How to Market a New Product Online: 12 Tips & Strategies

The Internet has made it possible for anyone to start a business. With a website, social media page, and, of course, a good idea, you can market a product online and make money. 

Well, there’s more to it than that.. But you might be surprised at how many options you have when it comes to online marketing. Whether it’s your latest product or the newest deal for your home services company, small businesses of all industries can increase profits by marketing products and services online. 

If you want to get started with online marketing, here are eleven ways to market a product online.

1. Promote it on your website.

Your website is the digital home for your business. Even if you don’t manage an online store, you should have pages dedicated to your products and services. People can visit them and learn more about your business. You can also promote offers on your home page, blog, and other areas of your site to keep customers informed about your latest deals. 

Here’s a page from the Thryv website promoting our marketing tools:

Product pages are also useful for SEO. They let search engines (Google) know what you sell and help you rank higher for product-related searches. For example, if I search for “best cheese grater,” this product page is one of the top results. 

The same goes for location pages. If you provide a service like HVAC, plumbing, etc., you can add area pages to your site so people know where you operate. That will help you appear in location-based searches like “Best HVAC in Montana.”  

2. Post about it on social media.

Social media is a great place to announce a new product. You can advertise to your followers or use paid social ads to reach new audiences. 

Let’s start with the free option. Your social media followers are a great audience to target because they’ve already expressed interest in your business. They choose to follow your brand online and are more likely to engage with you. 

Consider creating a series of posts that teach people about your new product or service. Take high-quality images or shoot a video to show how it works. Don’t forget to use hashtags and include a clear call-to-action in your social media captions. Here’s an example from Caterpillar promoting one of its newest vehicles. 

To reach new customers, you can start a social media ad campaign. Sites like Facebook and Instagram have built-in ad platforms where you can pay to advertise on their websites. They help you design the ad and share it with a specific audience. It’s great for growing brand awareness and attracting new customers to your online store. 

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3. Claim and update your online listings. 

An online listing is a digital profile for your business. It’s a place where people can learn about your company as well as your products and services. Business listing websites like Google, Yelp, and Facebook all offer online listing services. 

Here’s an example for a local plumbing company: 

When you Google this business, its profile appears on the righthand side of the results page. It provides information about the brand, such as its phone number, address, and hours of operation. I can use this profile to contact this company and book their services.

It’s important to claim and update your online listings. Enriching them with information about your business will make it easier for people to find you online. It will also help you respond to customer reviews and share updates about your company. 

Tip: You can manage all your listings in one place with Thryv’s Enhanced Local Listings tool. 

4. Offer a deal in your online store. 

Competitive pricing is one of the most effective point-of-difference marketing strategies. In other words, it’s easy to stand out from your competitors if you offer a lower price.

When you launch a new product, some people might hesitate to try it. A flash deal or limited-time offer will motivate them to complete the sale. When these buyers have positive experiences with your product, they’ll leave good reviews and tell others about your business.

One effective strategy is using promo codes to direct people to your website. Give customers a special code to enter when they checkout, and they’ll receive a discount or perk with their purchase. 

Promo codes are great because it’s easy to tell where purchases come from. You can create multiple promo codes for different communication channels. That way, when customers enter their code, you know if they came from email, social media, YouTube, or another channel. That information helps you determine which marketing channels are most effective. 

5. Create customer testimonials. 

Customer testimonials are great for marketing products online because they’re more trustworthy than paid advertisements. Customers trust other customers more than commercials, billboards, and social media ads. When an existing customer recommends your product, new customers feel more comfortable buying from you. 

If you don’t have any customer testimonials, start by reviewing your CRM for people who are happy with your business. You can also scan online reviews for customers who leave positive feedback. Reach out to these individuals to see if they would be willing to participate in a customer testimonial.

Here’s an example of a customer testimonial for Thryv:

You can share testimonials on your website or social media pages. If you have videos, post them to YouTube and embed them on your product pages. Use them to influence the customer’s journey at the point of purchase. 

6. Write a blog post about it.

There are several ways blogs can market products online. You can write about new releases and provide tips that teach customers how to use them. Blogs can also show off different features of your products and demonstrate their value to potential buyers. You can even include videos, images, and podcasts to support your promotions. 

Blog content significantly benefits service-based businesses. For example, landscaping businesses like this one share tips on how to care for their lawns. People searching for lawn care advice read these posts and discover services and products that help them with their lawns.

