DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built

“When I think about go-to-market strategy, there are two ways of doing it. Top-down where you get as many eyeballs on your brand as possible or bottoms up where you try to turn early adopters into loyalists.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“I believe in brand marketing where you create a community first that understands you and is a part of your brand.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“I like thinking about my influencer strategy with the micro-influencers mostly, and then plugging in a few strategic macros that we create a longer-term relationship with.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“One trend that I am really, really interested in right now is the fact that some of these major creators are now becoming investors and getting into the investor game.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPOD“As a founder of an early-stage company you have to remember that you’re on day one when comparing yourself to competitors that might already be doing this for a few years.” @AmandaMGoetz #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:00] About Amanda and her experience[03:15] Why Amanda started House of Wise[05:20] Amanda’s thoughts on go-to-market strategies[06:35] The importance of brand marketing when building[10:15] How Amanda thinks about influencer marketing for SMBs[13:45] Is influencer marketing still effective for growing brands?[16:25] Fitting influencer marketing into your marketing mix for SMBs[19:25] Amanda’s strategy for influencer marketing for early-stage brands[24:10] How Amanda approaches influencer pitches[27:50] What matters to Amanda when selecting influencers[31:15] Pitfalls to avoid for early-stage brands doing influencer marketing Influencer marketing for early-stage brands works. Here’s the playbookAmanda Goetz, CMO of Teal and Founder of House of Wise, joins the POD to talk about how SMBs can successfully do influencer marketing.Customer acquisition today is more about building an audience than just running paid advertising campaigns.That’s where influencer marketing comes. Working with the right influencers can help you build your audience and keep your brand top of mind which is key in the early stages.When you’re building your brand, you want to turn early adopters into brand loyalists.Doing this means talking to early adopters and creating strong relationships that keeps them loyal to your brand.The way you turn early adopters into loyalists is the same approach you should take with influencersStrong relationships shouldn’t only be with customers. They should be with influencers too.To get the most out of influencer marketing, you also need to create strong relationships with creators.That means getting them excited about your brand and getting them to buy into your mission, vision, and most importantly, the product itself.Stay tuned as Amanda shares how SMBs can correctly use influencer marketing to grow, how to select creators, and some of the pitfalls you should avoid in influencer marketing.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:House of Wise’s website:https://houseofwise.co/Follow Amanda on Twitter: https://twitter.com/AmandaMGoetzHouse of Wise on Twitter: https://twitter.com/house__of__wiseHouse of Wise on Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/house__of__wise/

“If your target audience is experiencing ad fatigue, they aren’t going to be responding well to your ads.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Ad fatigue can cause your conversions to go down and your costs to go up.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“AdEspresso reversed an image and saw a 10% decrease in CPC.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Make sure that your ad campaigns are not creating an overwhelming experience if a customer is also receiving emails post-purchase.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“If you need to create new content, consider using a service like Trend that allows you to create content for $100 per piece of content.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:25] What is ad fatigue?[00:50] Effects of ad fatigue[01:20] Importance of ad frequency[02:25] Checking ad rotations[03:25] Refreshing your ad creative[05:35] Adjusting your targeting[06:05] When to not hit customers with ads[06:35] The best way to combat ad fatigueSeeing CPC rise on your ads? It might be because of ad fatigueIn this episode of the DTC POD, we’re discussing the effects of ad fatigue.Ad fatigue happens when your target audience has seen your ads one too many times and they stop responding as well to your ad placement.This can drive up your ad spend and reduce your conversions at the same time.In order to combat ad fatigue, you need to stay sharp on your ads. That means keeping watch of rising costs and lower conversions.When ad fatigue starts to happen, you want to start mixing up your ads and frequency to avoid wasting dollars.Stay tuned as we cover ways to combat ad fatigue, the most effective way to refresh your ads, and offer some tips and tricks to keep your ads fresh.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Facebook ad library: https://www.facebook.com/ads/library/Trend’s blog post on ad fatigue: https://trend.io/blog/ad-fatigue

