DTC

Consumer Brands Experts: Prepare for the Holiday Season Now

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A couple of times a year, I reach out to my network of consumer brand experts and agency owners to ask them what they’re telling their clients right now. As consumer brands prepare for the holiday shopping season, my SEO, PR, Content, and Web Development colleagues are urging their clients to give themselves an edge given the competitive nature of the fourth quarter.

1. Prioritize and Plan

Organic & SEO do take a bit of time to kick in, -Jason Berkowitz, Break the Web

Given that organic & SEO do take a bit of time to kick in, starting on this fully now allows you to get the heavy lifting out of the way, without stressing when the season hits.

“If an increase in non-branded organic traffic is a marketing goal, then strategizing the plan of attack today,” says consumer brand expert Jason Berkowitz.

-Jason Berkowitz, Break the Web

“Paid media …doesn’t need to get started until September.” -Steve Krull, Be Found Online

Consumer brand digital marketing expert Steve Krull is urging brands to review their content and SEO strategy now. “There are two things I will typically work with clients on as we approach the holidays – Strategy & SEO with Content. Paid media …doesn’t need to get started until September.”

Krull recommends reviewing your holiday strategy to ensure it’s keeping up with the latest online changes, and your brand’s evolution. For a well-defined strategy, start with the questions:
Define your goals & metrics?
Identify your best revenue channels?
Ask: what’s different about this year?
Are there new ideas or channels you might test NOW in order to be prepared?

For SEO, update your existing content. If you’re an eCommerce or DTC brand, update your Category & Sub-Category pages as “Pillar Pages” to attract and distribute users and organic traffic.

-Steve Krull, Be Found Online

 

2. Improve UX with the Latest Data

Data-backed strategies can make a big difference during the holiday season in 2023. -Travis McAshan, Glide Design

Travis McAshan is wildly passionate about the consumer shopping experience, “As someone who spends my days thinking about user experience design, I have a few recommendations to consider as we gear up for the holiday season in 2023,” he says.

“While there’s a list of usual suspects you’d typically hear about – improving site performance, enhancing the user-friendly aspect of your consumer brand design, focusing on mobile-responsive elements, dialing in your site security, refining your CTAs, simplifying the checkout process, and so on, I’d rather shed light on a few often-overlooked, counter-intuitive aspects,” McAshan continues.

 “From understanding decision-making behavior to using design elements strategically, each of these less obvious, data-backed strategies can make a big difference during the holiday season in 2023.” McAshan encourages consumer brands to update thier website using data and improving the UX experience with these seven tips.

1) Limit Choices: According to Hick’s Law, decision-making time increases with the number of choices available. A study by the Neilson Norman Group supports this, showing that you can improve conversions by curating your offerings instead of overwhelming users with options.

2) Emphasize Negative Space: Google’s research found that visual complexity negatively affects user perception. An ’empty’ or negative space can make your website feel clean and draw attention to key elements, improving the overall user experience.

3) Intrigue Users with a Delayed Reveal: Consumer brand experts love to leave them wanting more. A Harvard Business School study discovered that adding a slight delay or hurdle before revealing a discount or special offer increases user engagement and satisfaction.

4) The Paradox of Image Size: CXL Institute’s A/B test found that smaller product images can sometimes outperform larger ones. They allow users to see the product details and the purchase button simultaneously without scrolling.

5) Design for the Impatient: A study by Columbia Business School revealed that customers tend to choose options that promise shorter waiting times, even over more beneficial alternatives. Optimizing your estimated delivery times can, counter-intuitively, boost conversions.

6) The Psychology of Colors: Maxymiser’s study found that ‘warm’ colors like red used for CTA buttons can increase conversion rates. Color choice is more than just aesthetics – it can drive actions.

7) Leverage Social Proof: The principle of ‘Fear of Missing Out’ (FOMO) can be powerful. Software company Figleaves, for example, increased their conversion rate by 12.5% just by showcasing how many people were currently viewing a product.

