Inner Sircle

On this episode, I talk abut how LinkedIn offers the most upside of any social network right now.

On this episode, I reiterate my POV on content on social. Should be a quality over quantity approach, a created and curated mix and remember that organic is dead and you need to invest dollars in paid social. 

On this episode, I talk about supporting Retail velocity with influencers.  If you have a brand with retail as a primary channel, you need to support velocity in strategic and meaningful ways. An excellent way to do so is through influencers and visits to key locations The benefits are: 

1- You send actual, influential foot traffic into your partner's stores which the buyers will love. 

2- You paint the actual picture for potential consumers of the exact experience and how to locate and find your products. 

3- You get tastemakers to grab your product and take it home, which creates a behavior pattern for them and their audience. 

4- You get great content to use in your social efforts 

5- You are establishing an army of WOM marketers

On this episode, I talk about an article from socialmediatoday.com that makes some predictions for 2020 that we are very aligned with. 

1. IGTV will be the next TV.

2. Subscribe, rate, and download (more) podcasts.

3. TikTok will be the next big social media platform.

4. Sea changes for influencer partnerships.

On this episode, I talk more about why Instagram follower counts are irrelevant. Buyers should care more about your content, influencer and paid social plan to support velocity, in their stores.

CONTENT

1- More, real assets made by fans and/or micro-influencers.

2- Less is more and aim for 2 PFC/DTP (1 of each or 2 of either) posts per week

3- Awareness is the play and not sales or even engagement metrics.

4- Show off the label more.

5- Highlight retailers more.

ENGAGEMENT

1- Tag retailers in most, if not all PFC Instagram posts.

2- Send fans and influencers into stores to post and then engage heavily.

3- Curate feeds of retailers and be active in their comments.

4- Remain highly active (and for a longer period of time) in comments on influencer and brand collaboration posts.

5- Use more surprise + delights (coupons, discount on the website) to bring someone down the funnel more

INFLUENCE

1- Organic influencers/advocates make a world of sense and they can be harvested nicely through direct DM outreach and Facebook Group development.

2-Going small with micro-influencers toes the line between organic and paid and finding those right partners who are authentic and jazzed up about working with the brand and who can create compelling enough content to share at least in Stories is a very smart play.

3- Some partners are good for influence and others are good for content and it is ok and smart to maybe engage some for both or either.

4- Bigger influencers are often overpriced and provide decreased value so we tend to stay away from them.

5- Developing long term/long tail relationships can pay dividends for a brand. Getting real, truly passionate partners for your brand that can help you create content, develop products and offer real feedback and usage cases (I.e. recipes) pack a greater punch than just one and done photo poser/posters.

PAID SOCIAL

1- Instagram Story Ads for awareness, with low CPMs and creative derivatives, are a must.

2- Boosting strategic, PFC and DTP content is mandatory.

3- Retailer support to help cultivate velocity is something all brands need to be doing if retail is a primary channel.

4- CBO on key content (especially video) makes a lot of sense and should be experimented with.

5- Clicks/conversion campaigns are only worthwhile if adequately funded. We suggest at least $5000 p/m

On this episode, I talk about an influencer strategy update as we approach 2020. I reference this article and some stats from it:

- Only 4% of people now trust what influencers say online

On this episode, I provide a gut check on what matters when it comes to social media...

Instagram announced that it is going to be hiding likes in the US starting this week. I think this is a good thing in general. 

On this episode, I talk about paid social. Specifically, where to focus and why I am not a big fan of supporting acquisition marketing with small budgets.  Many brands are underfunding this effort and it might not be worth it, to be honest. LMK your thoughts.