical reviews of a class of products to help guide our decision making.

Find the trade publications, consumer magazines/newspapers, web sites and our social media networks that publish product reviews on a regular basis. If you have a tech product, contact the publication’s test labs or other staffers to find out if and when they’re evaluating your type of product. As them what the evaluation procedure is that they follow. If all goes well, you’ll get some kind of “Editor’s Choice,” or “Top Pick” ranking in the published review, which, believe me, looks just great in article reprints, in sales collateral, on your web site – and, yes, as the subject of a news release.

But be aware that you can’t control or influence the evaluation process or results. They do have editorial integrity. So while a rave review can do wonders for your sales, a negative ranking can have just the opposite effect. Take a “warts and all” look at your product’s overall strengths and weaknesses before going forward with a product review.

In consumer publications we call these reviewers new product release editors or gift guide editors. And bloggers must come clean on product reviews. FTC regulations on blogger payola and freebies went into effect on Dec. 1, 2009. Bloggers, Twitterers and others who write online reviews or endorse products using new media must disclose when they receive free merchandise or payment for writing about an item. This is a controversial subject. Fueling the controversy over the new guidelines is the fact that mainstream media, such as newspapers and magazines, are exempt. But in an age of media transparency, bloggers must play fair if they want the public’s respect.

Social Media Marketing

I search the web often for potential information to post to Twitter and then on this blog. Here's one I thought would be of benefit. Even though they are talking about Human Resources, there is plenty of great info to know.

Here's a quote from the HR Marketer site:

Social media marketing is all about combining the power of online marketing and social networking so that HR suppliers converse openly with their buying universe about their firm – good, bad and all in between. Social media marketing uses social networking services as a means of doing just that. This eBook outlines the importance of participating in social media marketing that will definitely come back to HR suppliers in the form of familiarity, trust, thought leadership and credibility with their customers, prospects and influencers. Another powerful way to generate publicity, traffic and leads.

http://tinyurl.com/yg2rtoq

Twitter Tip-Branding

If you use Twitter, your tweets are generally branded with the service
you use (Twitterrific, TwitterFeed, Ping.fm, TweetDeck, etc.). If you'd
rather that your tweets be branded with your own website name and
URL link, use the free TweetBrand service.

TweetBrand allows you to brand your tweets (with your website link):
http://www.marketmetweet.com/tweetbrand/