 

-Travis McAshan, Glide Design

 

3. Prepare for the Holiday Season: Integrate Operations, PR, and Social Media

 

Prepare and stay flexible; that’s what Jive PR and SEO’s consumer brand experts recommend. Brittany Robertson and Jalila Singerff recommend these five steps to prepare for the holidays for consumer brands.

Anticipate and prepare for potential challenges, – Brittany Robertson + Jalila Singerff (Director of Social Media + Director of Public Relations), Jive PR Digital

1. Evaluate Objectives and Past Performance: Assess the brand’s current objectives and review the performance of the previous holiday season. This analysis will help identify successful strategies and areas that require improvement, allowing the brand to align itself optimally for success.

2. Engage in PR Activities: From a public relations perspective, prepare for holiday press placements by pitching to print press in July. This aligns with the time when editors are sourcing products for their holiday issues. Pitch to other channels such as online, broadcast, podcast, and radio during the fall leading up to the holiday season.

3. Assess Social Media Presence: Review the social media presence of competitors during the previous holiday season and evaluate your brand’s social media performance. Analyze what strategies worked and what didn’t, and implement improvements for the upcoming season. In particular, leverage influencer marketing as a crucial component to generate sales and create gift-related content. Plan budgets and identify key products for collaborations with influencers to ensure an effective campaign.

4. Optimize Website and Social Media Channels: Update the consumer brand’s website and social media channels to be optimized for the holiday season. Create new content and promotions to attract new customers and keep existing customers engaged. This can include refreshing product images, conducting lifestyle shoots, incorporating user-generated content, and utilizing influencer-driven content.

5. Prepare for Potential Challenges: Anticipate and prepare for potential challenges such as supply chain disruptions or staffing shortages. Develop contingency plans to mitigate any adverse effects and ensure that the business can continue to operate smoothly.

-Brittany Robertson + Jalila Singerff (Director of Social Media + Director of Public Relations), Jive PR Digital

4. Create SEO Advantage with Long-Tail Content and Lesser Celebrated Holidays

 

Ross Johnson, SEO expert for consumer brands is recommending  ambitious consumer brands use these six tips to stand out in search.

While long tail keywords have lower search volume individually, they often have MORE search volume in aggregate. -Ross Johnson, 3.7 Designs

1. Consumer Brand Experts: Start your content marketing now, update later

You could publish articles on Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and other holiday buyers guides now and update them as you get closer to the holiday season.

2. Optimize for holiday-related keywords

Incorporate the following keywords into your content article titles,  for example: Cyber Monday 2023 Gifts for New Fathers.

– Holiday Gifts 2023
– Black Friday 2023
– Cyber Monday 2023
– Holiday Shopping 2023
– Gift Ideas 2023

3. Focus on long-tail keywords

In a competitive niche, it’s challenging to rank for generic keywords like “shoes” or “weighted blanket.” Instead, aim for more specific and detailed phrases like “colorful running shoes for women” or “gifts for people who love weighted blankets.”

While long tail keywords have lower search volume individually, they often have MORE search volume in aggregate. Be aware that this approach requires publishing significantly more content than generic keywords.

4. Leverage non-text media

Holiday shoppers are more likely to search for images, videos, Google shopping, local search, and podcasts. Optimize your images, create video reviews or buyer’s guide videos, explore podcast interviews, or even launch your own podcast to engage with your target audience through different channels.

5. Optimize your mobile experience

Prioritize optimizing your mobile experience as mobile shopping continues to grow, especially during the holiday season. Ensure that your website provides a seamless and intuitive mobile experience, allowing shoppers to browse and make purchases easily on their mobile devices.

6. Don’t sleep on lesser celebrated holidays

Consumer buy presents for Hanukkah, Kwanzaa, Chinese New Year, and even Thanks Giving. These Holidays typically have much less competition while still having high purchase intent.


