What's working in eCommerce in 2021?
Spoiler alert: There’s a lot of competition and the brands that are surviving are the ones that have a creative advantage. Brands using a lot of user-generated content (UGC) are performing relatively well. UGC gives an extra buffer to allow brands to still be profitable on the Facebook advertising side.
What’s working in influencer marketing?
The focus has moved from macro-influencers (or “mega” influencers), who have millions of followers, or even hundreds of millions of followers, to influencers who don’t necessarily have millions of followers, but who have great engagement. That UGC, that realness, is working really well, especially if you’re able to then turn this content into an ad and run it from the influencer’s own account.
How are you telling brands to prepare or create content for the upcoming year on TikTok to get the best results over the next 12 months?
The beauty of TikTok is that your content can be utterly / semi boring and you’ll still do fine. This is why I really recommend brands have a platform and not only go the influencer marketing route. Do your research, look at other competitors and what they’re doing. Also, look at different hashtags that relate back to your niche and get inspired from there — really cast a wide net and don’t be afraid to take risks.
What do you think businesses should be focusing on for Instagram for the next year?
Creating a brand that will create retention and lifetime value for their customers. A lot of brands on the IG side do a really bad job at keeping their customers and buyers coming back because the customers don’t feel incentivized to buy their product.
What do you see trending right now?
SMS marketing. Communicating with people right on their devices. Building SMS before any other list. For most brands, it’s a really good asset to start generating, everyone knows it, but not everyone’s doing it.
