DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built

“Work with some of your best creators and influencers for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.” @jhcjr_ #DTCPOD“When someone sees your product in the hands of a creator, that social proof can speak volumes.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“When you are partnering with content creators, leverage that content in email marketing.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“FOMO is a great way to generate conversions for your business.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“Make sure you repurpose content from creators.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPODWe speak about:[03:00] Make a campaign plan for Black Friday and Cyber Monday[07:10] Meet your customers where they are [08:55] The importance of email marketing  [10:45] Why you should partner with a creator for the holidays[18:30] The latest day you can start your campaign for Black FridayToday, Jamie Catanach, head of customer success for Trend, joins the show. Trend is the leading destination for brands looking to work with creators and produce high-quality content.You need a campaign plan for Black Friday and Cyber MondayCOVID is changing how Black Friday and Cyber Monday (BFCM) will look in 2020. People are more hesitant to shop in person – they are more interested in making purchases online. Thirty percent of annual retail sales happen between Black Friday and Christmas – the holiday season is HUGE for businesses. Make sure that you have a plan in action ready for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. How do you start a plan? First, set your goals. It’s essential to know what you are trying to achieve during Black Friday and Cyber Monday.We are a few weeks out from BFCM – get focused on it sooner rather than later. Think about the plan you can put in place. It’s never too soon to set things in motion.Sixty-seven percent of shoppers intend to buy online this year because of the pandemic. As a result, you should increase your focus on digital presence efforts, even if you have a brick and mortar location. Make sure you have a strategy for this holiday season.Working With Creators For The HolidaysWorking with creators and influencers is an essential piece of the puzzle for your Black Friday and Cyber Monday marketing. They can help you get in front of your customers and your audience.Your goal should be to spread word of mouth, social proof, and generate website traffic to create conversions.If your product is suitable for gifting, make sure that your customers know that. Use your influencers to do an unboxing. You can also create exclusive discounts for your creators.When your product is in the creator's hand, it can provide social proof for your company. You can also repurpose this content in paid ads. You will create more touchpoints that can end in conversion as a result.Most brands will be discounting their items, so why not work with an influencer and creator to promote a discount and create great content? It will help you stand out from your competition. When you run a Black Friday campaign, you want to reach the most amount of people. Overall, creators and influencers are great partners for the holidays. Jamie says it can be a cheaper option because the cost for paid ads this year will be higher due to the US election. With Trend, you can activate micro-influencers at $100 a pop (and you keep the rights to the content too). Stay tuned as we talk about the importance of repurposing content and the latest day you should start your campaign.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.

“In consumer commerce, you always have to be chasing your next customer.” @jjeremycai #DTCPOD“Even with the introduction of direct to consumer, the product quality and the product price points haven’t really changed much for consumers.” @jjeremycai #DTCPOD“The challenge with DTC is that once you saturate your core market, you see a big jump in customer acquisition.” @jjeremycai #DTCPOD“Sometimes your best customer might not convert immediately, they might be receiving your content for a while before converting.” @jjeremycai #DTCPOD“If you don’t have brand right, you’re going to be starting with a rocky foundation. Make sure to do this in-house and don’t outsource it.” @jjeremycai #DTCPODWe speak about:[00:50] About Italic  [02:30] Jeremy’s experience as an entrepreneur  [06:20] The buildup to Italic  [09:10] The transition to direct-to-consumer [13:00] How Italic’s model approaches marketing [20:00] The importance of recall for your brand  [22:30] Advice for founders Jeremy Cai currently serves as the CEO of Italic and helps his SO Kati with Not Pot. The Entrepreneurial Journey To ItalicIn this episode, Jeremy dives into his entrepreneurial journey. First, Jeremy dropped out of school to build an enterprise software company. However, Jeremy sought to do something more innovative that no one else was doing. The inspiration for Italic came from marketplace enabled companies like Uber and Airbnb. Neither company takes inventory. Instead, they empower the individual hosts to monetize their own places.In the same lens, Italic doesn’t sell marked-up goods to its customer. Instead, they replace the brand and take the retailer out of the supply chain. They then provide the savings to the customer and offer a higher yield per unit to the manufacturer.Italic is not incentivized to sell their products; they are incentivized to sell their membership. They had to spend a long time developing their product assortment. There are over 1,000 SKUs on their website that they have created themselves.To help build Italic, Jeremy spent time living in China and Italy to make relationships with manufacturers. Italic doesn’t buy their inventory; their manufacturers float the inventory for a higher yield per unit.Focus On Your Brand’s ValueWhen you sell products and monetize the markup, you always have to be chasing the next customer - with this model, you aren’t incentivized with loyalty. When Italic sells a subscription product, their payback is not immediate. Italic is profitable when a consumer first buys their membership. Asa result, they are much more focused on engagement metrics and how to change their merchandising strategy. Similar to Spotify, they focus on continually delivering value to their customer to ensure they come back.Jeremy talks about how recall is critical for your brand. Sometimes, your best customers won’t convert immediately. There are many ways to make a sale; it depends on your brand, what you stand for, and what your customer gets out of you.Stay tuned as Jeremey gives his advice for founders and he reveals what is coming next for Italic. 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:Website: https://jeremycai.comItalic: http://italic.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/jjeremycaiInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/italic/

