Friday, July 21

The 5 things in DTC you need to know today

July 21, 2023

#1 - 💵 TikTok is paying influencers to promote TikTok Shop

📰 TL;DR - First, sorry for the paywall on this, I try to avoid that but this was super interesting. TikTok is now incentivizing influencers to participate in its -e-commerce incentives with hard cash. The platform is offering these incentives for hitting sales, posting products, or livestream shopping. It’s also helping influencers get coupons from brands on TikTok Shop. According to this report, one influencer was offered $200 for driving at least 10 TikTok Shop orders.

💡 Insight - This is a big look into how TikTok plans to make TikTok Shop work, which is by using its biggest asset: creators. For brands in Shop, that’s great news because it means creators have a very solid reason to want to work with you, which benefits everyone. It looks like TikTok also likes the idea of influencers becoming e-commerce entrepreneurs themselves. This particular program appears to be invite-only but there are still options for affiliate sales for everyone else. As a side note, WooCommerce opened a beta program for TikTok Shop, so give that a look if you’re on Woo.

#2 - 🔥 I’m obsessed with this genius TikTok ad

📰 TL;DR - I don’t usually share individual ads here, but this was so good I wanted to share. Sigi Skin posted a TikTok that I think is just genius. Click through without reading for the full effect but the gist is that they made it look like a breakup over text using TikTok’s carousel format. As the drama unfolds, it turns into an ad for Sigi’s products.

💡 Insight - I just found this so funny and smart. Carousel posts are currently a trend on TikTok and text drama is a prime category for them. I can’t say with 100% certainty that this is the first brand to try this, but it’s certainly creative! It’s just nice to see some innovation in TikTok ads, which have gotten pretty formulaic. As one commenter said: “whoever is in charge of the marketing behind this DESERVES A RAISE.” This is also the magic of TikTok — everything is so fleeting and fast-paced that you have the opportunity to try some out-of-the-box thinking.

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#3 - 👀 AI tool targets fake reviews

📰 TL;DR - A new browser extension powered by AI is aiming to help consumers spot fake reviews, especially those generated by AI. It comes from Polygraf and is intended more for big marketplaces like Amazon, Walmart, and Best Buy. The fake review industry is actually worth some $152 billion, which is nuts! This also comes after a proposed rule from the FTC to ban fake reviews. The UK government also says fake reviews cause millions in harm to consumers.

💡 Insight - I see this as a great thing. It’s not uncommon to see genuine DTC entrepreneurs undercut by scammy hustlers on marketplaces, often propelled by fake reviews. This tool will help consumers make better decisions, hopefully pushing them to brands like your own. Also, this is all a good reminder that you shouldn’t stoop to purchasing or creating fake reviews. It’ll only hurt you in the end.

#4 - 🛠️ Things worth checking out

🤝 HIRE - Looking for top 1% marketing talent? I trust MarketerHire for all my freelance & marketing assistant needs! Learn more here.

🛍️ DTC - Solo Brands CEO John Merri revealed what he looks for when scooping up a new DTC brand. Read here.

🪴 HOME GOODS - What does the future of home goods e-commerce look like? Here are some insights.

🧐 TEMU - This is a good summary of Temu and its rise, as well as the bevy of issues attached to it.

🎧 PODCAST - The latest episode of Shopify Masters talks to Forge founder Ashwinn Krishnaswamy where he gets into strategies for 2023. Listen here.

#5 - 💄 Ulta doubles down on livestream shopping

📰 TL;DR - Beauty retailer Ulta is making a big bet on livestream shopping. They’ve struck a deal with Buywith to power those livestreams. They started back in June, with It Cosmetics hosting the first live event on June 29. Ulta has previously experimented with livestreaming, but this move clearly shows they think the concept has legs. As a reminder, the US livestream shopping market is expected to reach $31.7 billion.

💡 Insight - Ulta clearly sees an opportunity here, and that’s worth paying attention to. It also makes sense to me that a beauty retailer is going in on livestreaming — we’ve seen how powerful social media and video has been for beauty products. I couldn’t find good information on how to tell when an Ulta stream is coming up, but I’d say it’s worth keeping an eye on it and catching a stream to see how they’re making this work. For my two cents, I still believe livestream shopping will catch on in the US one day, someone just needs to crack the code and find a format and target audience that works.

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