Sliding into the weekend like:
This newsletter also includes:
🔥 Must-try tips to boost your Instagram checkout conversions.
🤔 Mistakes that rookies make on Amazon.
👚 Subtle advertising on TikTok.
📧 Building brand affinity through email.
👉 If a pal forwarded this to you, subscribe so you never miss out. And be sure to follow us on Twitter and Instagram.
🚨Job opportunity: DTC is hiring a freelance social media lead (it’s remote)!
If you’re interested, send a note to Thomas (thomas@directtoconsumer.co) with your resume and why you’d be a good fit!
Instagram has several features such as product tags and in-app checkout that are helping businesses increase their sales on the platform.
Instagram checkout is a great example of ‘Instant Gratification’ that shoppers crave.
Today, more than 130 million Instagram users tap on product tags.
🚀 Reduces Clicks: IG checkout reduces barriers to purchase by saving the customer about 5-10 clicks compared to a normal checkout.
It also has less risk of cart abandonment.
😎 Better Experience: The customer gets an end-to-end shopping experience without ever leaving the app.
They can receive purchase, shipping, and delivery updates within the app as well.
😬 FAST checkout: The user has to fill out their personal information only once, and it is stored in the app.
This further reduces the steps to completing a purchase.
🔥 Integration: Online merchants can integrate their current sales tools like Shopify, BigCommerce, CommerceHub, etc. to streamline all logistics and operations with Instagram.
Use product tags consistently and creatively in your feed posts.
Utilize attractive images and show your product in action when you add tags to it.
For example, check out Madewell’s Instagram product tags:
Since product tags are a part of a feed post, they’re not invasive, and all your followers have to do is tap the tags and complete the purchase.
Consistently using product tags can boost your sales significantly. 🥇
Over 500 million people use Instagram stories every day.
Although story posts are short-lived, it’s worthwhile for DTC businesses to use this medium to improve their sales.
This can be done by adding shoppable stickers to your stories.
Once tapped, these tags open the product page in-app for users to buy within a few clicks.
Example 👇
Instagram’s live shopping lets users buy the products during the brand’s live video content.
Users can purchase the products instantly with an accessible ‘Tap-to-buy’ button during the live broadcast.
You can team up with creators and influencers to get the best out of this strategy.
Dropping a new product?
There are various ways to make it a big occasion on the platform.
You can launch it during a live stream or create a buzz around the launch by creating reminders.
Here’s how Adidas does it:
Users can select the size when setting reminders, as well.
Launch reminders send users notifications 15 minutes before the launch.
This ensures that they don’t forget about your new products and increases the chances of conversion.
Use swipeable links to drive traffic from Instagram to your website.
‘Swipe up’ links in Instagram stories are currently only available to profiles with 10K+ followers (booo! We wish IG would change this!).
These links are best used along with enticing offers and product tags.
Pro Tip: Use ‘Stories Highlights’ on your profile to dock all the stories with swipeable links and segregate them by collections or offers.
This gives your profile visitors complete access to your products all within Instagram!
For too long, the process of finding the right influencer for your campaign or brand has been endless, mindless, soul-crushing scrolling. And then, once you find "the one," they don’t even move the needle. 💔
They’re the first matchmaking tool for brands and creators.
✅ Build your campaign
✅ Pick from 10 creators
✅ Hit the launch button and bask in success
#paid is basically the dating service for brands and influencers. Instead of dinner and overpriced drinks, you’ll get ROI and a partner your audience trusts.
👉 Ready to meet your brand’s perfect match? Click here to learn more.
We LOVE this email from skincare and self-care brand Blume
The design is simple and straightforward and the hero image exemplifies the messaging.
Allowing users to connect with and motivate each other anonymously is an awesome concept.
Think about applying a similar concept to your brand. It’ll help break up sales emails and build genuine connections.
This 15 second ad by Brittany Broski on TikTok is a great example of a sneaky way to advertise while still entertaining.
UGC ads tend to work best when they fit in with the creator’s standard content.
This ad by Brittany Broski not only does that but it does it in 15 seconds!
She shows off her MeUndies in an excited way and makes you laugh.
Brittany also adds a discount code in the caption as a way to entice her followers to shop without making an overt sales pitch.
That's how you do it!
🤔 Did you know?
55% of consumers will continue supporting a brand after a positive customer service experience, and 44% of them will then go on to recommend your brand to their network.
In partnership with Dynata, Aircall surveyed approximately 6,000 online shoppers around the world to understand their online shopping habits and help retailers cultivate meaningful customer relationships based on insights from the data.
This week's AKNF features Amazon scaling vets Rob and Clifford, from Pilothouse.
They dove into rookie mistakes Amazon sellers make.
Rules and regulations play a key part in Amazon product listing.
Straying too far outside the box may land your listing in Amazon jail (with a very strenuous bail process).
Be careful of the following categories:
You may think your product is "the best" but overly boastful language without the data to back it up can get you in trouble.
If you’re making a boastful claim in your listing, make sure you have the data to prove it!
Amazon is your friend, not your competition.
If you’re looking to scale your business and have your product reach more customers, Amazon is an amazingly useful tool.
Although Amazon does sell their own line of products, your competitors are the brands who are already actively selling on the site.
If you’re following Amazon’s best practices to a tee, there’s room to innovate.
Amazon has different goals than your brand so be weary of taking all their advice.
Although the algorithm is built to grab key words and serve the consumer, the best practices you outline for your brand may bring better optimization.
To dive into the nitty-gritty of Amazon’s platform and product listing with Clifford and Rob from Pilothouse, listen to the full pod here!
🤑 Link-in-bio monetization platform Snipfeed raises a $5.5M seed round.
👟 Adidas sells Reebok to Authentic Brands Group for $2.5 billion.
🏀 Sports merchandise company Fanatics now valued at $18 billion with new investors including hip-hop mogul Jay-Z.
🛶 Gamified home rowing machine Aviron raises $4.5M.
🍺 PepsiCo and Boston Beer partner to make Hard Mtn Dew.
🛒 eCommerce-as-a-service platform Cart.com picks up $98M to give brands scaling tools.
🐒 Mailchimp is exploring a sale at $10 billion-plus valuation.
🍋 Pop-Tarts pairs with Gen Z brand Lyrical Lemonade for back-to-school.
🤯 Slashing customer acquisition costs with Nik Sharma.
👩💻 Marea Wellness scales menstrual health organically on TikTok and Reddit with Monica Grohne.
🍼 Organic influencers for the win with Co-founder and CMO of Lalo, Michael Weider.
✅ How Kellogg’s thinks about DTC and eRetail with Joe Harper and Jordan Narducci.
DTC Newsletter is written by Thomas Schreiber, Rebecca Knight, and Nupura Ughade.
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