#126 The Least boring Weekend Newsletter

September 24, 2022 • Estimated Reading Time: 17 minutes

Good Morning Readers!

Here’s to wishing for a successful day ahead!

Have you had a fantastic week thus far?🥳 

Hooray! You've all been waiting for our Whitepaper, right? Here it is. 

#WHITEPAPER - FUTURE OF SEARCH

For many of us, the internet is our main way of finding products and services. The engine that drives this is a search engine. Whether you find what you need via a search engine or not will affect your life and business significantly.

We're no longer looking for a needle in a haystack; we're looking for a needle in an ever-growing haystack that gets bigger every day. And with the rise of TikTok and Instagram, we have more options than ever before to help us find what we're looking for.

But that's not all there is to it. The future of search requires us to think deeper about how we search—why and where we search. A future where the search isn't just about finding something; it's about finding the right thing for YOU.

Not to insist on the point, but... TikTok is taking over the DTC industry by super storm !🌪

According to a recent survey by Triple Whale, TikTok is rated as the most profitable channel for direct-to-consumer advertising, overtaking Facebook for obvious reasons. 😏

Let's know some facts about TikTok: 👇

  • TikTok, a video-sharing app, made more than 39.4 million dollars in revenue from iOS in the United States in the second quarter of 2022, according to current industry data. 

  • DTC brand ad expenditure on TikTok has increased by 231% in the last year, reaching $30 million in the second quarter of 2022. 🚀This is the biggest growth among major online platforms, including Facebook, Snapchat, and Google. 

  • The younger generations 💁🏼‍♀️💁🏼 can't get enough of scrolling through TikTok. According to Viscapmedia, in the United States, people aged 10-19 made up 25% of TikTok's active users, 22.4% of users are between the ages of 20-29, 21.7% of users are between the ages of 30-39, 20.3% of users are between the ages of 40-49 and 11% of users are above the age of 50.

  • It discovered that brands with annual revenue of $1 million to $5 million are boosting TikTok platform usage and pushing up aggregate expenditure more than larger brands .💵

  • TikTok's advertising capability is relatively new, and its expenses are far lower than those of Facebook.💲

Think about it 🤔! Humans have short attention spans. So, directly come to the point. If your firm intends to run advertising on any platform, even TikTok, you must engage them immediately. If you don't, they can lose interest and move on to something else. 🚨

Over 63% 😱 TikTok of all successful advertisements convey their message immediately. If you can capture their attention early on, they are more likely to watch your ad till the end.

TikTok Tips! 🤟🏻

  • Are you inclined to use TikTok for your biz? Don't worry; you are not alone. Many company owners have taken a risk by signing up for TikTok and making short, crisp videos 📽 in the expectation that they may go viral. Here are some TikTok statistics 📊 that company owners should be aware of: 

  • Influencers in the United States 🇺🇸 have an engagement rate of about 18%. 

  • Engagement is an important statistic for organizations to monitor on social media. It is not simply an indicator that your content is popular, but the algorithms appear to favor accounts with engaging and interacting.

Almund’s newsletter will give you all kinds of tips for DTC brands and much more.

Alright, so let’s get right to it!

This newsletter is going to dive into:

👗 Walmart Launched Virtual Fitting Room 

🤑 Top-Notch Tips For 2022 Black Friday Preparation 

🥇 Brand Of The Week - Aura Bora 

🚀Essential Snapchat Tips For You

🎊 Brand Deals Of The Week

🗞️ Top Reads Of The Week

⚙️ Plenty Of Jobs Await You!

So, scroll down to THE VERY END & read up on what’s yet to come your way!

Walmart Launched Virtual Fitting Room 

Walmart, in March, launched a feature that allowed consumers to shop after trying the dress or cloth on the selected model with a similar body type, hair color, and skin tone. And recently, a new feature is introduced by Walmart to strengthen its bond with the existing consumers or to trigger a new audience. The “Be Your Own Model” themed the latest feature is something that will extremely excite the users of Walmart.  

This feature uses the technology and algorithm that will develop an accurate contour map of the consumer. Also, it guarantees to show an ultra-realistic dupe with fabric draping, shadows, and exactly which side will fall where according to their figure within seconds. Consumers have to click on “Try It On” and scan themselves. After that, they can choose any of the dresses they want to try and see how that dress will look on them, or they can also use the “Choose My Model” feature. 

