UGC: Tips for hunting and gathering

Welcome to this week's BANKNOTES newsletter. We hope you enjoyed your holiday, and that this note finds its way through the clutter of endless sales emails. (No seriously the sale ends today!)

Speaking of holiday shopping, this week we dive into how best for brands to gather user generated content that can be used across social media and other channels.

Also:

🤑 Black Friday hits new sales record; Buy Now Pay Later continues to grow

📦 eCommerce isn't just for B2C; B2B eCommerce sees spike

🧥 Creator Corner: Meet Osob Mohamud

📉 Webinar: How to recession-proof with creator marketing

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 what's at the heart of good social media marketing? Well it's user generated content or UGC.

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.

BANKNOTES' writer Ashley Cummings recently dove into seven ways brands can boost their efforts in gathering UGC.

These tactics include:

1. Taking advantage of the TikTok Creator Marketplace and Snapchat Creator Marketplace
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2. Leveraging creator marketing platforms that match brands with creators
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3. Look at who is already organically sharing your content and support them

At the end of the day, the numbers don’t lie—user-generated content is powerful, efficient, and cost-effective. It can also help your customers feel like part of your brand’s family.  

Read more over at BANKNOTES!

Black Friday eCommerce sales hit record

Media reports from the holiday weekend show that Black Friday sales broke $9 billion for the first time, according to figures from Adobe Analytics.

TechCrunch also is reporting that "Black Friday saw Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) orders shoot up 78%, and they are up 81% by sales figures, compared to the same day a week (prior.)"

Read more over at TechCrunch.

B2B eCommerce sees significant spike

The days of thinking eCommerce is just for B2C (business-to-consumer) brands is over.

In fact, a recent piece in Forbes unpacked that "demand for eCommerce options in B2B has enticed 88% of the wholesale suppliers surveyed to deploy an eCommerce solution."

What does this mean for marketing and sales leaders?

Just as B2C and DTC have developed a suite of marketing and sales tools to support new customer acquisition, B2B industries are going to have to follow suit. For some that will mean investing in platforms they never thought they'd have to; maybe even TikTok and creator marketing!  

Creator Corner: Meet Osob Mohamud

When we watch Osob’s content, one word comes to mind—balance.

She’s phenomenal at balancing her brand between beauty, fashion and parenthood content. It’s also important to point out how she effortlessly balances content creation and creating her own fashion brand. Osob is a multi-hyphenate. It’s one of the reasons her audience is so loyal. Working with creators like Osob who build beyond social media is a cheat code. They bring business acumen and creative output to the table.

Follow Abby:

• Instagram
• YouTube
• Website

Upcoming Events: How to recession-proof with influencer marketing

Experts predict there is a chance of a recession in 2023, so how can you recession-proof with influencer marketing? Consumers are still expected to spend, but how they will spend is predicted to be different.

Join the #paid team, as we talk about trends, tactics, and creative solutions. You will leave the session having takeaways on how to implement creator marketing to decrease your risks and drive bigger impact in your marketing plans.

Save your seat!

What we're listening to: Boarderie brings DTC cheese and charcuterie to Shark Tank

In today's world of immediate gratification, it's uncommon to find a brand that takes its time in spinning up an eCommerce site and going DTC.

But that's exactly what Boarderie did.

Boarderie has spent the past two years sending artisan charcuterie and cheese boards directly to people's homes. Their boards don't require the recipients to unpack them and put them together, they're not baskets. These go straight from the box to your table and are ready to eat.

But while the boards are delivered right to the customer, Boarderie started by selling through a number of third-party channels, including Costco, Williams Sonoma and Neiman Marcus, among others.

"Selling through third parties is something that helps us a lot, it's profitable, but it's not going to bring us to the level that we need to be at. And that's where the eCommerce side of it comes in," said Rachel Solomon, co-CEO and partner of Boarderie. "The great thing is our wholesale business covers our overhead, but the explosive growth that we're looking for ... to start to become that household name ... that's gonna come from the direct to consumer."

Listen to the DTC Growth Show!

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