-Ross Johnson, 3.7 Designs

 

5. Make Your Brand Differences Your Consumer Brand Strength

Brand expert Chris Lam reminds consumer brands to polish up their brand. Lam says two of the most important ways consumer brands can prepare for the holiday season is understanding the customer and their pain points.

Incorporate your competitive advantage into existing content and copy -Chris Lam, Chris Lam Connects

  1. Brands really have to understand their customer. We hear this all.the.time, and there’s a reason for it. What exactly are those pain points that customers are facing and that your service or product can provide a solution or ease a pain point? (It’s not always literal or point-blank obvious.) Take the time to get to know your customer. Poll them. Engage them. Ask them. Get that feedback from the people or orgs that use your product or service.2. Emphasize How You Help the Customer. I also think consumer brands also need to remember what their competitive advantage is against their competitors and highlight it, especially if it appeals and (again) alleviates a pain point for their customer. Among all the other brands that a consumer can go to, why should they choose your brand? Flesh that out, maybe even consider this as a campaign by itself. Or incorporate your competitive advantage into existing content and copy.

-Chris Lam, Chris Lam Connects

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How People Discover New Brands?

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You have a new product to launch. How can you ensure consumers find it when they’re shopping? Marketing experts say the average person sees between 4,000 and 10,000 ads in a single day; everyone of them claiming to be perfectly targeted to your ideal customer. People tune out most ads. But for DTC brands, the ad addiction is real. Why? Because it’s easy to establish direct ROI. Even when brands know the ROI isn’t great, they can’t seem to get off the treadmill because they know what to expect.  And with AI emerging, there is likely to be further disruption in the consumer industry. You’ve worked so hard to create a great brand and a great product. So, if not for advertising, how do people discover new brands today?

 

Give Them a Reason to Talk About Your Brand

Because we’re so inundated with signals and ads, buyers rely on friends and family for suggestions more than ever to help them filter through the choices. Every consumer brand understands the value of reviews, but referrals from friends and family are even more essential. 27% of consumers rely on trusted sources like friends for new brand discovery. Also, the older the target customer, the more likely they are to rely on advice from friends, with GenX (30%) and Boomers (35%) relying most heavily on friends and family.

But giving your advocates a gentle nudge and a reason to share your info with friends is even more important. We see this a lot with referral codes. Still, when a customer wants to advocate for you, or want to tell a friend about you, they aren’t likely going to go digging around for a creepy referral link that makes the receiver think their friend is only recommending a brand so they can save $10. It’s icky.

Instead, think about your content and social proof. For example, write tangential content that’s interesting and useful to your customer, not just about your brand. For example, if you’re a food brand, then write content about your favorite cooking tools in your test kitchen.

Also, when you secure consumer press, celebrate it with your customers. This IS a good time to offer a promo code because it’s one more reason to say to a friend, “hey, this is the skincare lotion you asked me about; it’s on sale,” AND it comes right next to the social proof that backs up your customer’s choice to share your product.

 

Search Engine Love

31% of consumers find new products on search engines. Consumers use search engines during two buying phases: the research phase and the buying phase. You want to be present for both, because that’s how people discover new brands

First, assuming your website is well constructed, and your product pages are well designed, your next step is to embrace the reality of the internet: content marketing. With the latest advances in AI-generated content, creating content for your website has never been easier. Just be sure to review your content and ensure the quality is there because content is often a consumer’s first exposure to your brand. There are countless ways you can use content marketing. Look at the way Sarah Blakely was always the #1 brand advocate for Spanx.

Second, if you sell DTC, use Google’s product review advice to help you build content that matters to customers. Our annual guide has many tips and hints about building consumer content that will help you stand out in search engine results.