The virtual fitting room is available on more than 2,70,000 items all over the portfolio of Walmart, on private, exclusive, and national brands, including Terra & Sky, Love & Sports, Hanes, Champion, Levi’s, etc. Now, for the whole year, Walmart is excepting the adjusted gain per share to decrease between 9% to 11%. 

Top-Notch Tips For 2022 Black Friday Preparation 

Black Friday is two months away still people have started making their lists of shopping. One can find the Black Friday offers and deals globally on many websites and stores even though it is originally an American tradition as shopping holidays come with an opportunity for consumers to grab deals and for retailers to promote their e-Commerce business. Leveraging the advantage of this sales event, it is the pivotal period for business owners to buckle up and start preparing for the Black Friday sales now. 

Besides keeping track of competitors' tricks, you need to make a full-proof plan to sell your products and gain high revenue. According to research, in 2020, US retail e-Commerce experienced inflation of 186 billion dollars, and in 2021 online sales grew more than 14%. So, there are chances for both the online and offline markets to grow more. Let us discover some top tips for business owners to prepare well to ace this Black Friday sales event: 

  • Make a comprehensive marketing strategy: Any business's marketing strategy should be strong enough to break through the noise of other businesses. Similarly, you need to make an effective strategy to market your business that can have- promoting your offer and deals to the audience through social media posts(creative and eye-catchy ones), engage existing audience and visitors by sending targeted emails or messages, and offering a special discount to decrease the chance of cart abandonments, and by doing paid advertisements to increase the visibility of your website. 

  • Managing the inventory only after proper research: Inventory management is not easy, but your eCommerce business needs to scale accordingly, especially during holiday events. Overstocking and less stock can be problematic for any business, so it is crucial to research the need for products in your inventory by getting a digital solution for it. The automated inventory management system will provide insights into consumers' behavior, interests, the calculated rate of sales, and profit and loss margins for each product. This way, business owners can easily eliminate their inventory management issues. 

  • Try to deliver products in less or on time: Many brands have experienced the cancellation of products after placing an order. One of the top reasons consumers cancel their order is because the delivery date may not match their expectations. And they prefer to switch to another website selling the same product and delivering it within the expected time. That's how consumers' loyalty towards your brand hampers. So, try to deliver on time or in less time. Hiring extra employees temporarily can sort the problem of shipping backlog or other causes. 

  • To attract eco-friendly consumers and lower carbon footprints: Reevaluate the material used for packaging the order. Many businesses use plastic or bubble wraps due to their availability at lower costs. According to research, carbon emissions can rise to 30%, and eCommerce companies' manufacturing, shipping, and packaging waste. The carbon footprint of using the Internet and other electronic devices has reached 4% and is expected to reach 8% by 2025. So, make sure that you are contributing less to the carbon footprint. This will not only make your business become eco-friendly but also attract environment-friendly consumers. 

  • Try to give speedy returns service: As delivering on time is essential, so is offering quick returns services to the consumers. During any sales event, companies reduce their prices on different products, and consumers over-order due to heavy discounts or offer deals in different colors, sizes, varieties, etc. and return the surplus except their favorite products. In that case, you should be well-prepared with an efficient return strategy. Also, make sure that the return process is user-friendly. By this, you can positively impact the consumer, which will raise brand loyalty. 

Black Friday is on the way, but pre-hand preparation has always been needed to make every event successful. So, eCommerce business owners can practice the tips mentioned above this sales season and ace the marketing space. Moreover, you can offer real value to the consumers for their satisfaction which will eventually help your business to beat the competitors. 

Brand Of The Week- Aura Bora 

Aura Bora is a sparkling water brand started by a couple, Paul Voge and Maddie Voge, in 2019. In the earlier days, Paul used to deliver cases across the Bay Area by his Subaru with hand-written invoices. But today, Auro Bora sparkling waters are sold across the country in more than 4000 stores. 

The journey of this brand started scaling after an appearance on the American television series called Shark Tank in 2020. The jump of the brand from a kitchen experiment by a couple to getting sold as a well-known and demanding sparkling water brand is huge. And since its launch, Siddhi Capital’s and Voge’s efforts have raised its fund over 10 million dollars. 

Aura Bora sells sparkling water made with fruits, herbs, and flowers without any citric acid. Founder of Waterloo, Clayton Christopher, has also invested in the business. Brad Barnhorn has also joined an independent board of directors in Aura Bora. It has a variety of flavors, for instance, cactus rose, peppermint watermelon,  lavender cucumber, lemongrass coconut, and basil berry, and each can is free of calories, sugar, and sodium. The brand stays connected to its consumers through social media platforms and its official website, which gives them updates about offers and new launches. 