“Campaign guidelines mean setting the right expectations and setting yourself up for success.” @jhcjr_ #DTCPOD“Let the creator craft the message to their audience themselves.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“You need content for your business to stay relevant.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“Let your creator know what the campaign should and shouldn’t do.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“Working with creators is great for going after tried-and-true audiences or testing out new audiences.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPODWe speak about:[02:00] The essential elements of campaign guidelines  [06:00] Helpful guidelines for creators[12:35] Working with creators to test out new audiences   [15:10] How to put together your style guide when you’re just beginning  [17:45] The ideal timeline for your campaign  [21:50] Jamie’s final advice to ensure a successful campaign  Today, Jamie Catanach, head of customer success for Trend, joins the show. Trend is the leading destination for brands looking to work with creators and produce high-quality content.The Basic Elements of Influencer Campaign GuidelinesCampaign guidelines are a critical piece to the success of an influencer campaign. Have a plan from the start! The goal with campaign guidelines is to set the expectations for creators upfront.Creators will be basing their content off of the campaign guidelines. You want to provide as much detail as possible here. Also, you want to be clear and communicate exactly what you are looking for.Make sure that the creators know upfront that you intend to have the rights to their content afterward. If you are on Trend, our platform will manage this aspect for you.You should be upfront about a timeline for your creator. When reaching out to creators, a timeline should be clearly communicated and confirmed with the creator.Make sure that the creator understands what products they will be receiving. Also, share talking points around your brand and the products that you’re sending.Your creator should be creative about the caption that they provide. However, you should provide five to ten bullet points about the brand and the product. Then, your creator can reference some of those things in their caption. The Style Guide Is A Critical Element of Your Campaign The style guide is where you describe the type of content that you are looking for. Make sure you communicate the kind of digital aspects you are looking for the creator to create.When communicating guidelines, be as specific as possible. Should the creator be outside, indoors, in nature, with their family? This type of information is critical when communicating the kind of content you are looking for from creators.  Lastly, don’t hesitate to provide examples. If you see some great content on Pinterest, don’t be afraid to share it with your creator. If you like bright warm photos, find creators with that type of content. Stay tuned as Jamie explains how to create a style guide when you’re just in the beginning stages of content creation. Plus, Jamie reveals what to consider when figuring out your campaign timeline. 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.

“Micro-influencers have a deeper connection with their followers.” @jhcjr_ #DTCPOD“Content that is produced on social channels by creators tends to be more authentic.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“Make sure the expectations to the creator are clear and concise.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“Focus on the content that your creator has produced in the past.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPOD“Find creators that have an audience that is perfect for your brand.” @jhcjr_  #DTCPODWe speak about:[02:05] How to pick the best creators[09:15] The importance of high-quality content [14:00] The most important things needed to produce a successful campaign[17:30] Exactly how many creators your business should be using   Today, Jamie Catanach, head of customer success for Trend, joins the show. Trend is the leading destination for brands looking to work with creators and produce high-quality content/How To Pick The Best Creators For Your BrandWhen a brand is looking to work with a creator, they first need to think about their goals. Are you working on brand awareness or are you trying to get sales for your business? Setting goals upfront is an essential part of the process.Creators and influencer marketing is a great way to build brand awareness, but it’s also a driving force for brands to get a massive amount of content for their business. Micro-influencers are talented and can deliver great social proof to your audience. For content-driven campaigns, content aesthetic is an important factor. Your creator should fit the persona of your ideal customer. That way, the content can seamlessly flow on your website and social media channels and appear natural.If you’re trying to drive sales through influencer marketing, include discount codes and affiliate links. Here you may need to be more focused on engagement numbers, rates, and follower counts.High-Quality Content Is Critical For Your Campaigns As a bi-product of working with creators, you will also receive brand awareness. Other consumers may purchase and tag your products in their photos, delivering more social proof. High-quality content is always essential. You want to make sure that the little things are right – the content should be well lit, and the product should be clear. Make sure you take a look at your creators' past content to ensure their work is ideal for what you need. The content that really wins is authentic content – it looks like your friend made it. Authentic content converts at a higher level in the right channels than something created in a professional studio.Stay tuned as we talk about the essential things necessary to produce a successful campaign, the importance of setting expectations, and how many creators your business should be using based on size.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.

