BANKNOTES minted by #paid

Luxury fashion has a problem. According to McKinsey, the industry is responsible for over $2 billion in greenhouse gas emissions every year. That's roughly 4% of the world's total output.For added context, luxury fashion puts out the same amount of greenhouse gasses as France, Germany, and the UK. Combined.While these stats are horrifying, this issue isn't only about the survival of the environment. It's also a threat to the survival of luxury fashion brands. ... (READ MORE)

Have you ever come across an ad while scrolling through TikTok that feels just like any other video on the platform—so much so that it hardly feels like you're watching an ad? Do you know what makes these ads work so well? They're engaging, follow popular trends, and, most importantly, feel as authentic as other online videos we see from our favorite creators. Unfortunately, many marketers avoid creating this type of content because it “appears ugly,” discounting the ad's effectiveness. ... (LISTEN TO THIS ARTICLE)

Relationships, whether romantic, platonic, or familial, are essential for any human being to thrive. Even when these relationships are complicated or situational (see: situationships), they allow us to learn new things about ourselves, explore the parts of life outside our comfort zone, and ultimately help us evolve as individuals.Back in my day, when it was time to announce a new relationship, we would take to Facebook to change our single status. Something about that “in a relationship with” update really felt like a major life achievement. Nowadays, we're seeing Instagram girlies soft launch their significant others by teasing Story posts of someone's left shoulder or a Diddy-cropped photo with just their person's eyebrow visible. Only the official couples get to revel in the celebratory relationship hard launch. ... (READ MORE)

Fun fact: “Adidas” does not stand for “All Day I Dream About Sports.” It's short for Adi Dassler, the company's founder.Yet, if you repeat a factoid often enough, it has a way of entering the zeitgeist. That's especially true for statistics ringing with truth. Case in point: everyone knows it costs 5x more to acquire customers than to get customers to return. This factoid (this time in “10x” form) even appeared in “The Office,” when an intern attending business school at night quizzed hapless boss Michael Scott. The joke was that the branch manager didn't understand a basic business fact. ... (READ MORE)

“Google it.”It used to be one of the most ubiquitous phrases in search. Like Kleenex for tissues, Google is the brand nomenclature for an entire action. But now it may be one of new media's next casualties.TikTok, Twitter, and other social media platforms are becoming the new search engine stars.This is partially by design. “Search it with TikTok,” says a recent TikTok ad in the UK. “Learn it with TikTok.” You can practically hear steam coming out of the ears (er, servers) over at Google and Bing. ... (READ MORE)

Brands choosing to partner with America's favorite celebrities is almost a bigger tradition than the Super Bowl itself. In the past, we've seen ads from Dolly Parton, Timothée Chalamet, and Will Ferrell.This year, like in previous years, there was no shortage of A-list celebrities placed front and center of the most coveted advertising slots. Celebrities ranged from Serena Williams, Alicia Silverstone, Melissa McCarthy, Bradley Cooper, and John Travolta.But—here's the thing. Do you remember any of the brands these celebrities were advertising? ... (READ MORE)

Who knew something as simple as fresh dough could attract video views? It's not a trick question. In applying surgical precision to its creator campaigns, KitchenAid nailed it.KitchenAid had access to first-party data from Trusted Media Brands. Two-thirds of TMB's reader panel, for example, owned stand mixers. TMB's readers were four times more likely than average to categorize themselves as a “holiday enthusiast.” And 55% of a Taste of Home kitchen survey respondents were looking for helpful kitchen appliance content.Enter the Mixing and Mingling holiday campaign, which combined all of this data with the power of the creator economy. Taste of Home's influencers offered recipes and recorded video stories sharing their favorite KitchenAid stories. For Elena Besser, that was the pasta-maker extension, which she tied into a story of using food as her love language. ... (READ MORE)

