BANKNOTES minted by #paid

When it comes to commerce tech, China is in its own world of innovation—one that much of the Western world hasn't even started catching up to.

Ecommerce is currently a trillion-dollar industry in China, and over half of the world’s eCommerce transactions take place in China.

Meanwhile, in 2021, the U.S. saw $870 billion USD in eCommerce sales. Canada saw slightly over $53 billion USD.

China’s leading tech innovation is a top reason for its place as a global commerce leader. Many of the world’s most popular social media and commerce platforms started in China first and then moved westward.

The most prevalent example: TikTok.

TikTok, first known as ByteDance and now Douyin, had hundreds of millions of users in China before it ever launched in the U.S. and Canada.

You already know TikTok is the new “it girl” of social media.

TikTok is only eight years old and already has more than 1 billion monthly users, or more than one-eighth of the world’s total population.

You also know TikTok is the hottest marketplace for online window shoppers. Most recent stats show TikTok generated an estimated $4.6 billion in revenue in 2021. (If everyone on TikTok gave me $4…)

It’s uncontested. TikTok is where brands need to be to find new customers and make sales.

But winning on TikTok is easier said than done. Some brand accounts crush it, while others see no engagement at all.

Remember the old adage that word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising? Well, social media is officially the new word of mouth. Social media allows consumers to share your brand, and it helps you connect with consumers, build trust, and develop a community.And, now there’s a way you can leverage the power of digital word of mouth marketing to also produce more impactful content at a reduced cost.Enter user generated content (UGC).UGC is exactly what it says on the tin—content created by the users, customers, and fans of your brand. And UGC is powerful. 72% of consumers believe reviews and testimonials from customers are more credible than the brand talking about its own products, and website visitors spend a whopping 90% more time on a site when UGC is present.Getting high-quality UGC from people who love your brand can be tricky, but here are some tips on how you can be successful.

TikTok is a social media anomaly. For starters, it’s been growing like wildfire. GWI reports TikTok has grown its monthly user base by more than 32% since 2020, with more than 150 million current active monthly users.

Additionally, while TikTok started as an entertainment platform, it’s now one of the hottest social selling tools and an outstanding way for brands to penetrate new audiences and capture customers. In the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, TikTok reached $824 million in user spending, and it’s expected to account for 3.5% of all digital advertising spending in the U.S. by 2024.

What’s even more impressive than TikTok’s rapid growth and advertising spend is its pivotal role in creating new influencers. Recent stats show there are already 100,000+ active influencers making money from their TikTok presence.

When you look at TikTok’s unique strengths objectively, it provides a straightforward answer for how the brand can capture a portion of that $824 million in user spending on TikTok. The answer: partner with TikTok creators.

Better yet is to do what brands like Nerf, Olipop, and Jones Road Beauty have done, and that’s hire creators to run their social media accounts. Here’s a closer look at why brands are doing this and why it’s working.

What comes to mind when you think about your local dentist's office? Most likely, you’re thinking of a grey aesthetic, maybe some generic artwork, and an hour of your life that you wish you could be spending elsewhere. This is a reality that Dr. Suhail Mohiuddin—more commonly known as Dr. M—knew when he and two of his friends started a dental practice in 2013:“If you look at NPS scores of dental offices, the average dental office has a score of one, which is somewhere between standing in line at the DMV and your cable company,” he joked.That’s why Dr. M and his friends founded Dentologie: a practice to reshape people's thoughts about their semi-annual dentist trips. “People hate going to the dentist, so our entire concept is to create an awesome experience that people don't hate. We tailor the entire business around amazing technology, beautiful locations, and phenomenal customer service.”Today, Dentologie is the largest dental practice in Chicago, with a strong social media presence that drives 25% of its new clients.How did Dr. M (a dentist with zero prior experience in marketing) pull this off? It has nothing to do with luck—it’s been pure strategy since Day 1. Dr. M applies many direct-to-consumer best practices to his personal TikTok, driving almost 750K followers and new clients to his business.

Today’s consumer market is run by creators.

We see our favorite TikTokers promoting new beauty products, an Instagram model showing off new threads, and nutritionists sharing their choice foods and snacks on YouTube.

Creators and influencers are everywhere—and they’re a big part of how we recognize brands today.

But what about luxury cars?

Most vehicle brands still spend thousands of dollars (if not millions) creating their own high-quality commercials: a man’s deep voice describing the look and feel of the car while viewers see it trudging through mountains, cities, and other landscapes.

We’ve all seen them. For a long time, there’s been a major lack of creativity in this market.

Until recently…

Pickleball! Given that the sport dates to 1965, it’s not surprising that it’s seen growth to some 4.5 million players in the U.S. What is surprising is its recent renaissance. As The Atlantic reports, athletes like Kevin Love, Drew Brees, and Kevin Durant have spent money towards ownership stakes in pickleball teams. Tom Brady is investing in a pickleball expansion team. LRMR, which has LeBron James as a co-founder, has also made pickleball investments. “It is America’s fastest-growing sport,” notes The Atlantic, calling it an “antidote to loneliness and boredom,” growing even before COVID-19 made lonely and bored people of us all. Some have even suggested pickleball might end up an Olympic-sanctioned sport.Today, top creators—not just Tom Brady—are picking up the scent of pickled cucumbers. And that’s having a unique effect. For the first time, you and I might be able to watch a new American pastime sport growing up in the age of influencers and social media—because of influencers and social media.While it might seem like pickleball is a come-and-go trend, more akin to cold bucket challenges and “is it real or cake?” videos, pickleball is a trend with staying power. In the world of viral hits and short-lived fads, that’s unique to both sports and TikTok.Still confused about how it’s all going down? Here’s everything you need to know.

Sure, Black Friday saw an all-time high in eCommerce sales. But if you’ve been to any grocery, retail, or marketplace in the last year, you’ve likely felt the effects of inflation. Everything is more expensive right now. For example, prices for food increased by 10.4% in 2022 (the biggest increase since 1981), and energy prices have risen 41.6% over the last year (the largest since 1980).

Do brands lie?

Of course they do!

But you may be surprised how many brands used a deceptive and false email marketing tactic this past Black Friday weekend—and customers started to catch on.

We’re not talking about emails with “Surprise, we extended our sale!” messaging. Consumers expect these after years of seeing that exact subject line 100 times in their inboxes, but they don’t expect companies to lie as a tactic to promote an ongoing sale so blatantly.

What many consumers received were emails with something like the following?

“Due to high demand (and steep Black Friday discounts), our site crashed momentarily. It’s back up, though, and you can shop up to 60% off everything!”

Think back to the first time you decided to take your creator career seriously. You face a sea of decisions that can feel paralyzing. It’s no surprise then that one question keeps getting brought up when I talk to creators: How do you break through in a sea of distractions, choices and competition?

I don’t want to talk about an algorithm hack that will get you lots of views today. Rather, it’s important to build for longevity. I’ve noticed that some of the most successful creators started by setting parameters. More specifically, they work from a mindset that maximizes focus. Specifically: Tap into your competitive advantage, and work to become the best at that advantage.