📦 - What’s On Your Secret Story?

DTC 553 - Interactive Stickers, True Classic Customer Support, and Discounting Wednesday, May 8, 2024 Good morning, Meta announced they will begin using ‘Made with AI’ labels across Facebook, Instagram and Threads this month on generative AI videos, images, and audio to promote transparency and prevent misinformation. While Meta has its own AI detection tools, it asks users to use this label before uploading content. Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: - How brands can use Instagram’s four new interactive Instagram Story stickers to promote their products and add intrigue. 👀 - Learn how True Classic turned customer support into a profit center. - And…why full priced brands eventually have to discount. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Square Root Soda, TikTok, and CANNA Gardening. 👋 ADS THAT CONVERT 📚 The Supergroup School Is About to Be In Session… ICYMI: [Motion]( is bringing together four ecom legends to teach YOU everything you need to know about making Facebook and TikTok ads that convert like wildfire. 🔥 The [FREE five-week, one-hour sessions]( are NOT just panels. It’s a training program that you (or your team) can attend. WARNING: expect to leave as ad pros. Ready to meet your hosts? They’ve run top agencies, turned brands into household names, and manage hundreds of millions of dollars in ad spend… 🥁 - Mirella Crespi: Founder of Creative Milkshake. - Savannah Sanchez: Founder of The Social Savannah agency. - Dara Denney: Renowned Performance Creative Consultant. - Jess Bachman: Co-Founder and Creative Strategy Director at FireTeam. Sessions start May 23rd. 🗓️ [Secure your spot (even if you can’t make them all)]( and get VIP access to all sessions, post-session recordings, live Q&As, and secret bonuses. 🤫 [Claim Your Free Spot]( *Sponsored PLATFORM UPDATE ⭐ Instagram Launches Four New Interactive Stickers Instagram has just released four new stickers for brands to use on Instagram Stories. And they're all pretty cool. 🤩 When uploading, you can add a sticker that starts a song-sharing chain, add a frame to polish up your Stories' aesthetic, create cutouts, and post a 'secret story.' Learn more about these new stickers and some ways brands can leverage these new features to create more customer engagement. 👇 1️⃣ Use the Add Your Music sticker and encourage your customers to share their favorite songs by pressing the ‘Add Yours’ button. One prompt you can use is what you think will be the song of the summer! 🎵 💡 Once you have a good amount of submissions, turn this into a fun Spotify playlist and share the link with your followers! It has never been easier to crowdsource good tunes and build a community playlist. 2️⃣ Adding a Frames sticker is an easy way to make your Instagram story slightly more polished. The new feature also adds a date and time stamp of when the photo was taken. Users will need to shake their phone to see the picture 'develop'. 📸 💡 This is an excellent opportunity to use this sticker to talk about your brand anniversary using some throwback photos or share some behind-the-scenes moments with your team! 🫶 3️⃣ Use the Cutout sticker to turn any photo or video from your camera roll into a cutout sticker. It only takes a few seconds to create a sticker which you can reuse for future Instagram Stories posts. 💡 Turn your products or brand logo into a cut-out you can easily use for any of your Instagram stories. You can also use this feature to create Pinterest-like collages and share the inspiration behind certain products. This is a fun way to ‘remix’ your content, especially if you are short on visual assets. 4️⃣ The most intriguing new interactive sticker is the Reveal sticker. Users can post a blurred-out photo, and only users who interact with the post and reply with a DM will be able to see it. 🫣 💡 For brands this could be a fun new way to tease a product reveal or brand collaboration while encouraging followers to interact with your account. You can leverage these interactive stickers in so many creative ways to increase your customer engagement. Which new sticker are you most excited to try? Reply back to the newsletter with your favorite option! WALMART MARKETPLACE ⭐ Be a Part of Someone’s Everyday Shopping Experience When your brand creates adaptive apparel for people with disabilities, it’s important your products are available in more places to remain more accessible as a company—just like No Limbits. Being a seller in [Walmart Marketplace’s ecommerce ecosystem]( doesn’t only help boost your online presence, it also gives you access to: - Millions of online customers ✅ - Innovative programs that help you scale ✅ - Walmart’s omnichannel advantage ✅ And right now, new sellers who join can save up to 50% on referral and fulfillment fees.* So, open the door to opportunity like No Limbits and [get started on Walmart.com today](. [Learn More]( *Conditions apply. Follow the link for the full terms and conditions. *Sponsored PODCAST 🎧 How True Classic Turned Customer Support Into A Profit Center In this episode of the pod, we sit down with Breanna Moreno, VP of Customer Experience at True Classic. The premium men's apparel brand has made over a quarter of a billion dollars in its first four years of operation and Breanna breaks down how she built a customer support system to support incredibly fast-paced growth and turn her division into a profit center. 💰 As True Classic's first official hire beyond the founders, Breanna has been there for the whole wild ride, so you want to take advantage of all of her advice on building customer relationships. Breanna explains: 99% of the time, our support team will know whether something is a good idea or not because they know our consumers better than anybody else. For us, it's not just about what we're selling at True Classic. It's more about the community we're building and earning their trust. Listen, and you'll get Breanna's insights on: - How customer experience and support are crucial for brand growth - The pros and cons of using AI in customer support - Why it's important to measure customer satisfaction to improve support - How to integrate customer support with customer retention and loyalty programs 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Breanna [here](. 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE Even products with an attractive price tag can benefit from a discount now and then, especially if your competitors start to infiltrate the market. A strategic discount can create a sense of urgency and get that conversion rate up! Can't view the image? [Click here]( ⚡ QUICK HITS 🧰 P.S. You need a first-party data strategy and the tools to activate your data efficiently. Don’t have one? [Download Wunderkind’s Performance Marketing Guide to learn how to embrace a cookieless future](. * 🚀 Lambwolf Collective saw 137% growth in five months. How? By joining Pilothouse’s Meta and Google Launchpads. Wanna learn more? [Get connected](. * 📰 NEWS - Google Ads [releases a new tool to help businesses sell goods and services on specific marketplaces using Performance Max](. - Shein [teams up with Forever21 to ‘buy online and return in store’ using reverse logistics provider Happy Returns](. - OLIPOP [partners with Mattel on a new Peaches and Cream flavor for Barbie’s 65th anniversary](. SPONSOR DTC 📥 Got a B2B Biz? Join dozens of B2B companies finding demand-gen success through our niche community of 160k brand leaders and founders this year. [Talk to our team to learn more](. Have you heard our latest podcasts? - ❌ [AKNF 400:]( Common Google Ad Mistakes - 🤠 Bart Szaniewski shares [how Dad Gang Sold 100K Hats]( - 🛒 [AKNF 399:]( Mastering Meta Shops and Ad Instability - 🌎 Pela Case’s CEO Matt Bertulli [on Sustainable Consumer Goods]( - 🧑 [AKNF 397](: Using Data to Understand Your Authentic Audience - 👟 How Kizik [Revolutionized The Footwear Industry]( Don’t forget to [rate the DTC Podcast]( on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️) DTC Newsletter is written by [Rebecca Knight]( and [Frances Du](. Edited by [Eric Dyck](. Was this email forwarded to you? Sign up [here](. Please note that items in this newsletter marked with * contain sponsored content. [Direct To Consumer]( Pilothouse, 1011 Government St., Victoria, BC V8W 1X6, Canada [Advertise with DTC]( | [Work With Pilothouse]( [Unsubscribe](