With millions of dedicated followers who religiously watch their favorite content creator as soon as a new video drops (or heavily engaged in whatever drama the creator is embroiled in at any given time), it makes sense that the beauty industry as a whole is finally catching on to the idea that viewers love watching creators, regardless of gender, showcase personality and creativity in an entertaining format.Add in TikTok or Instagram, and male beauty creators worldwide are growing audiences and partnering with emerging and legacy cosmetics brands for product launches or partnerships, too. ... (READ MORE)

We're used to seeing it in the DTC world.When you pull up TikTok, Instagram, or Snapchat, you'll see unique creator-made videos promoting sponsored content.And, if you're like other TikTok users contributing to #TikTokMadeMeBuyIt's 36.7B views, you'll probably make a fun new purchase.Creator marketing (especially influencer-generated content) works wonders in the DTC world. Influencer Marketing Hub reports that 60% of marketers said influencer-generated content performs better and drives more engagement than branded posts.  ... (READ MORE)

The relationship between fragrance and advertising has been long.As a category that relies on olfactory receptors first and foremost to attract and persuade, emerging brands must get creative with how they market to consumers.From packaging to media, fragrance brands can't rely on some of the more traditional elements of beauty marketing: before and after pictures or product benefits, just to name a couple. ... (READ MORE)

“I'm rooting for everybody Black.” ✊

Leonardo DiCaprio may prefer young models, but that doesn't mean the rest of the world does (Zing!). This rings especially true regarding which creators represent brands on social media platforms. Over the past couple of years, social media users have been explicit in asking for content from brands and creators that's authentic, diverse, and inclusive. In short, social media users are begging for real. ... (READ MORE)

You've seen it a million times in the DTC and B2B worlds. A company will take the same piece of content and plaster it across the brand's various social media channels. The results? Lackluster. Maybe it will get engagement from the social media manager (SMM) who posted it—and, if they're lucky, the SMM's mom. (Provided they're on Twitter, of course.)What's wrong with this strategy? Aside from the fact that it never works, it's rare to see brands—especially B2B companies—dive deep into every social media platform's unique quirks. As a result, they rarely post creative content that engages their target audience. ... (READ MORE)

Striking a balance between creativity and appealing to customers is often a tenuous one for marketing teams.Add in the massive competition for traffic and sales, and you might find a brand or two swinging for the fences only to end up striking out spectacularly.There's also the fact that brands are constantly looking for new ways to stand out and achieve goals. As customers, we often praise brands taking daring approaches. We're more apt to see brands making waves than observing the status quo.  ... (READ MORE)

The average attention span is shrinking. In fact, a recent Microsoft study found that our attention span is down to about eight seconds or less. This extends to attention spans while browsing the web. And in the creator economy, those eight seconds are precious currency.There's no doubt that in recent years, short-form video has either created this trend or capitalized on it. And it's officially a trend creators can't afford to ignore.  ... (READ MORE)

“My content was viewed over 75 million times this year.” If we asked you to guess who said that, who would come to mind? A TV star? An artist talking about their 2022 Spotify downloads? A Kardashian?It was, in fact, Tobi Oluwole. And rather than knowing him from Spotify or your favorite Netflix series, you might have seen him doling out advice to underpaid and unfulfilled employees on LinkedIn.Most people might not group LinkedIn with mega-creator platforms like YouTube and TikTok. TikTok is the exciting new kid on the block, rocket-blasting from $82 million in revenue in the third quarter of 2019 to $1,567 billion three years later. YouTube has been around longer, but its status as the world's top video-sharing network makes it a titanic platform for any influencer. ... (READ MORE)

“It's just crazy how Amazon has all these little sneaky things that you would never know about.”When 24-year-old Emma Lorrae started her UGC creator business in May 2022, she knew her passion was to be an entrepreneur and create content for brands. But it can be scary to start your own business–let alone walk away from a corporate job to run your business full-time.However, less than a year into her endeavors, Lorrae is already making over $8K per month as a UGC creator and through influencer programs with channels like Amazon. Her earnings keep growing month after month. ... (READ MORE)

There's been talk about ‘Quiet Quitting' and the ‘Great Resignation' over the last two years, which means brands wanting to fill positions and needing employees have to take a good, hard look at what they're offering how they're reaching potential candidates.

