🛍 DTC Daily - Wednesday, Mar 1

🎶 TikTok adds trendier audio for business accounts

📰 TL;DR - TikTok has expanded the audio available to business accounts with "Sounds for Business." You can take a look at the catalog here, which is organized into themes and moods. It includes music and sound effects and they can be used for both organic posts and ads. Audio is very important for TIkToks — according to this article, 68% of users are more likely to remember a brand if audio is used.

💡 Insight - This is a big quality of life improvement. The biggest downside of switching to a TikTok business account is that you're abruptly cut off from the vast majority of commercial music in the app. That means if a Taylor Swift song is trending, you're just plain out of luck unless you've got some serious licensing funds available. That makes it so much harder to participate in trends. But if you don't switch, you lose out on all the benefits of a business account. My personal method has been to identify visual trends and simply use a different audio clip or hunt for that rare time a trending audio clip is available to business accounts.

➡️You can read the article here...

🚘 How this auto shop blew up on TikTok

📰 TL;DR - Speaking of TikTok, here's a great tweet thread breaking down the meteoric rise of an otherwise random auto shop located in Fort Lauderdale. Clancy's Auto Body has quite suddenly become a recognizable name to TikTok users, with multiple videos with millions of views. This resulted in Google being flooded with positive reviews from people I'm very sure have never actually visited the shop. While they started with memes and humor, the account is now integrating product-specific posts.

💡 Insight - Okay yes I know an auto shop isn't the type of business we usually talk about here, but this is just such a wonderful case study on how to find success on TikTok. This brand clearly has a Gen Z and TikTok-native social media producer creating these clips. Someone who innately understands the humor and memes on the platform. They also harnessed that humor before talking about product, growing their audience along the way. This tweet thread also includes some great advice for what the shop could be doing to better capitalize on its success.

➡️You can read the tweets here...

🤖 Michaels launches third-party marketplace

📰 TL;DR - Following in the steps of other retailers, craft store Michaels has added a third-party marketplace to its website. This has increased their product offerings to more than 1 million units. Sellers on the platform have access to a portal to manage their business and it integrates into platforms like ShipStation. It's a smart move by Michaels, and it could be a smart move for you.

💡 Insight - According to Retail Dive, the platform is accepting applications to start selling products in categories like "journaling, soap making, candles, arts and craft supplies, toys, and yarn." The site claims there are no setup, monthly, or listing fees. So if your products fit those categories, this is very much worth looking into. You can find more info for sellers here.

➡️You can read the article here...

📱 US buyers love fast fashion apps

📰 TL;DR - It was predicted and now it's happened: Temu has quickly risen to dominate app charts in the US. The Shein-like ultra-cheap e-commerce retailer launched last year and got a boost from its Super Bowl ad placements. The app is based in the US, but is connected to PDD, a major e-commerce player in China.

💡 Insight - We've talked a lot in this newsletter about how consumers are cutting back on spending and looking for deals. You probably can't match the dirt-cheap prices on fast fashion apps, but I think it is notable that these stores are launching as apps. There's a lot of power in having a standalone app for your business. It creates a seamless buying experience and allows for mobile-native experiences desktop just can't do. If you're at a scale that could support an app, it's not a bad idea to explore.

➡️You can read the article here...

🏷 What you can learn from legacy brands trying DTC

📰 TL;DR - From Modern Retail, this column explores how retail brands are approaching DTC. Brands like Nike, Steve Madden, and Under Armour are creating DTC channels and using them to grow their businesses. This looks at some common themes for those who are succeeding, such as already having a large network of stores, having a strong and traditional approach to branding, and experimenting with new digital acquisition strategies.

💡 Insight - The section about digital acquisition strategies is especially interesting. Nike, for example, has a range of apps with more than 300 million users. These apps, like Nike Run Club, offer more than just a shopping experience — they build community and brand loyalty. Levi's app, on the other hand, offers exclusives and customization features that you can't get anywhere else. These brands have a ton of resources at their disposal to pull off these innovations, but you can still borrow a thing or two from their playbook.

➡️You can read the article here...

If you want to reach our audience, fill out this short partnerships form.

Some things in this newsletter (particularly the things with a *) may be a sponsored post or Growth Daily LLC may be getting a small commission if you sign up.