Latest / Social Media Marketing with Fexingo: Instagram, TikTok, LinkedIn, and Platform Strategy / How Brands Are Using Social Media to Validate Product Ideas
Transcript
- Lucas: So, Luna, you know how brands used to spend tens of thousands on focus groups and concept testing to figure out if a product would sell? Luna: Yeah, the classic clipboard and one-way mirror routine. Feels a bit dated now. Lucas: Right. And what's replaced it, at least in part, is something way cheaper and way faster: using social media itself as a testing ground. Not just for marketing after the product exists, but for deciding what to build in the first place. Luna: So brands are basically running focus groups in the comments section? Lucas: Exactly. And it's more systematic than you'd think. I was looking at a DTC beverage company recently — they had two flavor prototypes, and instead of bottling both and seeing which sold, they posted a poll on Instagram. One slide, two options, and their story engagement went through the roof. They got thousands of votes in twenty-four hours. Luna: That's a pretty clean test. But how do you know those votes are actually meaningful and not just, like, your most engaged fans being polite? Lucas: That's the right question. And it's why the smart brands don't just look at the poll result. They look at the comments, the DMs, the sentiment. One flavor might get fifty-five percent of the vote, but if the comments are full of people saying, 'I'd buy this every week,' versus the other one getting polite emojis, that tells you something. Luna: So the poll is the quantitative layer, and the comments are the qualitative layer. Lucas: Exactly. And you can do the same thing on TikTok — you see brands posting a video with two options and asking people to comment which one they'd pick. The algorithm actually amplifies that engagement, so you're getting not just your existing followers but a broader sample of the platform. Luna: I've seen that with a skincare brand — they let the community vote on the next scent for their body butter, and the winning scent sold out in days when it launched. Lucas: That's a perfect example. And it's not just about the vote itself; it's about the sense of ownership. People who voted feel invested in that product. They're more likely to buy it, and more likely to tell their friends, 'I picked that scent.' Luna: So you're building a launch audience at the same time you're doing the validation. Lucas: Right. And that's the beauty of it. But there are pitfalls. One of the big ones is the vocal minority problem. The people who comment on your polls are your most engaged followers — they're not necessarily representative of the broader market. Luna: So how do you guard against that? How do you make sure you're not just designing products for your superfans? Lucas: You triangulate. You cross-reference social signals with other data — maybe a survey to your email list, maybe a small batch test on a platform like Amazon or your own site. And you look at the demographics of who's responding. If your poll is dominated by one age group or one geographic region, you can weight your decision accordingly. Luna: So it's not a replacement for market research, but it's a great first filter. Lucas: Exactly. Use it to kill the bad ideas before you spend money, and to identify the strong ones that deserve a deeper look. And you can do this at different stages — not just for flavors or scents, but for features, pricing, messaging, even packaging designs. Luna: I've seen brands test two different ad headlines on LinkedIn just by posting them as separate updates and seeing which gets more engagement. That's a classic split test. Lucas: Right, LinkedIn is underrated for this in the B2B space. You can test positioning statements, value propositions, even product names. I know a SaaS company that ran a poll on LinkedIn asking which of three product names felt more trustworthy, and the result surprised them — the one they thought was safest came in last. Luna: So the data can challenge your assumptions. That's often the most valuable part. Lucas: Absolutely. And that's where the real ROI is — not just confirming what you already think, but catching the blind spots. But you have to be careful about how you design the test. If you ask a leading question, or you make one option visually more appealing, you're going to get a skewed result. Luna: So what's the right way to run a poll? Give us a quick framework. Lucas: First, keep it simple. One question, two or three options max. Second, make the options as equal as possible in presentation — same image size, same wording style. Third, ask something that forces a trade-off, not a yes/no. Like, 'Which flavor would you pick for a Friday night?' instead of 'Do you like this flavor?' Luna: That makes sense. And you also want to think about timing, right? Posting when your audience is most active. Lucas: Yeah, timing matters, but with Instagram polls, you have twenty-four hours and the algorithm boosts engagement early. So post when your audience is typically online, and monitor for the first hour to see if it's taking off. Luna: And what about the risk of leaking your product plans? If you're a big brand, posting a poll about a secret project might tip off competitors. Lucas: That's a real concern. Some brands use vague descriptions or mockups that don't reveal too much. Or they run the test on a smaller, private community — a Facebook group for superfans, or a Discord server — before they ever put it on the public feed. Luna: So you can still get the feedback without broadcasting your roadmap to the world. Lucas: Exactly. And honestly, this whole approach feels like a natural extension of what we've been talking about all season — brands using social media not just to broadcast, but to listen and co-create with their audience. Luna: It does. And it's something our listeners can actually try tomorrow, even with a small following. Lucas: For sure. And if these conversations have sparked an idea you've actually used in your own work, then we've done our job. And if you've found value in the show, you might think about supporting it — it's what keeps us going, ad-free, and independent. You can do that at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. Luna: Yeah, every little bit helps us keep digging into these topics. And it's really appreciated. Lucas: So, back to validation. One thing I want to stress is that this isn't a one-and-done thing. It's a continuous loop. You validate early, you launch, and then you keep listening to social media to see how people are actually using the product, and that informs the next iteration. Luna: So it's not just a pre-launch tactic, it's a post-launch habit. Lucas: Right. And that's where social listening tools come in — monitoring mentions, comments, and reviews to spot patterns. I've seen brands pivot their entire product roadmap based on a recurring theme in customer posts on social media. Luna: Give us an example of that. Lucas: There was a fitness app that kept seeing people post about wanting a 'beginner mode' — not in reviews, but in Instagram comments and TikTok videos. They built it, and it became a major acquisition channel because those same people started posting about how the beginner mode helped them. Luna: So the validation loop becomes a marketing engine all on its own. Lucas: Exactly. And that's the key takeaway: social media validation isn't just about avoiding costly mistakes. It's about building a feedback loop that connects your product development directly to the people who will actually buy it. Luna: And it makes your customers feel heard, which builds loyalty. Lucas: Yeah. So if you're a brand or a marketer, the next time you have a product idea, don't just build it. Put it out there, even if it's just a poll or a concept post, and let your audience tell you if it's worth pursuing. Luna: That's a solid piece of advice to end on. Thanks, Lucas. Lucas: Thanks, Luna. And thanks to all of you listening. We'll catch you next time.