2022 was a successful year for influencer marketers, and things are looking up in 2023 as well. While influencer marketing and creator partnerships will help brands grow and capture more sales, it's also essential to keep a pulse on marketing, influencer, and industry trends.

It's known as “algospeak,” and its premise is simple. Some online platforms use algorithms to censor or ban content by seeking out key phrases. Creators find sneaky ways of not saying those phrases while still getting their basic meaning across to their audience. Algorithms becomes Al Gore Rhythms. Dead becomes unalive. Sex becomes seggs. It's not just a snarky way to avoid TikTok or Twitter dinging your content and sending you to the digital equivalent of a timeout. For some, it's a necessity. One study examined how “social media work is not just materially concealed, but rendered socially invisible through its lack of … marginal status.” 

When it comes to commerce tech, China is in its own world of innovation—one that much of the Western world hasn't even started catching up to.Ecommerce is currently a trillion-dollar industry in China, and over half of the world's eCommerce transactions take place in China. Meanwhile, in 2021, the U.S. saw $870 billion USD in eCommerce sales. Canada saw slightly over $53 billion USD.China's leading tech innovation is a top reason for its place as a global commerce leader. Many of the world's most popular social media and commerce platforms started in China first and then moved westward.The most prevalent example: TikTok. TikTok, first known as ByteDance and now Douyin, had hundreds of millions of users in China before it ever launched in the U.S. and Canada. ... (READ MORE)

You already know TikTok is the new “it girl” of social media. TikTok is only eight years old and already has more than 1 billion monthly users, or more than one-eighth of the world's total population.You also know TikTok is the hottest marketplace for online window shoppers. Most recent stats show TikTok generated an estimated $4.6 billion in revenue in 2021. (If everyone on TikTok gave me $4…)It's uncontested. TikTok is where brands need to be to find new customers and make sales.But winning on TikTok is easier said than done. Some brand accounts crush it, while others see no engagement at all. ... (READ MORE)

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, now there's a way you can leverage the power of digital word of mouth marketing to also produce more impactful content at a reduced cost.Enter user generated content (UGC).UGC is exactly what it says on the tin—content created by the users, customers, and fans of your brand. And UGC is powerful. 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.Getting high-quality UGC from people who love your brand can be tricky, but here are some tips on how you can be successful. ... (READ MORE)

TikTok is a social media anomaly. For starters, it's been growing like wildfire. GWI reports TikTok has grown its monthly user base by more than 32% since 2020, with more than 150 million current active monthly users.Additionally, while TikTok started as an entertainment platform, it's now one of the hottest social selling tools and an outstanding way for brands to penetrate new audiences and capture customers. In the fourth quarter of 2021 alone, TikTok reached $824 million in user spending, and it's expected to account for 3.5% of all digital advertising spending in the U.S. by 2024.What's even more impressive than TikTok's rapid growth and advertising spend is its pivotal role in creating new influencers. Recent stats show there are already 100,000+ active influencers making money from their TikTok presence.When you look at TikTok's unique strengths objectively, it provides a straightforward answer for how the brand can capture a portion of that $824 million in user spending on TikTok. The answer: partner with TikTok creators. Better yet is to do what brands like Nerf, Olipop, and Jones Road Beauty have done, and that's hire creators to run their social media accounts. Here's a closer look at why brands are doing this and why it's working. ... (READ MORE)

What comes to mind when you think about your local dentist's office? Most likely, you're thinking of a grey aesthetic, maybe some generic artwork, and an hour of your life that you wish you could be spending elsewhere. This is a reality that Dr. Suhail Mohiuddin—more commonly known as Dr. M—knew when he and two of his friends started a dental practice in 2013:“If you look at NPS scores of dental offices, the average dental office has a score of one, which is somewhere between standing in line at the DMV and your cable company,” he joked.That's why Dr. M and his friends founded Dentologie: a practice to reshape people's thoughts about their semi-annual dentist trips. “People hate going to the dentist, so our entire concept is to create an awesome experience that people don't hate. We tailor the entire business around amazing technology, beautiful locations, and phenomenal customer service.”Today, Dentologie is the largest dental practice in Chicago, with a strong social media presence that drives 25% of its new clients.How did Dr. M (a dentist with zero prior experience in marketing) pull this off? It has nothing to do with luck—it's been pure strategy since Day 1. Dr. M applies many direct-to-consumer best practices to his personal TikTok, driving almost 750K followers and new clients to his business. ... (READ MORE)

