📦 - Color Me Deinfluenced ❌

DTC 563 - Deinfluencing, Earscape Trends, and PR Coverage Wednesday, May 22, 2024 Good morning, Reddit’s stock surged 15% after it partnered with OpenAI last week to train its language learning model using Reddit content. If this sounds familiar, that’s because it is. A few months ago, Reddit inked a $60 million/year data licensing deal with Google to do the same thing. Get ready for more ‘According to a Reddit user’ answers from ChatGPT and Google’s AI Overviews! Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: 👀 Why brands should pay attention to the ‘deinfluencing trend’ and how to leverage the power of deinfluencers. 📈 Learn how Studs scaled their business into an 8-figure business and how they pivoted during the pandemic. 🤔 And…are you leveraging PR mentions in paid ads? You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Cub and Bear Co., Bilo Events, and Frederick Wine House 👋 AMAZON 🍄 Four Sigmatic Is The #2 Best-Selling Ground Coffee on Amazon… Here’s How They Did It The moment all brands dread… plateau. When Four Sigmatic’s spend and scale started flattening, they knew they [needed to make a change](. Thus, Four Sigmatic and Pilothouse came together to [give their Amazon game a serious boost](, focusing specifically on Pay-Per-Click spend. SEO and CRO strategic alignment first led to the revamp of product photos, descriptions, and A+ content. To zero in on the middle and bottom of funnel, Pilothouse (1) utilized sponsored product ads to reach customers, and (2) did product line segmentation to target and retarget different customer groups. 870+ campaigns with bids managed daily has yielded Four Sigmatic: - ROAS 25% greater than the client’s target ✅ - A 115% increase in monthly gross profit ✅ - An 83% increase in monthly shipped revenue (at 7-figure/month levels) ✅ - A 99% increase in YoY active subscribers ✅ 🛑 Stop ignoring Amazon as a scale channel. [Book Your Exploratory Call]( TRENDING NOW 👛 The Power Of Deinfluencing The deinfluencing trend has taken over social media, so ecommerce brands need to pay attention to this conscious consumption movement and rethink their influencer marketing strategies. What's deinfluencing? As a response to influencers and affiliates sharing video content about their massive shopping hauls and endless product recommendations, consumers are growing more skeptical about influencer claims about the next 'must-have product'. 🤨 Users are now using the hashtag #deinfluencing to share their honest thoughts about trending or viral products so others don't suffer the same fate of impulse shopping and then being disappointed by their purchase. The hashtag #deinfluencing has quickly gained over a billion views on TikTok and shows no signs of stopping. Why is this happening? Social media users are more savvy than ever and can quickly tell when an influencer is promoting a product for a quick check rather than a genuine love for the product. The rise of the deinfluencers These vocal 'deinfluencers' are quickly gaining huge social media followings for honestly telling others which products are overpriced or not worth the hype. They are becoming influencers in their own right by putting brands on blast or sharing their no buy lists. This type of content is an excellent way to build trust with their audience, so when they make a product recommendation, their opinion carries more weight since they are more discerning about what they promote. [Popular TikToker Jennifer Wang]( quickly gained over 387K followers for her honest clothing brand critiques and for encouraging her audience to 'buy less but buy well'. Her detailed videos scrutinize a product's construction, materials, and seam finishes and determine if it's worth the price tag. [TikToker Jennifer Wang's deinfluencing video] That's why her partnerships with clothing brands like Uniqlo are more impactful. They position the brand in a great light as being both high-quality and affordable. The takeaway? Transparency is key when it comes to influencing: Budget-conscious consumers want to make more mindful purchasing decisions and are looking for transparent rather than self-promotional content. Brands may need to rethink their influencer campaigns: Rather than push influencers to share tracked discount codes, brands will need to do more of a soft sell so the partnerships appear more genuine. Feedback is a gift: Brands should also monitor what people say about their products and competitors and why consumers create deinfluencing content around them. This feedback can be used to improve product packaging, formulation, or positioning. New niche of influencers: Brands can partner with 'deinfluencers' to rebuild credibility since customers trust these types of influencers more than others. Consumers are concerned with overconsumption and brands' lack of transparency, and influencers find the deinfluencing trend a welcomed respite. Consider how you can leverage deinfluencing in your next marketing campaign. PODCAST 🎧 How Studs’ Anna Harman Owns The Earscape Trend In this episode of the pod, we chat with Anna Harman, the co-founder of [Studs](, about how she scaled the company into an 8-figure brand with experiential retail. In 2019, Anna recognized the need for an alternative to traditional piercing. There was a gap in the market for a safe and inclusive space to get a piercing. She started a company that offered affordable and stylish piercings and stellar customer service. ✨ Anna explains: "We have a lot of repeat customers because people love the experience. And I think when a brand has great customer service, you will naturally have great retention." In this podcast, we cover: - The importance of branding: How Studs crafted a chic retail experience with strong customer service and created buzz across the U.S. with their Studs’ Trailer pop up. - Pivoting during the pandemic: Diving into Studs’ ecommerce strategy and how they successfully leveraged organic and direct traffic. - Customer's need for personalization: How they created the concept of Earscape and how starting new piercing trends can create buzz. - Looking ahead: The future growth and expansion of Studs as they expand their stores and product assortment. 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Anna [here](. 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE You can always share media coverage in your organic posts, but what about using them as your ads? It’s an effective way to capture mid-funnel customers and only takes a few seconds to design. Can't view the image? [Click here]( ⚡ QUICK HITS 📈 Up to 10x Subscriber Acquisition. Postscript’s Opt-in method keeps new subscribers onsite by using one-time passcodes, improving their customer experience. [Find out more here](. * 📰 NEWS - Microsoft [introduces Copilot Plus PCs, Windows laptops with built-in AI hardware and support](. - OpenAI [paused the use of their chatbot’s ‘Sky’ voice option which sounds eerily similar to Scarlett Johansson](. - Real Simple [partners with Pinterest on the first-ever shoppable issue using QR codes](. - Glossier [uses negative Reddit comments to promote the return of their original Balm Dotcom formula](. 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 404:]( Navigating Email Landmines + Bot Click Clarification - 📈 The Marketing Millennials on [Cracking the DTC Success Formula]( - 💰 [AKNF 403:]( Early Indicators of Amazon Success - 👕 How True Classic [Turned Customer Support Into a Profit Center]( - ❌ [AKNF 401:]( Common Google Ad Mistakes - 🤠 Bart Szaniewski Shares [How Dad Gang Sold 100K Hats]( 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](