📦 - I’m Searching For Something Shiny and Blu

DTC 503 - Semantic Search, Brand Building Strategies, and Leap Day Campaign Tips Wednesday, February 28, 2024 What it feels like watching people argue about cost caps on X. 😂 Good morning, The rumor mill was ripe last week after it was announced that Reddit, ahead of their IPO, was entering into a $60M/year strategic data-sharing partnership. Who’s getting the keys to the Reddit data kingdom?! Drumroll please… 🥁🥁🥁 GOOGLE. That’s right, Google will now be able to access Reddit's human written content and use it for AI training. This partnership presents an opportunity to dethrone X from their current content backlog AI training supremacy (the name could use some work, any suggestions??). The agreement outlines that Google will show more Reddit-related content which means we may see a major shake up in SERPs. We don’t talk about Reddit or advertising on Reddit often, but the possible increase in traffic may have the potential to put it back on many marketers' radar. 👀 Here’s what you’ll find in today’s DTC: - Shopify rolls out AI-powered semantic search. Learn why this is an improvement from regular keyword search and how it affects your conversion rate. - We chatted with Oren John about how to launch a luxury fashion brand and build momentum on social media. - Running a Leap Day campaign tomorrow? Here are four campaign ideas to get you started! - And here’s a valuable tip when you are sourcing creators for your next campaign. You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Plains Paris, Mosaics Utah, and Digi Toolbox. 👋 SMS Elevate Your SMS Game: Unlock Personalized Customer Connections 🌟 Stuck with outdated SMS tactics? It's 2024, and it's time for a change. No one's got time for irrelevant texts! This isn't just about sending messages; it's about engaging and understanding your customers like never before. [Yotpo]( offers advanced segmentation and personalization, transforming every text into an opportunity to connect and impress. They've got the full scoop on your subscribers and can help you use SMS to send texts that just click. 😉 It’s time to move beyond the old spray-and-pray approach. Embrace the power of targeted, meaningful messages that drive real results. [Revamp your SMS strategy]( with Yotpo and see the difference. Engaging, effective, and efficient - that's how we redefine text marketing. Ready to upgrade your SMS game and create lasting impressions? Yotpo is the answer. [Learn More Now]( *Sponsored PLATFORM UPDATE 🥿 How Semantic Search Can Help With Conversion Rates Earlier this month Shopify released a new AI-powered search feature called [Semantic Search]( which will transform the way customers search for products on ecommerce sites. In their [Shopify Editions Winter ‘24](, the ecommerce platform announced the AI search bar will help customers find what they are looking for more quickly and more accurately. But how does Semantic Search work exactly? Unlike standard keyword-based search, customers can now search in a more conversational tone since AI will be able to easily understand search intent and deliver relevant results. The most exciting part about this new feature is even if a customer is not familiar at all with your product assortment and uses typos (which happens more often than you think!) or vague language like “something”, the AI powered search feature will be able to pick up on contextual clues in the query. [Shopify’s Semantic Search can interpret vague queries like ‘something warm to wear in winter’] This is huge when it comes to improving user experience and raising your conversion rate. 📈 While your ecommerce site might already have a search bar feature, there is a big difference between a standard keyword search bar and semantic search. Let’s get into it 👇 Semantic Search vs. Keyword Search What’s the difference between semantic search and keyword search? Keyword search relies on keywords in your product listings to deliver relevant results however its capabilities are much more limited. If it can’t find a matching keyword on your site, it won’t deliver results. In contrast, semantic search can deliver relevant results even if customers aren’t using the same keywords for your product listings. That’s a game changer. Let’s imagine this scenario: A new customer walks into your site and types “blue sweater” in your standard keyword search bar. They will only see relevant results if you use that exact keyword in your product listings. But what if…you used the word aqua or cerulean? 🤔 A keyword search bar wouldn’t be able to understand these are all different shades of blue and aid the customer’s search. However, Semantic Search would understand the user’s intent and be able to show all the sweaters you have available in every shade of blue. The takeaway? Customers who can easily find what they are looking for are more likely to buy and walk away satisfied with their shopping experience. 💰 ❓ Will you be testing Shopify’s new Semantic Search feature? - [Yes 1000%]( - [First I’m hearing about it, so maybe!]( - [Nope!]