Today's consumer market is run by creators. We see our favorite TikTokers promoting new beauty products, an Instagram model showing off new threads, and nutritionists sharing their choice foods and snacks on YouTube. Creators and influencers are everywhere—and they're a big part of how we recognize brands today.But what about luxury cars?Most vehicle brands still spend thousands of dollars (if not millions) creating their own high-quality commercials: a man's deep voice describing the look and feel of the car while viewers see it trudging through mountains, cities, and other landscapes.We've all seen them. For a long time, there's been a major lack of creativity in this market.Until recently…  (READ MORE)

Pickleball! Given that the sport dates to 1965, it's not surprising that it's seen growth to some 4.5 million players in the U.S. What is surprising is its recent renaissance. As The Atlantic reports, athletes like Kevin Love, Drew Brees, and Kevin Durant have spent money towards ownership stakes in pickleball teams. Tom Brady is investing in a pickleball expansion team. LRMR, which has LeBron James as a co-founder, has also made pickleball investments. “It is America's fastest-growing sport,” notes The Atlantic, calling it an “antidote to loneliness and boredom,” growing even before COVID-19 made lonely and bored people of us all. Some have even suggested pickleball might end up an Olympic-sanctioned sport.Today, top creators—not just Tom Brady—are picking up the scent of pickled cucumbers. And that's having a unique effect. For the first time, you and I might be able to watch a new American pastime sport growing up in the age of influencers and social media—because of influencers and social media.While it might seem like pickleball is a come-and-go trend, more akin to cold bucket challenges and “is it real or cake?” videos, pickleball is a trend with staying power. In the world of viral hits and short-lived fads, that's unique to both sports and TikTok.Still confused about how it's all going down? Here's everything you need to know. ... (READ MORE)

Sure, Black Friday saw an all-time high in eCommerce sales. But if you've been to any grocery, retail, or marketplace in the last year, you've likely felt the effects of inflation. Everything is more expensive right now. For example, prices for food increased by 10.4% in 2022 (the biggest increase since 1981), and energy prices have risen 41.6% over the last year (the largest since 1980). ... (READ MORE)

Do brands lie? Of course they do!But you may be surprised how many brands used a deceptive and false email marketing tactic this past Black Friday weekend—and customers started to catch on.We're not talking about emails with “Surprise, we extended our sale!” messaging. Consumers expect these after years of seeing that exact subject line 100 times in their inboxes, but they don't expect companies to lie as a tactic to promote an ongoing sale so blatantly.What many consumers received were emails with something like the following? “Due to high demand (and steep Black Friday discounts), our site crashed momentarily. It's back up, though, and you can shop up to 60% off everything!” ... (READ MORE)

Fact: Everyone likes to wear hoodies. Fact: Everyone wore hoodies during the pandemic. Fact: We all love expressing ourselves in different ways. Fact: Everyone can do with a little positivity in their day-to-day lives. Combine all these attributes, put them into a wishing well, and what do you get? An optimistic brand that sells positivity-focused clothing, writes Monday motivation quotes, and sells really bright and happy hoodies.Sounds Awful, right? Or rather, full of awe? I sat down with Charles (Chaz) Zayed and Emmit Flynn from Awful Cloth to learn about their brand, its messaging, and their strategy for expanding to over 70 countries while in the middle of a pandemic. Here's what we discussed. ... (READ MORE)

