Whenever you're launching a new product, reviews, word-of-mouth, and hype are so important for a company to start off early. Companies know this; We know this. However, in some instances, this has created a situation where companies spend tens of thousands of marketing dollars to purchase positive reviews and saturate content cycles for the days and weeks near and around launch.
This has always left a sour taste in our mouths so we're going to be approaching reviews and content creators differently. Here's how:
- No paid reviews at launch
- Less than 80 review & creator units in circulation
- 25% of creators have less than 75 concurrent viewers / 10,000 YouTube subscribers
- Prioritize marginalized creators including LGBTQIA+ and people of color.
No Paid Reviews at Launch
At BEACN, we believe that intriguing products reviewed by unbiased creators serves everyone–creators, reviewers, and us. At launch, all product reviews that you see will not have been paid for. These reviewers will not have had to pay for these units or shipping, but they do have an option to keep them after their review period to use in future content and comparisons.
Alongside no paid reviews, we are adamant that these reviews are not editorialized at all. We won't see the content ahead of time and we have no say on if it can be published or not. We do our best to offer open channels of communication with reviewers for consistent language and to answer any questions they have about our products.
There's one part of this strategy we wanted to call out and that's the phrase "at launch." We may be paying for reviews in the future as larger and more mainstream reviewers often insist on it. However, our commitment to not editorialize content still remains.
Limiting the Number of Early Access Units in Circulation
Another popular strategy is for companies to send out hundreds of units to any creator with a platform to saturate the reviewer market and garner favor with small-to-medium sized creators and reviewers. We won't be taking this approach at launch either. In total, less than 80 of each product (BEACN Mic, BEACN Mix, and BEACN Mix Create) will be sent out to content creators and reviewers.
Giving Smaller Creators a Chance
Out of the 240 total units going out, 80 of those units will go into the hands of less established creators. These are creators with less than 10,000 YouTube subscribers or 75 concurrent viewers. At the end of the day, there are so many creators making quality content whose reach hasn't quite caught up to that quality. By giving these creators early access to our products, we can hopefully help them grow and they can provide us with valuable feedback for creators of all sizes.
Working with Marginalized Creators
On top of working with small creators, we are also prioritizing marginalized creators like LGBTQIA+ and people of color. Our goal is for over 50% of our early access creators to be in the small creator category or part of a marginalized group. Believe it or not, this isn't always easy, as marginalized creators are oftentimes less likely to reach out and request early access. We are doing our best to listen to our community and reach out to their favorite creators in these groups. When we're hearing feedback from diverse voices we make better products, design more creative features, and are held to a higher standard.
Going Forward
Transparency is so important to us at BEACN. While we know we won't always get it right, but we promise to strive to set an example as a company that you want to support. If you have any feedback or ideas about how we can improve as we move forward, you can reach out to us via the contact information below.
John Horstmann
Product Marketing Manager
Contact:
hello@beacn.com
john@beacn.com