But it’s not just owned content that customers love. When potential customers search for products, they’re in the buying phase, and that’s when they’re looking for reviews that jump out at them from search results: reviews by trusted media outlets. This is really important because publishers have massive amounts of content and SEO, so their product reviews are highly visible. And it doesn’t seem to matter if the press outlet uses affiliate links, so long as it’s disclosed. We’ve had clients sell out warehouses full of product due to affiliate links. Notably, affiliate links from friends might seem creepy, but product review affiliate links from media outlets are perfectly acceptable. Why might that be? When you learn about how people view lures and rewards, that’s another reason you must allow your marketing and PR to work together when considering your DTC consumer.

Influencers Gonna Influence

We can’t really talk about DTC PR without talking about social media influencers. It’s not just younger generations turning to TikTok for product discovery. And social networks catch buyer in all three phases – the awareness phase, the buying phase, when they’re researching a product, and the curiosity phase. Ensure your influencer campaigns work for both those phases, and be conscious of how impulsive your customers are when strategizing campaigns with content creators, because buyers are increasingly impulsive on platforms like TikTok.; 65% of GenZ and Millenials make impulse buying decisions at least once per month, compared to 38% of GenX and Boomers.

 

Using these modern PR tips to capitalize on how people discover new brands and tactics will make your investment pay for itself much faster.

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3 Marketing Trends for CPG Startups

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Not too long ago, DTC brands were on a tear. The Consumer Packaged Goods (CPG) industry grew at an incredible rate during the 2020 pandemic lockdown – to $933 billion up 10.4% from the previous year. And it wasn’t just the big brands who saw that growth, boutique CPG brands reported revenue growth up 18.3%, compared to 7.5% from large CPG brand manufacturers. But recent changes in digital marketing, along with supply chain issues, have made 2022 more challenging for startup DTC brands. So, given the squeeze they’re experiencing, what CPG marketing trends will give them the most bang for their buck?

 

More recently, CPG and DTC brands have seen some challenging times, especially those in the earlier phases who had hoped to grow with VC funding. But since VC funding has become more competitive, it’s more important than ever for consumer brands to leverage all their strengths.

CPG and DTC Brands with Purpose

This first one is a bit of a misnomer because, realistically, purpose-driven CPG brands are an inside-out job, not simply a marketing initiative. And yet, for those CPG startup brands who can find an authentic purpose, the activation opportunities are endless. This isn’t so much a CPG marketing trend as much as it is a brand proposition.

47% of consumers say they’d switched products or services after a company violated their personal values. 

Consumers are increasingly demanding sustainable and natural products in everything from beauty to wellness to food. Searches for “cruelty-free” products increased by 400% between 2012-2022. And it isn’t just consumers. 86% of employees want to know they work for organizations with an environment, social, and ethical business practices (ESG). While we typically think about large brands doing most of the heavy lifting on ESG initiatives, startup CPG brands can create a bigger splash, reduce operational expenses, and increase customer loyalty by doing their part as well.

CPG PR & Influencer Marketing

TV ads are still the first choice for legacy CPG companies, and that’s because they know becoming a household name takes repeated exposure. But ambitious startup brands without the multi-million dollar ad budget are finding excellent success with CPG PR and even seasonal sprint PR programs. From wellness products to beauty products, CPG brands know the value of trusted recommendations, like magazines.

Trust isn’t a CPG marketing trend – it’s a requirement. 

And because of the importance of the trust factor, startup CPG brands are also turning to influencer marketing. But they’re doing it most often with micro-influencers (between 1,000-10,000 followers). While micro-influencer campaigns are considerably more effort to manage, the results can be impressive because micro-influencers typically have higher conversion rates and that’s because they are more relatable and trustworthy than celebrities.  And it isn’t only CPG brands finding success with micro-influencers, consumer tech brands are doubling down on influencer campaigns too.

 

Product Personalization

Marketing trends for CPG startups come and go, but one consumer trend that isn’t going away is personalization. With new AI technologies, this will become even more relevant, even for challenger brands. Consumers are opening their pocketbooks for DTC startups that offer personalized products; 71% of consumers expect personalization. In some cases, consumers are willing to give up product effectiveness to a more tailored product. From personalized product recommendations to celebrating milestones, today’s consumer expects even CPG startups to know them as customers.