“The bridal industry is mostly set up for brick and mortar and wholesale. Because we don’t have a store, we're able to pass savings directly to the customer and keep healthy margins.” @graceleew #DTCPOD“I love creative, I love visuals. I love copy. And so I think just being able to do all of that myself really helped. I didn't have to hire anyone in the early days.” @graceleew #DTCPOD“In the early days, we only used Instagram and I did that very intentionally. I had a limited budget and I knew that our target customer is very comfortable buying off her phone.” @graceleew #DTCPOD“Really understand who your customer is and understand how you believe she shops and then stay really targeted to that platform in the early days.” @graceleew #DTCPOD“Word of mouth is so huge in bridal. It’s most people’s first time planning a wedding and they really turn within their network for advice on vendors.” @graceleew #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:10] Background on Birdy Grey and how Grace started her business[02:20] How Birdy Grey got its start and how DTC helped them get competitive pricing[03:30] How Birdy Grey has simplified the bridesmaid dress decision-making process[05:45] How the customer feedback loop informs Birdy Grey’s dress color selection[08:05] How Birdy Grey leverages IG polls and data to inform product development[09:20] Grace talks about how important color selections are in the bridal industry[10:45] How Birdy Grey has streamlined their website for better UX[11:35] How Birdy Grey creates an “in-store” experience in a digital space[13:35] How Birdy Grey creates fun, out of boutique experience for bridal parties[14:35] What Grace did to get her business started and raise capital[16:10] Grace talks about the importance of their virtual Bridal Studio [17:30] Grace breaks down Bridy Grey’s IG growth strategy[20:10] What channels are in Birdy Grey’s media mix and how they are leveraging them [21:35] Grace talks about how key a role “word of mouth” plays in the bridal industry[22:45] Grace explains the importance of investing in customer retention programs[24:40] Grace shares what things made the most positive impact for Birdy Grey early on[28:25] What Grace hopes the team at Birdy Grey and the bridal industry will see in 2021To disrupt an existing product category sometimes less is moreGrace Lee, founder & CEO of Birdy Grey, joins the POD to talk about how to leverage the customer feedback loop to streamline strategy and create a digitally native DTC business.  Birdy Grey simplifies a bridal party’s search for bridesmaids dresses by offering curated dresses in a range of trendy colors at an affordable price point in a DTC channel. Enter Grace who, after being a bridesmaid six times, saw a need to reimagine how bridal parties were approaching the search for the perfect bridesmaid dress. Prior to creating Birdy Grey, Grace began her career focusing on social media and digital content for a few different fashion and cosmetics brands. Armed with an abundance of industry knowledge and the desire to learn more about the bridal industry, Grace bootstrapped Birdy Grey in 2017 and made $2 million in revenue within their first year. After bringing on her co-founder and best friend, Monica Ashauer, and establishing a core team at Birdy Grey, the team built a social media machine that powered an endless customer feedback loop that informed important strategy and decisions for the business.Building a better alternative in DTC also requires you to listen to intensely listen to your customersOnce establishing how important color selection and customer experience are, Grace and the team at Birdy Grey skyrocketed into popularity becoming a go-to choice for bridal parties everywhere. With an affordable price point for a range of dress options exclusively being sold at $99, brides saw a quick and seamless solution for their bridal parties that also fit in with the color palette they envisioned for their big day.  While the bridal industry has encountered numerous struggles during the COVID-19 pandemic, Grace and the team at Birdy Grey have taken the time to dig deeper into what their target market is looking for.With informed data points and customer feedback from social channels, the team has created an “in-store” experience for their customers at home. You won’t want to miss how Grace leveraged social channels to craft Birdy Grey’s visually stunning and seamless website. In turn, making Birdy Grey a go-to brand for many bridal parties in an industry that is powered by word of mouth marketing. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Birdy Grey’s website: https://www.birdygrey.com/Birdy Grey’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/birdygrey/Grace’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/graceleew/

