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Dating back more than 30,000 years with cave drawings, humans have relied on storytelling to make connections, teach valuable lessons, share raw emotions, and remember important experiences for a long time.

While storytelling isn’t a new form of communication (clearly), it’s only recently that online brands discovered its power to connect them with their consumers in a more meaningful way.

It’s clear that consumers are selective about where they spend their money, and brands that share specific beliefs and values have won the hearts of the modern-day consumer over brands that slap a logo on their product that’s made in the same factory as thousands of others.

But is storytelling the future of DTC? The founders of three modern brands believe it is.

Picture this: You’re lounging poolside at a popular rooftop hotel, cocktail in hand, tagging your location, and posting it to social media. Or maybe you’re finally trying that home meal delivery kit and want to share an unboxing experience with your TikTok followers.

Congratulations, you’ve made what is called user generated content, better known in the marketing world as UGC.

Keep this in mind: We’re talking about UGC coming from customers and brand fans; however, there’s also paid UGC created on behalf of a brand, but that’s a different conversation for another day.

It’s no secret that we tend to trust the content that looks real or authentic on social media.

Mega-influencers and celebrities don’t always have the reach they used to because there’s a general consensus they’re being paid simply to post about a product or service they don’t care about or use.

Brands that sell fully sensory products, especially senses that don’t translate well in a digital setting—taste and smell—have a unique marketing challenge.

After all, how do you successfully sell the sense of smell or taste when customers can’t…well…actually taste or smell your product?

It’s not an easy task, but some brands, like Pura, are still somehow knocking their eCommerce sales out of the park.

Latinidad. There’s a certain kind of pride that comes from the Hispanic and Latinx community that I have always admired. It’s a love and celebration of identity that creators are infusing into their stories to make content that embraces their culture and authentic life experiences.

I particularly remember when channels like mitú and Pero Like were launched in 2012 and 2016 to cater to a need for online Hispanic and Latinx content. The content was multicultural and cross-cultural, relatable to those identifying as Hispanic or Latinx and those who just had a love for the stories and could see themselves in them. With the U.S. Hispanic population reaching over 62.1 million in 2020 (an increase of 23% since 2010), there are even more stories to tell. Now media and entertainment brands like Refinery29, Netflix, and HBO Max are following suit with their Latinx community-centric pages like Somos, Con Todo, and Pa’Lante. Now, what do all of these brands have in common aside from celebrating and shining a light on Latinx culture? Creators—the people bringing the content to life.

Also known as @timesaver9000, Trevor Merchant condenses other people’s often clickbaity or unnecessarily long videos so you won’t have to waste time watching them—hence the username. Trevor has over 2.7 million followers on TikTok and a growing community of fans who feel he is saving lives (on social media, at least). No, really. They’ve said that. With concerns around social media’s impact on mental health and overall well-being, that doesn’t feel like a stretch.

Furniture retailers see decline in sales, layoffs since height of COVID boom

What do you do when you’re forced to stay home for days, weeks, months at a time?

You make improvements to your home, of course.

With that, in the early days of COVID, furniture sales saw tremendous growth.

In February of 2020, Americans spent $11.3 billion on furniture and home furnishings, and monthly sales grew by 181% over an 11-month period from April 2019 to March 2020, according to Commerce Department data.

However, a cushy new sofa or mattress isn’t always enough to pad the discomfort of inflation and a down economy, and furniture sales are now slowing.

Layoffs have come from the likes of Wayfair, Article and more.

Should brands hire creators over agencies to produce high-fidelity content?

Stats show brands that understand the power of creator influence are winning.

Influencer marketing is booming, driving stellar results, and has an average ROI of $5.78 for every dollar spent. This is one reason why only 39% of marketers planned to grow influencer marketing efforts in 2018, but a whopping 72.5% are increasing their budgets today.

This begs the following questions. If creator content is so effective across social media, should brands be turning to creators for all kinds of high-fidelity content as well? And, is there a benefit to hiring creators directly instead of going the traditional route and hiring an agency?

Well the answer is yes and no. It depends on what you’re looking for. The pros dive into the topic over at banknotes.co

What’s your sign? How brands are using astrology to start a conversation

If you feel like you’re seeing a lot of marketing campaigns focussed on astrology and the zodiak lately, you’re not alone.

