Why should you give free content??

Free content can do many things for a company, yet so many companies do not take advantage of it. One of the big things it can do for the company giving the free content is that it will build trust. If consumers get free content or products and they like it then they will start to tell others. Once told about the product more consumers are likely to get it because it is free. This will spread a brand's recognition quickly and possibly to consumers that may have not heard of it otherwise. One example I have of this personally is that I was told about a new band this past week and I went and downloaded their album because it was free, and now since I have been listening to it I am more likely to buy their next album. Another way that giving things for free will build the trust is because it helps build more impressions. This makes the consumers feel more at ease about a brand because so many others are talking about it. 

            Another way that free can help a brand is it will build interest. Back to my example of the free music, since the album was free my friend was more likely to tell me to go get it instead of just listening to it because it would not cost anything to me. This shows the point of when it is free more people will talk about your brand. This can also be used to educate the potential consumers about the brand or product. Since the content is free they are more likely to give it a try and they will learn about what is being written even if they may not have otherwise read about it.

            In marketing we learn about the “tipping point” in trying to start a new product. This is the percentage of the market that must buy the product before it will for sure make major market success. This tipping point is usually right after the early majority has bought the product because by that point enough people are talking about it or heard about it that there is a large amount of interest in the product. Also a lot of time these early buyers whether they are innovators, early adapters, or early majority will get a discount on the product. This brings up the point of why not make the product free for a little to make sure it gets past the tipping point and then charge either towards the end or for the next product so that enough people will be interested.

             Lastly when offering a free product it will get people to try the brand and hopefully come back to buy more from the company. So many times I hear my friends or the people around me talking about how many free things they have gotten either at conferences or fairs, and even though they might have had no original interest in the product they will still get it. After they have received it they will either use it themselves or give the product to a friend whom they know is interested in it. This makes it so that the brands even though they might not have originally reach their target they did by the end and could end up getting a sale from the free item.