“By blending the line between media and commerce, you can lower customer acquisition cost and increase lifetime value.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“There are five different way that you can use to launch your direct to consumer brand according to Web Smith’s concept of linear commerce.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“You should focus heavily on acquiring your audience.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Launching with either a PR strategy or a go-to-market strategy with a well-received media push are usually the more predictable paths that are taken by venture back DTC brands.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“When you're creating content, you want to be providing value.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:45] What is linear commerce?[01:15] Different types of launches on the linear commerce line[03:35] How VC-backed eCommerce companies typically grow[03:50] Creating sustainable growth for eCommerce[04:20] Building your tribe[04:40] An example of using content to grow an audience[05:05] Benefits of building your audience firstThe line between media and commerce are blending, and it’s a big win for DTC brands that get it rightLinear commerce - it’s a term coined by Mizzen+Main founder Web Smith that identifies the different ways a DTC brand can launch.According to Smith, there are five different ways a direct-to-consumer brand can launch. On one side of the line, you have a brand that acquires most of its customers through paid efforts. On the other side, you have a media company that may eventually launch a product years later.As eCommerce and brand launches continue to evolve, the line between media and commerce is blending.The brands that now launch with an established audience can acquire customers for less and have higher lifetime value.By leaning into audience growth first, you can build a more sustainable business.Stay tuned as we discuss the five different versions of DTC launch strategies, what is the best strategy you can take for your brand, and some ideas to build your audience first.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Web Smith’s 2PM: https://2pml.com/More on linear commerce: https://2pml.com/2019/04/22/on-linear-commerce/

“One of the reasons why TBC-Capital is education first is because we're trying to democratize all the information that's stuck in these corporate boardrooms.” @shondradanielle #DTCPOD“One of my goals in helping underrepresented founders is to help remove as many barriers as I can.” @shondradanielle #DTCPOD“The whole point of live crowdfunding is really for the people in the audience to be able to democratize the investing process and doing that using crowdfunding.” @shondradanielle #DTCPOD“Crowdfunding isn't just putting your company on to a platform to raise. There is a lot of PR and marketing you need to do in order to make it successful.” @shondradanielle #DTCPOD“Crowdfunding is great because you can turn your customers, the people that love your brand, into investors and align incentives.” @shondradanielle #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:15] About Shondra and her background[02:20] How Shondra ended up in the startup space[04:20] Shondra’s first take at community building for underrepresented founders[07:20] How Shondra built Pitch Practice on Clubhouse[09:40] Shondra’s plan on growing Pitch Practice and Crowdhouse[11:00] How Shondra’s experience in investment baking has impacted her current role[11:55] What Shondra is trying to accomplish with helping underrepresented founders[15:05] The future of crowdfunding[17:45] Is crowdfunding for every brand? The ingredients for success if you do it[20:15] What you need to do to crowdfund[21:50] Does crowdfunding have more potential than traditional fundraising?[23:45] How crowdfunding impacts revenue and customer growth[25:05] How Shondra helped 18.21 crowdfund over $100k[27:10] Participating in Shondra’s crowdfunding sessions[28:50] What’s next for Shondra?How Shondra Washington and Clubhouse are helping to democratize information about investingShondra Washington, Co-Founder of TBC-Capital, joins the POD to talk about live crowdfunding and how she’s helping underrepresented founders raise.Shondra co-founded TBC-Capital, an education-first advisory and consulting firm, offering on-demand CFO, business development and strategy services for early-stage companies. Through her efforts her clients have raised over $1.8M in grants and startup capital. She’s currently based in New York and focuses her work in consumer tech, CPG and marketplaces.Thanks to the rise in social platforms, more founders are able to share and learn about the investing space.Not knowing investor jargon can put you at a disadvantage the space so Shondra really wants to make sure education in this space is available for all.Part of doing that is through Shondra’s pitch practice and crowdhouse club on Clubhouse, a new social app that’s audio-only.Crowdfunding allows founders to get closer to consumers and bring them on as investors.Crowdfunding isn’t for everybody thoughEven though it’s easier than ever to start a crowdfunding campaign, Shondra says that crowdfunding isn’t for everyone.Crowdfunding is not as simple as launching a campaign on a website. You need to make a strong PR and marketing effort to be successful.If you are successful though, you can bring in a lot of brand loyalists.Stay tuned as Shondra offers some recommendations for crowdfunding, where she thinks live crowdfunding is headed, and how you can take advantage of this new form of funding.