🎧 This episode of DTC was too hot to candle with Erica Werber, founder and CEO of Literie Candle .
Literie is a one-of-a-kind company that captures the olfactory essence of New York City in candle form, with scents like “Brunch in the West Village,” “Pizza from a Guy Named Joe” and “Hot Roasted Nut Cart.” 🕯️
In today’s pod (brought to you by notes of NYC) you’ll learn how the smell of hot trash became a business-changing PR hit, why Literie’s shifting from Google Ads to TikTok, and some LinkedIn life hacks for making collabs happen.
The Takeaways 👇
🔥🗑️ PR magic brought to you by “Hot Trash”
Literie’s 2021 April Fools’ Day campaign was nothing short of genius.
They created a limited edition “Hot Trash” scented candle. But they didn’t just try to sell a stinky candle to innocent shoppers…they made the campaign worth it for customers by donating a percentage of the profits to charity and sending them a surprise candle (y’know, one that didn’t smell like garbage).
The campaign got picked up by dozens of media outlets and turned into pure viral success for the company. 🚀
Moral of the story?
👉 The right campaign strategy can turn even the “trashiest” of products into a marketing treasure.
👋 Bye Google, hello TikTok
Recently, Literie decided to ditch Google Ads…
“I just wasn’t seeing any good traffic coming from [Google Ads]... Google was having me compete with the Yankee Candles of the world. I knew I was never gonna top that list so early in our business.”
Now, they’re focusing most of their advertising on paid social. And the clear winner? TikTok, of course.
“We’re spending the same amount of money on TikTok as we are on Instagram right now, and the traffic from TikTok is so much higher. I think you get more for your money from TikTok.”
For the most part, they’re keeping it real on the platform and not overthinking it.
“I quickly realized you can be as unprofessional and silly as you want on TikTok. No one’s looking for these perfectly edited videos. You find a sound that’s trending, you figure out how to throw some content together, and there you go.”
Another hack: Literie found the #candletalk community on TikTok and now uses it to find potential influencers. 💡 If you’re looking for TikTok creators, try searching the platform for a relevant hashtag for your product!
💰 What Erica would do with an extra $50K:
“100% content creation, and probably all for TikTok… [whether] it’s paying creators, or hiring people on our team to develop content.”
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