This resurgence in focus on astrology has a lot to do with the movement toward wellness and self-care, and the declining interest in organized religion. As more turn away from traditional religion and delve deeper into spirituality (while still wanting to find a sense of guidance or understanding), the alternative for many is to dive into the varying layers of astrology.

As more become interested in star signs and birth charts, brands are catching on and looking for ways to market products based on zodiac signs.

There’s another motive for brands to do this, too.

Consumers love it when brands ‘get’ them on a personal level. And what’s more personal than offering products or recommendations based on zodiac signs?

Learn more over at banknotes.co

Market research still matters in the world of COVID and eCommerce

In a lot of ways market research is a legacy tactic, but that doesn’t mean it should be ignored by brands big and small.

In fact, market research as come a long way from the focus groups of the past.

While formal studies and surveys are still on the table, the host of potential market research channels now open to marketers has grown exponentially.

Those conversations can be happening on traditional social media channels like Facebook and Instagram, or occurring on a Discord channel or on Twitch. Then there are of course sales and customer service calls that can be audited for research, along with one-on-one Zoom sessions.

Head over to banknotes.link/marketresearch to learn more about how market research is evolving.

In February of 2020, Americans spent $11.3 billion on furniture and home furnishings, and monthly sales grew by 181% over an 11-month period from April 2019 to March 2020, according to Commerce Department data.

However, a cushy new sofa or mattress isn’t always enough to pad the discomfort of inflation and a down economy, and furniture sales are now slowing.

“We saw an acceleration in sales throughout the pandemic which began to taper late last year. Sales have seen a decline into the second quarter of 2022 and have stabilized over the third quarter,” says Jordan England, co-founder and CEO of eCommerce furniture company Industry West.

If you feel like you’re seeing a lot of marketing campaigns focussed on astrology and the zodiak lately, you’re not alone.

This resurgence in focus on astrology has a lot to do with the movement toward wellness and self-care, and the declining interest in organized religion. As more turn away from traditional religion and delve deeper into spirituality (while still wanting to find a sense of guidance or understanding), the alternative for many is to dive into the varying layers of astrology.

Brands are constantly on the lookout for the next marketing technique.

From using organic social to paid media, there’s one thing every brand would love to improve: the ROI.

As much as influencer marketing and working with creators is a growing trend for most eCommerce brands, there are still plenty of options to create brand awareness, drive traffic back to websites or landing pages, and build a community.

One such technique, often referred to as whitelisting, creator licensing, or creator listing (really, various terms mean the same thing here), has shown to be beneficial for particular brands.

Welcome to this week’s episode of Banknotes news for the week of September 9, 2022.

Each week we provide a short rundown of what we’re keeping our eye on across eCommerce, retail and the creator economy. You can always check banknotes.co for daily articles and insights from across the industry and subscribe to our channel wherever you download your podcasts.

So here’s what we’re keeping tabs on this week …

DTC brands turn to crowdfunding investments as recession looms

Recession looms, inflation is at a 40-year record high, and supply-chain issues and advertising uncertainty abound. As a result, DTC brands are facing a VC funding drought.

But it's not all doom and gloom.

Several DTC brands are turning to alternative, crowdfunding options to raise capital.

Learn more over at banknotes.link/crowdfunding

Influencer and publisher whitelisting is all the rage: And it works!

Brands are constantly on the lookout for the next marketing technique.

One such technique, often referred to as whitelisting, creator licensing, or creator listing (really, various terms mean the same thing here), has shown to be beneficial for particular brands.

In a nutshell, whitelisting is this: creators and publishers give access to their social platforms (usually Facebook and Instagram, though TikTok is growing) so brands can upload and boost posts.

Learn more over at banknotes.link/whitelisting

Chris Meade and how CROSSNET is creating a new sports category

Chris Meade is not only marketing a product, he's creating a new sport!

Through CROSSNET he's brought 'four square' to volleyball, soccer and pickleball; and he's done it all without raising venture money.

CROSSNET products are now sold in Dick's Sporting Goods and TARGET among others and it's even been featured on ESPN.

Read more about CROSSNET over at banknotes.link/crossnet