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:More about Shondra’s company, TBC-Captial: https://tbc-capital.com/Connect with Shondra on Twitter: https://twitter.com/shondradanielle

“It took McDonald’s over 10 years to launch 700 locations but Mrbeast was able to launch 300 locations almost overnight.” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“Mrbeast and his team were approached by Earl Enterprises many times to build a virtual restaurant concept his team turned them down many times.” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“Mrbeast Burger is just the tip of creator collaborations. The app they created had over 1 million downloads so we could be in for more collabs like this.” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“What’s great about Mrbeast Burger is the operational efficiencies they have. They didn’t need to spend much money on infrastructure or marketing.” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“When creators take a direct launch for a product, they don’t have to build an audience because they already have the audience.” @ramongberrios #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:40] Who is Mrbeast?[01:10] About Mrbeast Burger[02:15] Why Mrbeast Burger almost never happened[03:05] How Earl Enterprises was able to convince Mrbeast to start the burger chain[03:45] The pitch for Mrbeast Burger[04:25] Why Mrbeast was the perfect fit for this[06:00] Discussing Mrbeast’s decision to build an iOS app for the burger chain[06:50] Some of the logistical challenges Mrbeast faced with the iOS app[07:40] Key takeaways for the creator economy from Mrbeast Burger[08:35] Comparing McDonald’s brand collaborations with Mrbeast Burger[10:00] How Travis Scott’s collab with McDonald’s and Mrbeast Burger will change DTCHow Mrbeast Burger was able to launch 300 restaurant locations overnightIt took McDonald’s over 10 years to launch 700 locations. It took one night for Jimmy Donaldson aka Mrbeast to launch a burger chain in 300 locations.Thanks to over 49 million subscribers, Mrbeast was able to successfully launch a restaurant chain without spending anything on infrastructure or marketing.He and his team have already built an audience, so getting people to buy in on Mrbeast Burger was pretty easy.This launch will surely upend the fast-food industry. Creators looking to expand their reach and engage with their audience can do the same with the loyal following they have built.The future of direct to consumer is also one to look out for. With creators already having an audience, more will probably jump on board to launch their own product.Mrbeast has provided the blueprint for launch, now it’s up to other creators to follow.Stay tuned as we discuss how Mrbeast executed this launch, the challenges he faced, and what this means for the future of the restaurant industry and DTC as a whole.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:About Mrbeast Burger: https://mrbeastburger.com/about/Mrbeast Burger’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/mrbeastburger/

“The cost of acquiring a customer is higher than its ever been.” @JulianaJaxx #DTCPOD“Your current customers are much more likely to make another purchase from you and when they do, they often spend more money than the first time buyers.” @JulianaJaxx #DTCPOD“If your customer doesn't feel special, ultimately, he's not going to buy from you again” @JulianaJaxx #DTCPOD“By analyzing historical data, you can actually predict when people are ready to purchase again.” @JulianaJaxx #DTCPOD“Our research shows the biggest reason that customers leave stores is that they think the company doesn't care about them.” @JulianaJaxx #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:00] About Juliana and Omniconvert[02:30] Why retention is just as important as acquisition[03:35] The two different ways to think about growth in eCommerce[06:35] How customer lifetime value (LTV) helps you track business growth[09:30] Calculating customer acquisition cost (CAC) correctly[11:20] How the LTV equation has changed over time[13:20] Other metrics brands should be following to track growth[17:20] How segmentation can help you increase purchase frequency[19:30] Predicting and driving repurchases for your brand[25:35] Predicting and solving for customers that won’t repurchase[30:20] Tools and strategies for