Blogs also help with SEO. If you routinely write about a topic (like lawn care), Google and other search engines will see you as an expert on that subject. The more you write about it, the more likely your posts will be shown in search results. 

7. Ask for customer reviews. 

Customer reviews are one of the best tools for marketing products online because most people check review sites before purchasing. 96% of customers use online reviews to inform buying decisions, and most people use multiple review sites before choosing a brand. If customers go online and see bad reviews, they’ll be less interested in your company.

Customer reviews are another important factor for SEO. If you have good reviews, you’ll appear in searches like “best [business type] near me.” You’ll also be at the top of review sites when people filter by most or best reviews. 

Ask customers for reviews after they complete a purchase. Use email marketing tools to automatically follow up with them and request feedback. This will create a steady stream of reviews, boosting your visibility on search engines and customer review sites. 

Tip: Use this free Google Review Link Generator to direct people to your Google Business Profile. 

8. Use email marketing to update customers.

Some experts say email marketing is dead – but there aren’t many channels where you can have 1:1 conversations with customers. Emails are easy to personalize, and automation scales your operations as your business grows.

In other words, email marketing lets you speak directly to customers. AI and other tools can help you personalize the content so each email feels unique to each customer. Plus, you don’t have to manually write each message. Instead, your email system rewrites it and adds relevant information like the customer’s name, past purchases, and recommended products.

Email marketing is effective because you can control when your messages are sent. You can align your campaigns with product launches and market to new and existing customers. Emails are also good for promoting sales because you can provide links to your website and include exclusive promo codes that only your subscribers receive. 

9. Launch a paid ad campaign.

Have you ever seen these ads on the side of a webpage? If you want to advertise on Google or other people’s websites, you can create a paid ad campaign like this one. 

Google Ads is a service that creates advertisements for Google, YouTube, Gmail, and other people’s websites. It helps you design the ad and choose places where you want it to appear. It will also help you set a budget and bid on digital ad space. 

These campaigns help you advertise to new audiences based on Google searches. By bidding on keywords related to your business, your ads appear when people search for those phrases. 

Here’s an example. This beauty salon created an ad for the search term “Best beauty salon in New York City.” 

We can tell it’s an ad because it has the word “sponsored” above it. That means this business bid on this keyword to appear in this search result.  

10. Partner with review sites and online publications. 

Some websites rank products and services and provide in-depth analyses of local companies. Newspapers are a good example. Newspapers and magazines publish review articles that recognize small businesses. For example, here’s one that reviewed the best restaurants in Boston: 

Obviously, if you’re a restaurant in Boston, you want to be on this list. It builds credibility and provides another way for people to discover your business.

Reach out to these sites to learn about their editorial process. Some may offer interviews and partnerships to get featured in their content. 

11. Get an influencer to promote it.

Influencer marketing means partnering with social media influencers to promote your brand. More than half of social media users buy things from influencers they trust, and these celebrities have tons of followers online who trust their recommendations about your brand. Getting their stamp of approval opens up a whole new audience for your business.

Here’s an example from Gillette. It partnered with Joe Mele, who you might recognize from his viral Ratatouille videos. 

@vaynermedia Built-in Exfoliating Bar AND a 2D FlexDisc!! Yeah, this ain't your dad's razor. Watch @mmmjoemele take his dad @mmmfrankmele to school with a lesson in shaving with @Gillette! #client ♬ original sound – VaynerMedia

12. Start a customer referral program.

As we mentioned earlier, customers trust other customers. So, why not capitalize on positive experiences with your brand?

Ask your customers to refer other people to your business. Most brands will use an exclusive promo code to reward customer referrals. When new customers use that code, they get a discount, and the referring customer gets a reward. It’s a win for your customers and for your business

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Check out this post to learn how customer referrals work and how you can create one for your business.

How to Market a Product Online for Free

You don’t have to break the bank to market a new product online. Of the options listed above, these are free:

• Promoting new products on your website.
• Sharing product releases on social media with your followers.  
• Asking customers for reviews on Google, Yelp, and other business listing websites.
• Write a blog post or press release and publish it on your website. 
• Starting an email marketing campaign. 
• Partnering with online publications that rate products in your industry.  
• Create a promotional video for your website, social media, or YouTube. 
• Claim and update your online listings. 
• Host a virtual event or product tutorial. 

Online Marketing for Small Businesses

If you want to market a product successfully, you have to promote it online. Even if you don’t have an online store, the Internet provides an abundance of opportunities for small businesses. Use the tips in the post to get started and attract more customers to your company.