What is the primary reason that companies give away content for free?

Companies give away freebies as a form of investment. When they launch new products, consumers are wary of buying it at first. There is some sort of barrier between the consumer buying the product. In order to breach this, companies give it for free to consumers. Knowing that they are confident with the quality of their products, a few loses of income is just minimal compared to the potential of greater sales from these consumers. As long as they try it, it is up to them if the product is worth its price. Then, word-of-mouth advertisement increases consumer awareness exponentially. In the long run, it would bring greater profit to the company.