“There’s too much of an opportunity cost to not know how well your content is doing.” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“As soon as you see content perform, you immediately want to know how to make it better.” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“Producing more content means you can stay top of mind.” @jadesai94 #DTCPOD“The faster you can test, the more data you can test, and the better decisions you can make.” @ramongberrios #DTCPOD“People are going to go to McDonald’s not because of the burger, but because of the experience.” @ramongberrios #DTCPODWe speak about:[01:05] Why most brands need more content.[04:40] Staying top of mind to keep consumers coming back.[09:20] Tailoring your content to customer personas.[11:18] Tagging your product in user-generated content.[13:30] Creating experiences is what will ultimately convert customers.Why You Need More ContentIn this episode, Jay and Ramon talk about why you need more content for your brand.The most obvious reason you need more content is that you really can’t afford to leave holes in your content delivery for your customers. Ramon says the opportunity cost is too great to not really know how well your content is doing.Another immediate benefit of creating more content for your channel or brand is that it gives you more data. The more content you have the performs well, the more quickly you can analyze that and put out more content like it to grow your base.You Need to Stay Fresh in the Customer’s MindStaying at the top of your customer’s mind is the goal. You want them to think of your brand before anyone else’s, and pushing more content can help you to do that.A lot of times it’s hard to keep the flow up, but there are tools and agencies available (like Trend) to help you produce more content and stay in the conversation.Agencies need to actually deliver value to their customers, so make sure whoever you hire to help drive content is actually creating value for you and your customers. Having a limitation of content may actually reduce your engagement, so think about that.In other words, spending time researching the customer personas can help you to “segment” your content and target them directly. This kind of content production can lead to more customer conversions and more overall growth.Crossover Between Influencers and Content CreatorsIn addition to your regular content, you need to look for ways to bring your content to different consumer markets. And you need more content in general to do this.Look at the recent example of McDonald’s crossover campaign with Travis Scott. We don’t know how much that partnership cost McDonald’s, but we can probably assume it was less than trying to advertise directly to Travis Scott fans. The crossover of brands allows McDonald’s to sell that experience without even creating a new menu item. This also created content that mapped the entire customer journey and can be used to drive traffic.Additionally, the more personalized your content is, the better. Pay attention to what your customers actually want, and make efforts to deliver that. To sum up, the more content you have, the more you can do the following things: 1) learn about what content is performing, 2) create opportunities to stay in the minds of your customers, 3) successfully convert more consumers from other markets to ultimately grow your brand, and 4) reduce ad fatigue.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.

“49% of consumers are already signed up to receive text message marketing from brands.” @Yotpo #DTCPOD“The average person spends over four hours a day on their mobile device.” @Yotpo #DTCPOD“Consumers check their phone over 150 times a day.” @Yotpo #DTCPOD“Customers are deciding which channel they like to engage with more.” @Yotpo #DTCPOD“Consumers are actively interested in signing up for text messaging.” @Yotpo #DTCPODWe speak about:[00:55] About Yotpo[02:10] What is text message marketing? [06:45] The benefit of SMS marketing over email marketing  [12:00] When you should and shouldn’t use text message marketing  [16:20] How to acquire a text message audience [18:35] About the regulations behind text message marketing [20:40] The best ways to market using SMS How Text Message Marketing Is Taking Over eCommerce Today, Kim Winter, Product Marketing Manager at Yotpo, joins the show. Yotpo is an eCommerce marketing platform offering the most advanced solutions for customer reviews, visual marketing, loyalty, referrals, and SMS marketing.Text message marketing (SMS marketing) is truly taking over the eCommerce industry. Consumers are busy texting each other. However, brands have recently caught up to SMS marketing's power – it's the fasting growing marketing channel for brands worldwide.By the end of this year, 49 million consumers will agree to receive SMS notifications from brands. There’s a massive amount of momentum behind text message marketing. Plus, 49% of consumers are already signed up to receive messages from brands.Brands need a way to leverage as many media channels as possible. Customers are on their mobile phones, so it's an excellent place for the brand to be.SMS has an open rate of 98%, and 90% of messages are opened within three minutes. It’s such a direct way for brands to connect with their consumers. Most importantly, the ROI speaks for itself. Yotpo’s clients see a 25% increase in ROI on their mass campaigns. There is no other channel that is reaching that level of ROI during this time.Is SMS Marketing Better Than Email Marketing?SMS marketing is a lot better than email marketing. Both channels are used to engage with customers, but they each have their unique benefits. You can use both smartly and strategically.While email has a longer response time, text sees an immediate response time. Email content is lengthy, whereas SMS is short. Plus, SMS sees higher engagement rates than emails.Kim says that she would do a healthy mix between text and email marketing on a limited budget. It would be a mistake just to choose one; you want to ensure you catch customers across a variety of their preferences.Consumers prefer to engage with brands through text over email because they want to have a back and forth conversation. It opens up a massive opportunity for brands. That way, brands can develop relationships with their customers. Stay tuned as Kim reveals how to collect mobile numbers, the possibility of text message saturation, and the best ways to utilize text message 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.Website: https://www.yotpo.comKim on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kim-winter/