Think back to the first time you decided to take your creator career seriously. You face a sea of decisions that can feel paralyzing. It's no surprise then that one question keeps getting brought up when I talk to creators: How do you break through in a sea of distractions, choices and competition?I don't want to talk about an algorithm hack that will get you lots of views today. Rather, it's important to build for longevity. I've noticed that some of the most successful creators started by setting parameters. More specifically, they work from a mindset that maximizes focus. Specifically: Tap into your competitive advantage, and work to become the best at that advantage.  ...  (READ MORE)

“It's a chicken salad.”If this phrase sounds familiar, it's likely because you've heard it used as a trending sound in thousands of videos on TikTok and Instagram over the past several weeks. The entire sound features an exchange between frequent deli goer Nisha Godfrey and owner Wael Herbawi at East 81st Street Deli in Cleveland, Ohio. (READ MORE)

So-called one-click checkout company Bolt underwent another round of sweeping layoffs this week, according to posts from several former employees across Linkedin. (READ MORE)

The question isn't whether or not there's value in hiring creators—even over celebrities—to promote your brand. There is. The question is: what's the best way to compensate creators so you can secure more mutually-beneficial partnerships and grow your brand? (READ MORE)

Nibble is a new eCommerce technology company that's trying to disrupt eCommerce product pricing. The technology brings customer and merchant negotiation into the online shopping experience for Shopify stores.  (READ MORE)

While it's still early on in the acquisition, folks are complaining on Twitter about Musk, his “sh*tposting” (for a lack of a better term), and these new changes (mostly the pay-for-verification issue.) One community that's specifically concerned is the Direct-to-Consumer one—a small subset of Twitter where founders, marketers, and operators of eCommerce technology and brands came together and built strong connections over the past several years. ... (READ MORE)

In the second quarter of 2022, the teen-centric clothing brand Hollister was ... not doing very well. It experienced a 7% year-over-year sales loss. On top of that, its sister labels Gilly Hicks and influencer-led brand Social Tourist reported a 15% decline in sales. Conversely, Hollister's parent company Abercrombie & Fitch saw a 5% lift in sales. What was the issue?After an internal study of sales data, executives at Hollister and Abercrombie & Fitch found that brands targeting teens were losing sales. Part of this was due to inflation and the rising cost of living, but they found the key pain point was an age-old reality: most teens simply don't have much purchasing power. After researching today's Gen Alpha (teen) consumers, Hollister created the Share2Pay app to tackle this problem. ... (READ MORE)

I was at a marketing conference last month and heard a panelist tell the crowd that “Creators don't only have an audience, they've built a community.” This sounds valuable to advertisers but it puts creators at a disadvantage if they haven't focused on building a community. I was about to raise my hand when another panelist piped up and responded with an important question: “What makes you think all creators have built a community?”Building audiences has always been a lucrative endeavor. It's the reason why the amount brands spend on influencer marketing keeps rising. Community is powerful on its own, too. Conferences and online memberships are thriving businesses. This begs the question, do all creators need to build community? ... (READ MORE)

NEW YORK & TORONTO—#paid, a multi-channel creator marketing platform that empowers creators to partner with brands and build their businesses, today announced that it has become an official TikTok Marketing Partner. As a badged partner, #paid will bring more great opportunities to their engaged network of content creators and marketers. “TikTok's motto is ‘Make TikToks, not ads' because the most successful ads on TikTok aren't ads,” said Bryan Gold, CEO of #paid. “This partnership provides an opportunity for brands to make more TikToks with the world's top creators—and run all their creator campaigns, across social channels, from one central location."  ... (READ MORE)

Grin, a popular creator management platform used by DTC brands like SKIMS, Warby Parker, and Allbirds, was dealt a hard blow last month due to Meta's new API and service guidelines. Most Meta-related features have been wiped from the platform, including Instagram creator search.And that's barely scratching the surface. The platform removed unauthenticated Instagram creators along with the campaigns and content they've made for partner brands in the past. ...  (READ MORE)