Millennials, already spending more on self-care than any other generation before (2X more than baby boomers) are driving the demand for personalized CPG products. Already, 70% of the top DTC subscription brands use product quizzes to help personalize the customer experience. Not only does this increase consumer loyalty, but it provides a pleathora of data that can be used in future retargeting and PR campaigns.

Millennials are also driving another CPG trend: CBD. While 28% of consumers already use CBD, 56% of millennials do. They’re leading the charge that fuels the 4X growth in CBD products projected between 2020-2026. From pets to skincare, CBD is still a very in-demand product.

 

One thing is for certain, CPG startups aren’t going away, and neither are marketing trends for CPG startups. The internet has supercharged the consumer’s ability to find and purchase products – and it means CPG products in every category have more competitors than ever before. Brands that invest in savvy CPG marketing and PR will have the upper hand with customer acquisition and loyalty. And that means they’ll have more longevity than ever before. Whether you’re looking to be the next big brand, or looking to exit with an IPO, keeping your finger on the pulse of today’s trends super charges your future.

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The Definitive Pre IPO PR Roadmap for Consumer Brands

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Unleashing the Potential of PR Service Bundles for Consumer Products

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In the fast-paced world of consumer products, standing out from the competition and capturing the attention of target audiences is paramount. Public relations (PR) plays a crucial role in creating brand awareness, establishing credibility, increasing revenue, and generating consumer excitement. When looking to hire a PR firm, you may be taking one of two strategies. The first would be to maximize the impact of PR strategies; consumer product companies often rely on the expertise of PR firms that offer tailored packages designed specifically for their needs. The second strategy, for consumer product startups could be to dip their feet into the PR agency relationship with a PR service bundle that is specific in scope. Hence, the fees are lower, and the brand can learn more about a particular PR firm.  This blog post will explore the differences between PR service bundles for consumer products and how they can help businesses thrive in an ever-evolving marketplace.

  1. Crafting a Compelling Brand Story

Consumer products are not just items on a shelf; they are part of people’s lives, offering solutions, experiences, and emotions. If you’re a consumer product startup, your PR firm offering may need to include branding initiatives and research to craft a compelling brand story that resonates with target audiences.

By understanding the product’s unique value proposition, PR professionals can develop narratives that captivate consumers, evoke emotions, and create a lasting connection. These packages often include

  • message development,
  • storytelling techniques
  • content creation
  • brand image: ensure a consistent and compelling brand image across various channels

  1. Influencer Partnerships and Product Placements

Influencer marketing has become a powerful tool for consumer product promotion. PR  packages for influencers or journalists leverage influencer partnerships to amplify brand reach and credibility. By identifying and collaborating with influential individuals in relevant niches, PR professionals can generate authentic product endorsements, unboxing videos, and positive reviews. Additionally, these PR service bundles often include earned media opportunities, product placement opportunities, and securing features in TV shows, movies, or popular media outlets, allowing for increased visibility and exposure.

  1. Media Relations and Product Launches

A successful product launch can significantly impact consumer perception and sales. PR firm packages for consumer products include strategic media relations to generate buzz and coverage surrounding new product releases. With these PR packages – Avaans calls these PR Sprints-, PR professionals work closely with media outlets, journalists, and bloggers to secure product reviews, and feature articles; sometimes with an eye on digital PR for premium SEO links. Through these efforts, businesses can build anticipation, create excitement, and gain valuable media exposure, ultimately driving consumer interest and sales.

  1. Social Media Engagement and Influencer Events

Social media has transformed the way consumers engage with brands. Social media targeted PR firm packages recognize the importance of a strong social media presence for consumer products. These packages include social media management, content creation, and community engagement strategies. PR professionals leverage social media platforms to share product updates, engage with consumers, and foster brand loyalty. They may also organize influencer events or collaborations, providing opportunities for influencers to experience the product firsthand and share their authentic experiences with their followers.