Essential Snapchat Tips For You

As we all know, the best way to attract and reach out to millennials and Gen Z is Snapchat. Here are some facts to prove it.  💁🏼‍♀️💁🏼

Even though Snapchat may have fewer users per month than Facebook, YouTube, and Instagram, using Snapchat for E-commerce may still be a successful strategy for expanding your brand's exposure. 📈

Did you know? 🤔

The average daily time spent on Snapchat by users is around 30 minutes! 😎

Every Snapchatter opens the app over 30 times a day. 🤳🏻

With an average of 265 million daily active users 😱, many brands and companies are discovering that Snapchat advertising is a terrific method to engage with their target consumers. 🎯

According to data by Snapchat, the social media network surpasses Twitter and TikTok in reaching 75% of millennials and Gen Z as well as 23% of American adults. 👀

Things to know: 

  • Businesses can reach and expand their audiences on Snapchat with some of the most dynamic and captivating ad formats available. 📌

  • Snapchat Ads are engaging, full-screen canvases that let you display your company in a natural way that seems prophetic to the Snapchat platform that your target audience uses. 🙋🏼‍♀️

  • When viewing your advertisement, Snapchat users may easily swipe up to view your items, download or access your app, receive directions to your storefront or restaurant, or book a reservation. ⬆️

So, let's not wait. Here are some tips to follow if you want your brand to reach and grow audiences: 👇

  • Encourage customers to engage with your brand: Users are likely to find brands when chatting with friends on Snapchat. The 'Chat' button on the left side of the home page is how Snapchat currently connects users with their friends. 💬

The Discover button on the right side of the home screen links users to companies and content providers.

  • Be fun, be creative:  The Snapchat app was created to be fun. Being real is more important than appearing perfect. 🤗

You'll employ a lot of elements that emphasize being fun, inventive, and perhaps even a touch sarcastic. Like Converse Bitmojis and Snap Map Layers for Ticketmaster events, two new avenues for consumers and companies to express themselves have just been introduced by Snapchat.

  • Start snapping! Developing Snapchat advertising campaigns may assist you in reaching your target audience and beginning to produce interesting, funny content that matches the tone of your brand. 🔥

  • Understand your target audience and monitor Snapchat stats: Employ Snapchat Insights, the built-in analytics tool, to see who is reading your stuff, what material is working effectively, and to develop a successful Snapchat strategy. 🤓

  • Utilize Snapchat's various ad types to run ads there:  You might want to think about incorporating Snapchat's numerous ad types into your strategy to get the most out of using the app for business. 📢

  • Employ AR shopping lenses:  Snapchat just enabled customers to purchase things directly from your Snaps. Shopping Lenses allow you to designate goods inside your content so that customers can simply browse, engage with, and buy straight from your catalog. 🤭

As per Snapchat, 93% of Snapchatters are engaged in augmented reality shopping, and AR lenses are engaged over 6 billion times every day. 🙀

Ultimately, Snapchat advertising allows businesses to access a large and engaged audience at a low cost of just $5 per day. Create Snapchat advertisements that highlight your items or services, seem native to the platform, convey a precise core idea, and urge the audience to act.📊

Brand Deals Of The Week

Seal your deal with Fenty Beauty, a heavy discount on make-up products.  

Enjoy the Fall Sale by AVOCADO, and save huge with the purchase of an organic mattress. 

Save up to 50% on Ulta beauty products, a limited-period offer. 

This season look fabulous and get up to 40% discount on dresses by Good American. 

Be fashionable on budget with Kate Spade, and get discounts up to 30% off!

Top Reads Of The Week

Lord & Taylor launched ‘Fall Fete’ merchandising and a new logo. 

TikTok introduced a comment dislike button worldwide for its all users.

New Page features by Facebook for the creators to connect with their audience. 

A new partnership in the country, Macy’s and Kylie Cosmetics. 

Target looks to start discounts as the company hired 100k seasonal employees.

IN NEED OF A JOB?  WE'VE GOT PLENTY AWAITING YOU!

Brand Ambassador - Ralph Lauren

Brand Associate - Avocado Green Brands

CHOOSE SUCCESS below and have a great weekend! Get that D2C business runnin’.