better understanding your customer segmentsBrand growth is more than customer acquisition, it’s also retentionJuliana Jackson, Head of Product Marketing at Omniconvert, joins the POD to talk about eCommerce growth metrics and marketing to the right people at the right time.Omniconvert is a company that helps data-driven marketers around the world to understand, segment, convert, and retain more customers.Building a brand is much more than acquiring customers.Customer acquisition is important but without retention, your eCommerce brand can’t grow.That’s why you need to pay attention to metrics like customer lifetime value. Understanding how much your customers spend with you and how they feel about your brand are just as important.Today’s brand growth equation needs to account for more than just lifetime spend though. You also need to look at customer experience, net promoter scores, and customer support.Understanding customers on a deeper level can fuel eCommerce growthBrand growth isn’t just about the metrics. You need to understand what segments your customers fall into.You don’t need to build out crazy segments but you should consider grouping customers based on recency and frequency of purchase.Knowing how often and when customers purchase is a big piece of nurturing.By splitting up your customers, you can understand which customers are likely to continue to purchase from you and which are likely to churn.This helps you build a more predictable business model.Stay tuned as Juliana provides tips on what metrics you should look at, how to better predict repurchases, and how to delight your customers.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Omniconvert’s website: https://www.omniconvert.com/Connect with Juliana: https://www.linkedin.com/in/iulianajackson/

“When working with creators and influencers, you want to have a really structured and optimized process for content creation.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Most campaigns should look to drive brand awareness and create content. Those are the only things that are guaranteed.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Lifestyle content is great because it allows an audience to make the connection that they can see themselves using the product.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Consider creating content for different stages of your customer journey.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“A strong, professionally created testimonial by a create could be the difference of someone watching an ad for a second vs five seconds. That could make all the difference in conversion.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:30] Why you need templates in your influencer campaign strategy[01:45] How to run a successful lifestyle content campaign[02:55] What you will get out of a product shot campaign[03:55] A campaign that will help you get more followers for your brand[04:40] Testimonial campaigns and why they are so good for your brand[05:25] Creating a campaign to map out your entire customer journey[06:45] A campaign idea that engages your audience to buy for their friends and family[07:35] The bare minimum campaign strategy you should be running with creatorsWorking with influencers is more than just sending out a product and getting them to take a photoAt Trend, we’re always talking about the importance of adding structure to your influencer campaigns. So today, we’re going over some structured campaigns you can create.These ideas are different types of campaigns you can run with influencers.We’re going through six different campaign ideas and offering a bare minimum framework that you can use right now. The content you receive from these campaigns is sure to improve your content calendar.By using this framework you will be able to create different themes around the content you create. As a brand, you will also be able to improve the stories you can create with your content.Stay tuned as we run through various influencer campaign ideas, discuss the goals you should set for them, and talk about how to use the deliverables to grow your brand.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:Set up a free Trend campaign and get access to templates for your next creator campaign:https://app.trend.io/signup