“In-house content loses a little bit of its authenticity when you’re the one that’s being the creative director. You might know what you’re audience is looking for, but you may not be as highly tuned in as you think you are.” #DTCPOD“You don’t want to be making content using the same mug (if it’s a drink), the same kitchen, and the same person over and over.” #DTCPOD“If you really like a content creator, more discounts aren’t going to incentivize them.”  #DTCPOD“We have a customer that’s put half a million dollars on ads to an image that cost him a hundred dollars on Trend.”  #DTCPOD“When you’re a small business, your time matters a lot. There are many hats to wear for every team member and putting resources toward making content doesn’t really make a whole lot of sense.” #DTCPODWe speak about:[00:30] What is in-house content?[01:38] The biggest limitations of producing your content in-house[04:45] Strategies to overcome the challenges of in-house content creation[08:42] What it takes to work with content creators[11:13] There is immense value in user generated content[13:55] Another limitation: Moving fast is difficult when you see ad performance failing [15:03] Watch the data and test it out + Try Trend for free!It might be time for you to change the way you produce your content In-house content is anything made by an internal team. It takes time and has some limitations regarding cost, authenticity, scalability, the potential of fatigue, and of course, the pandemic. People don’t like seeing the same thing repeatedly on social media or TV. They’re going to be engaged when they have something new and fresh to look at. In this episode, we discuss the advantages and disadvantages of producing content in-house. With in-house content, it’s hard to develop new settings and new people, while keeping your content relevant and authentic.In addition to content fatigue, you could end up spending way more money on in-house content than if you just sourced your content from freelancers or independent contractors.Outsourcing your content creation frees up time and energy you can spend on other tasks and projectsHere are some good strategies to overcome the challenges of in-house content creation:Keep it authentic, don’t try to make it professional.Avoid putting the same person in front of the camera multiple times. Switch it up by only including hands in your content or keeping the faces of your team out of it. To go even further, you can use your customers as content creators, (although it can be tedious and time consuming to scale).With Trend, the turnaround time for content production is much shorter. Stay tuned as we discuss the value of being able to speak to what you need from creators and how to control the creative process without having to be the full-time creative director.We dive into what kind of people you need in your internal team, what the process look might like, and what the result looks like.Mentioned links:Interested in Trend? Try it for free.

In this episode, Jay is joined by Farhaj Mayan, Co-Founder and CEO at Kanna.Kanna is a people operations system for cannabis farms and dispensaries that helps manage staff and compliance, and offers these businesses vetted independent contractors available for hire.Farhaj kicks the podcast off with a little history of Kanna.Later in the episode, we discuss the rise of marketplaces (since Trend is also a marketplace), the gig economy, and the push to add structure to gig economy jobs in different industries.For more information on Kanna, visit: https://www.hirekanna.com/If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for users and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

In this episode, Jay is joined by Brad Redding, Co-Founder of Elevar.Elevar is a platform that helps eCommerce brands better understand their marketing analytics through automation.In this podcast, Brad walks us through some common errors in Google Tag Manager for eCommerce brands and what are the most important events to track for.He also discusses events that can help move the needle for brands.One interesting feature of Google Tag Manager is tracking coupon codes across pages. This could be especially useful for users using creators and influencers like the ones on Trend.For more information on Elevar, visit: https://www.getelevar.com/.To download Elevar’s chrome extension for GTM tagging check out: https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/elevar-gtm-event-builder/aanpkkmackhljjnbcopdoidpdjngfooc?hl=en-USIf you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for users and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.

In this episode, Jay and Jamie are joined by Joe Christensen, Founder & CEO of MCTco.MCTco. is a protein keto bar snack company.Joe is here to share his experience of starting MCTco.Joe breaks down how he came up with the idea for MCTco.’s bars, what he had to learn to get started in the industry, and how he has had to reposition the brand.We also spoke with Joe about the biggest challenges he has faced and what he wished he did sooner in his business.Joe also mentions which brands have inspired and assisted him along with what’s next for MCTco.To purchase products from MCTco., visit: https://mctco.com/If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for users and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram, LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.