Marketing for Digital Products: How to Market & Promote a Digital Product?

What is a digital product?

Many product development companies define digital products as simply software. There are, obviously, much more creative digital assets that can be described as a digital product. But for the purpose of this article we will focus solely on software and the services provided through it.

The first steps when marketing digital products

Your digital product marketing campaign should begin with thorough research. Only then can you decide on all the other aspects, finally leading to creating your product roadmap. So, what steps should you take?

Find out everything about your target customers

If you want to promote your digital products successfully, you absolutely need to know as much as possible about your customers. It isn’t enough to analyze the needs and tendencies among your target group – you need to focus on additional aspects, such as communication channels or habits.

For instance, Gen Z is more likely to use Instagram and TikTok than Twitter or Facebook. Millennials will be in between, and Gen X prefers the latter social media platforms. Knowing the communication channel will be crucial when selecting venues for ad campaigns.

Knowing who you are directing your marketing efforts at will also help you with direct communication. It is crucial to be on the same wavelength with your customers. Selecting a proper tone of voice is a part of that. The more detailed marketing personas you create, the better you will be able to adjust your marketing to fit.

User research

By conducting user research, you gain valuable insights into your users’ motivations, pain points, and expectations, which can inform the development and marketing strategies of your software product.

User research helps you identify user personas, uncover usability issues, and validate product ideas, ensuring that your software meets the specific needs of your target market. By making use of user research results, you can enhance the user experience, improve engagement, and create a user-centric product that resonates with your audience, ultimately leading to increased adoption and customer loyalty.

Research your competitors

Navigating the digital world has a huge advantage: a lot of information is easily accessible. When it comes to digital product marketing, this helps when checking out the competition. All you have to do is type your competitor’s name into Google, and you are on their website, where you can find out what is and what is not working for them, and why.

This is also important because you don’t want your digital product to simply be better than the one of your competitors. You need to find the right market fit for it – a niche which you can fill with your unique selling proposition. By checking what your competitors have and juxtaposing it with what your clients need, you can define what your product should offer.

Benchmarking

Knowing your competitors is one thing, but knowing how to make use of the information is another. By comparing your product’s features, pricing, user experience, and marketing strategies against industry standards and competitors, you gain valuable insights that can drive improvements and innovation.

Benchmarking helps you identify areas of strength and areas for growth, enabling you to make data-driven decisions to enhance your product’s positioning, reach, and overall success. It empowers you to stay ahead of the competition, deliver value to your customers, and achieve sustainable growth in the dynamic landscape of software products.

How to market digital products?

How can you best promote a digital product? This will depend on the types of virtual goods that you want to market. For example, an online course might require a different strategy than a mobile app. However, there are some good practices that should work in any scenario.

SEO and content marketing

Search engine optimization is a cost-effective way to promote or sell anything online. It aims at increasing organic traffic – from online searches – to your website. We have already explained the effects of combining SEO and web design, but it will do the job in any digital product marketing campaign.

A properly planned SEO strategy won’t cost you an arm and a leg, yet it will attract new customers, thus increasing your client base. It doesn’t matter what your digital product is, SEO is versatile. Well-written descriptions and blogs will be as effective for promoting graphic designs and music, as for mobile apps and online courses.

Pre-launch campaigns

Putting your marketing efforts into effect before the product is released proves extremely effective. Pre-launch campaigns for apps, stock photos, online courses or plugins will let you attract users in advance. You can complete the majority of your awareness strategies before your product is available, and focus more on acquisition and retention (if applicable) after launch.

E-mail marketing

While often underestimated, email marketing is a worthwhile strategy to promote your digital products. It is a way to reach out directly to your potential customers, for instance based on their previous purchases. You might share news with them, offer them discounts, or propose additional bonuses.

E-mail marketing can be combined with other strategies. You could, for example, promote your website or blog through email. This tactic does not have to be purely commercial – it will be an excellent tool to maintain high user engagement. Just remember to ensure that your target audience actually communicates through this channel.

Media and public relations

While writing about the most efficient marketing channels, we can’t disregard the media - online and print. By effectively utilizing media channels and engaging in public relations activities, software companies can enhance their product’s brand visibility, build credibility, and attract the attention of their target audience.

Media outlets such as industry publications, online platforms, and social media channels, provide valuable opportunities to showcase software products, share success stories, and highlight unique features or innovations. Public relations efforts, including press releases, media interviews, and influencer partnerships, can help generate positive publicity and increase brand awareness.

Through media and public relations, software companies can reach a wider audience, establish thought leadership in the industry, and create a positive perception of their products, ultimately driving user acquisition and business growth.

Keep your audience engaged

You want to keep your potential customers excited about your products. To do so, it is great to encourage interactions between them. You may do this by starting discussions on social media and forums, or by organizing contests with incentive prizes.

If you decide to prepare a competition, remember to keep it engaging. This tactic will work great as part of a digital product marketing strategy as long as it encourages people to use their own opinions and feelings. You don’t want to create a contest based purely on drawing a number of winners out of the pool. Instead, inspire people to tell their own stories with your product.

Final thoughts about digital product marketing

Digital product marketing is a complex process. Firstly, because there are various types of digital products which are drastically different from each other; secondly, because it requires time and knowledge. Remember to create detailed target personas and find your unique selling proposition before you start. Then kick off with your pre-launch campaigns and adopt strategies such as content and email marketing, combined with SEO and engaging activities on social media.

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