“Apple’s new update on iOS 14 will make users opt-in for advertising data rather than opting out.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“With Apple’s change, if some adds to a cart and purchases, you will only see the purchase conversion if the purchase is prioritized.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Make sure you're adding simple elements to your creative like price overlays, discount call outs, shipping call outs, product benefit call-outs.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“Make sure you have the Facebook Conversions API installed on your website.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“With these changes, tracking data on your end is going to be even more important. Consider using a CRM and use UTMs as well.” @jadesai94 #DTCPODWe Speak About:[00:25] About Apple’s AppTracking Transparency (ATT) update and what it means[01:15] What ATT means for event management[02:20] Actions to take for ATT for Facebook event tracking[03:05] How ATT will affect dynamic ads[03:50] Actions to take for Facebook dynamic ads[04:40] What ATT means for measuring ads[05:30] How to prepare for Facebook ads measurement changes[08:20] Preparing for the changes outside of FacebookApple is making it a lot easier for users to opt-out of data collection with the iOS 14 update, here’s what it meansUsers who update to iOS 14 will find it easier to opt-out of data collection. While that’s a win for users, it is going to make it a lot tougher for small businesses to optimize their ads.As a result, Facebook is making some changes to its ad platform to better reflect the changes.With this new update, Facebook ads managers will see changes to things like event tracking, measurement, and more. It will have a significant impact on how brands and agencies set goals and optimize for conversions.Stay tuned as we go through what these changes mean for your ads and how you can better prepare your ad account for these changes.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:How iOS 14 may affect your ads (from Facebook): https://www.facebook.com/business/help/331612538028890?id=428636648170202Facebook’s update for developers with iOS 14: https://developers.facebook.com/blog/post/2020/12/16/preparing-partners-ios-14-mobile-web-advertisingHow to verify your domain with Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/business/help/245311299870862Shopify’s Facebook app: https://apps.shopify.com/facebook

“Brands that are doing partnerships well think about partnerships put a lot of thought into building authentic relationships with partner brands.” @connersherline #DTCPOD“We haven't necessarily seen the highest cross-selling metrics on products alone. It's so much more psychographic.” @connersherline #DTCPOD“The best partnerships really are like a win-win on both sides.” @connersherline #DTCPOD“I see consumers being able to personalize their experience and cut through the noise in a better way than just getting served up the next Instagram ad.” @connersherline #DTCPOD“Values matter a lot and people sniff through false values. If you're a sustainable brand partner with sustainable brands. If you are a clean beauty brand partner with other brands that actually speak to your mission.” @connersherline #DTCPODWe Speak About:[01:05] About co-op commerce[02:45] Where brand partnerships fit in the marketing funnel[05:50] How brand partnerships are moving more towards the bottom of the funnel[07:45] Some of the challenges in brand partnerships[09:50] Conner’s data insights on what type of brand partnerships work[14:45] The type of products that work best for brand partnerships[17:20] Facebook ads vs brand partnerships[19:45] Conner gives his take on the future of brand partnerships[21:45] Where social commerce fits in with brand partnerships[25:15] Conner and Jay talk DTC marketplaces[28:30] Conner lists 3 things brands should look at before partnering with other brands[30:05] How far we are from the future of commerce[31:15] Brand partnerships and how they relate to influencer marketingA look at the future of brand partnerships and brand collaborationsConner Sherline, founder of co-op commerce joins the POD to discuss brand partnerships and brand collaborations.Before starting co-op, Conner spent five years working for Facebook and Instagram.Conner and his wife (also his co-founder) have brought a disruptive platform to the brand partnership space allowing brands to cross-sell each other products with no risk.Brand partnerships and collaborations are a common way for early-stage brands to go. It allows each brand to capitalize on the other’s audience and grow. Typically, however, most brand partnerships focused on top of the funnel tactics.Thanks to improvements in shopping platforms, it is now possible to create brand partnerships that focus on the bottom of the funnel.This is where co-op comes in.The best brand partnerships are rooted in authenticityA fancy platform can help you better leverage partnerships but it isn’t the only thing you need.When building partnerships, focus on creating authentic relationships.You should look at what kind of audience buys your products and work with brands that have a similar audience.This will increase your chances of having a successful brand partnership.In addition to looking at the audience, it’s also important to look at values. Your values should align with the brands you are working with.Stay tuned as Conner discusses some of the challenges brands face when partnering, what they can do to overcome them, and what the future of commerce looks like.If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.Mentioned Links:co-op commerce’s website: https://www.coopcommerce.com/co-op’s marketplace: https://www.thecoopcollective.com/