( *Note that semantic search is only currently available for Shopify Plus users. FULFILLMENT 📦 Get Ship Done - Streamline Order Fulfillment with ShipStation Every DTC business is looking for ways to increase efficiency, improve costs, while at the same time, finding new ways to delight their customers. You can optimize your ads all day, but if you want to make lasting improvements to your business, it's time to take a look at your back end. By streamlining your order fulfillment with [ShipStation]( you set your self up for success with: ✅ Increased Efficiency ✅ Cost Reduction ✅ Improved Accuracy ✅ Enhanced Customer Satisfaction ✅ Scalability [ShipStation]( gets you discounted rates on USPS, UPS, Fedex, and DHL, and integrates with over 150 different selling channels. Even better, ShipStation is sweetening the deal by offering DTC readers a FREE 60-day extended trial. [Click Here To Try ShipStation!]( *Sponsored PODCAST 🎧 Launching Premium Niche Luxury Fashion Brands In this episode of the pod, we catch up with the Internet’s Marketing Director, and one of our fav content creators, Oren John. Oren’s social media account, [OrenMeetsWorld](, talks about the intersection of high fashion, brand creation, and the business of apparel plus how to launch a luxury apparel brand and generate social momentum. In this podcast, we cover: - Why niche apparel luxury brands are overtaking legacy players - Structuring your influencer strategy like how a GM would run a sports team - Brand building strategies and the importance of omnichannel in 2024 Oren explains how he would spend 50K to grow a brand: “I would get multiple short-form creators doing dedicated videos about the brand launch, pair it with a large marquee TikTok influencer, and also focus on product seeding to get attention quickly.” 👉 You can listen to the full episode with Oren [here](. CAMPAIGN TIPS 💡 Four Leap Day Marketing Campaign Tips It’s almost Leap Day! And it’s the perfect time to push messaging across your marketing channels in a creative way. The [Pilothouse Meta team]( is busy prepping creative and campaigns for Leap Day using flash sale promos and messaging. Here are a few concepts that the team is testing: - Run A Promotion or Giveaway - Take advantage or urgency with a single day flash sale on a top selling or overstocked SKU. This can be effective to run across email, organic social, and paid channels. - The Pilothouse Meta team recommends running a 1 day click optimized campaign to hit users who are most likely to convert the same day. - Test Once Every 4 Years Messaging - Pair an offer with once every 4 years messaging to increase urgency and prompt users to take immediate action. Here are a few examples you can use: - Savings this good only come around once every 4 years ⏰ - Don’t miss out - an offer this big won’t be back for 4 more years… 😮 - Emphasize the Number 29 In Pricing - It’s also a great opportunity to lean into pricing that includes 29, for February 29. Here are a few ideas to get you started: - Free shipping on orders over $29 - 2 for $29 bundle savings - Save 29% - Get [PRODUCT] for $29 today - Get [PRODUCT] for $X.29 - Use Feb 29 As A Transition Day - Take a more evergreen approach by using leap in broader messaging like leap into Spring or leap into savings. - If used in ads, this type of creative and copy can scale for the next 30 days while staying relevant. The countdown to February 29 is on! 🕜 How are you celebrating Leap Day? Let us know if you’ve tried any of these campaign tips above! 🤔 Check In: Are you planning on running a Leap Day sale or campaign? - [Yes, we’re all queued up!]( - [I wasn’t but I am now…]( - [Nah, not for me.]( 🌐 IN THE SOCIAL SPHERE One way to vet creators is to add more requirements on an application like how long they have been active on a platform. That way you can have a better idea of how their content will perform based on past data. Can't view the image? [Click here]( 🧰 THE TOOLKIT 💸 Quick profitability hack for Shopify merchants! Use this tool to get more leads, and market smarter to them (in one click). Qualified brands [get a $100 gift card, just to check it out.]( * 🚀 Shopify order values skyrocket 10–15%+ w/ upsells. Seriously! And you can add upsells in minutes with OneClickUpsell. So don’t lose another dollar in free revenue, [try OneClickUpsell today.]( * 📰 NEWS - Google will [relaunch Gemini AI Image generator in a few weeks]( after it generated historically inaccurate images. - Walmart [has become a $100 billion dollar ecommerce company]( with sales up 17% YoY. - Microsoft [makes a $16 million dollar investment in French start up Mistral](, OpenAI’s rival. - Domino’s [relaunched loyalty program adds 2 million new reward members.]( SPONSOR DTC 📥 Promote your product to 160,000 digital marketing professionals DTC Newsletter + Podcast reaches a highly qualified audience of Shopify merchants, eCommerce founders, and digital marketers. [Talk to our team to learn more](. Have you heard our latest podcasts? - 💰 [AKNF 381:]( The Ultimate CRO Framework for Media Buyers - 🧦 Streamlining Success – Outway's Taylor Fraser on [Simplifying to Scale Ecommerce]( - 👀 [AKNF 379:]( TikTok Shop Affiliates: The Time Is Now - 🔗 Ezra Firestone on [Proactive SEO and Brand Acquisitions]( - 📈 [AKNF 377:]( Spilling our Performance Max Google Ad Secrets - ⭐ Niclas Bornling on [the Art of Brand Storytelling]( 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](. NEED MORE DTC? 🚀 [Advertise]( in DTC Newsletter. 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](