While the overall attitude regarding the current economy is lackluster, NRF reports that retail sales will still grow between 6% and 8% to more than the $4.86 trillion recorded in 2022.Even if consumers are upset by inflation and the current state of the economy, the good news is they are still spending—especially during the upcoming holiday season. In fact, 30% of all retail sales typically happen between BFCM and Christmas.If you're an eCommerce brand or retailer, now is the time to double-down and prepare to grow your sales this upcoming season. Here are effective ways you can grow your sales this year, according to eComm industry experts. ... (READ MORE)

Last week I came across a podcast that Cole Bennett, generational music video director and founder of Lyrical Lemonade, was on. What he said caught my attention. “... maybe, success came at the wrong point in their life, or they're not mentally grounded enough to handle that moment.”It made me think about TikTok and how it may be negatively impacting the longevity of a creator's career. Someone new blows up on TikTok every day. We celebrate how quickly you can find success. It sounds nice, but what are the long-term effects?  ... (READ MORE)

According to a 2022 Knit Report, Gen Z makes up 40% of the global consumer population and has $600 billion in spending power. The report also states that 72% of Gen Zers think brands need to do a much better job marketing to them—especially if they want to win their loyalty.Brands are failing to recognize what Gen Z values. As a result, brands miss the mark when trying to engage them through marketing messages. The worst part for brands? They are losing an audience whose buying power will only increase as Gen Zers get older and start making more money. ... (READ MORE)

Unless a shopper can picture him or herself using a product, it's difficult to validate a buying decision. This is especially true within the eCommerce environment, as shoppers face the hurdle of not being able to touch/feel/try on an item before buying. So why, then, are so many eCommerce brands still utilizing plain product images on a flat, white background?Think about it: Would you be more apt to buy a sweater if you just saw an image of it on a white background? Or what if instead, you had the added visual context of the bag being held by a model and styled for different occasions?  ... (READ MORE)

If you're following DTC Twitter, chances are you've come across a post praising the new darling of the financial tool world, Parker. Parker describes itself as “an all-in-one financial solution designed specifically for your eCommerce." According to its website, with Parker you can “track your financial metrics, campaign profitability, and pay all business expenses with a card that can keep up with your growth.” ... READ MORE

The world of eCommerce marketing is like a jungle, densely packed with mainstream content for as far as the eye can see. You need an appetite for experimentation to survive this saturated eCommerce space and create a standout brand name. With strategically designed marketing experiments, you can create mind-blowing campaigns to deliver a great customer experience that gives consumers a reason to hit the “buy” button. It's a great way to test your risk tolerance, go beyond generic marketing tactics, and discover new solutions to maximize your marketing ROI.  ... (READ MORE)

All creator content isn't created equal. Consumers don't want brands to simply throw money around and hire famous faces to promote their products. They want authenticity and content that is synergistic to both the brand and the famous face being used as a spokesperson.  ... (READ MORE)

During the Drapers Future of Fashion conference in June 2022, Hilsum, the senior director of product innovation for the luxury fashion global platform Farfetch, took it a step further and shared that the metaverse (along with developing technology) will be “the next stage of luxury shopping.” ... (READ MORE)

How Chipotle partnered with the 'Corn Kid' to produce a short-form video for their social media channels, which is now their highest-performing social media content. ... (READ MORE)

So-called one-click checkout company Bolt scored a win today, going live on the Fanatics website.Fanatics is an American online manufacturer and retailer of licensed sportswear, sports collectibles, NFTs, trading cards, and sports merchandise.Fanatics is one of the largest websites to join the Bolt network, and it comes at a time when the SaaS has been fighting an uphill battle against lawsuits, layoffs and struggles to raising. ... (READ MORE)

Dating back more than 30,000 years with cave drawings, humans have relied on storytelling to make connections, teach valuable lessons, share raw emotions, and remember important experiences for a long time.While storytelling isn't a new form of communication (clearly), it's only recently that online brands discovered its power to connect them with their consumers in a more meaningful way. It's clear that consumers are selective about where they spend their money, and brands that share specific beliefs and values have won the hearts of the modern-day consumer over brands that slap a logo on their product that's made in the same factory as thousands of others.But is storytelling the future of DTC? The founders of three modern brands believe it is. ... (READ MORE)