    1. Crisis Management and Reputation Protection

In the consumer product industry, maintaining a positive reputation is crucial. PR firm packages are designed to handle potential crises and protect brand reputation in the face of challenges. These packages include proactive crisis management strategies, such as preparing crisis communication plans and monitoring online conversations. In times of crisis, PR professionals act swiftly, ensuring transparent and timely communication to address concerns and mitigate any potential damage to the brand’s reputation.

    1. Content Packages in Digital PR World

As media continues to evolve, building content is vital to building awareness and consumer affinity. From contributed content to blog posts to videos content is still king. Moreover, content offers many ways to repurpose and reuse, from social media to email marketing to investor presentations.

Ensuring your content aligns with your overall goals and brand messaging is squarely in the capabilities of a full-service PR firm. But even if you choose not to use your PR firm to build the content, part of a full-service PR option should include collaboration with your content producers to ensure message consistency.

 

Conclusion

For consumer product companies, PR firm packages offer a powerful toolkit to elevate brand visibility, establish credibility, and drive consumer excitement. You may be able to reduce PR costs by sticking with a specific PR package with a limited scope, like some of the PR service bundles recommended above, or you may wish to have a more tailored PR strategy with a bespoke PR plan.

These packages are tailored to the unique needs of consumer product businesses, providing strategic guidance, media relations, social media engagement, crisis management, and more. By harnessing the expertise of executive level PR professionals, consumer product companies can create compelling brand stories, leverage influencer partnerships, execute successful product launches, and protect their brand reputation. Embracing the services provided by PR firm packages is a strategic investment that can fuel consumer interest, foster brand loyalty, and propel consumer product businesses to new heights of success.

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3 Tips for CPG Media Coverage

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There are lots of reasons to invest in CPG PR, but no matter the reason, PR is an investment, and you want your efforts to pay off, which is why you’re hiring a top-rated PR agency in the first place, right? Whether you’re trying to educate your customers about a distinctive ingredient, improve customer loyalty, invest in brand value or want a more straightforward approach to product inclusions in holiday gift guides, PR is not a set-and-forget it strategy, you can radically improve your outcomes with these three tips.

Maximize Your DTC or CPG PR with the 3 Tips for CPG Media Coverage

 

Multimedia for the Win

49% of journalists want pictures with the pitch. Owned media is an important tool for earned media. Having a variety of images of your CPG product images, both lifestyle, and product shots are helpful to busy journalists who don’t have time for multiple back and forth emails. Sometimes having the ideal lifestyle shot makes all the difference for busy editors who need a header shot for the story. In fact, journalists are 6X more likely to open pitches with multimedia, that’s a huge improvement when you consider that over half of journalists receive 50-100 pitches, PER DAY.

Images are the most common multimedia inclusions, but you can stand out with infographics, and social media posts too.

And data. Data is key. 39% of journalists want relevant data in the pitch. The funds for investigative polling are all but gone, if you conduct a consumer or industry poll and have fresh data, that’s news. And you can use that data in multiple ways, both for your own inside strategic planning and to secure media coverage.

Affiliate Links…For Journalists?

It’s not exactly news that media outlets are reshaping their revenue sources. Modern PR agencies understand the world is moving faster than ever and everyone in the media space is pressed for time and revenue.

For CPG or DTC products, having an affiliate program for media outlets increases the chances your product will get coverage in round-ups. Almost all media outlets are using affiliate links on their coverage, everyone from the Today Show to your local morning show. Being able to include an affiliate link in the coverage means your product may receive multiple pieces of coverage from one pitch.

 

Help Journalists Write Google-Friendly Reviews

When a journalist writes a review that Google loves, it’s good for you both. So why not do everything in your power to work with them? Google has very specific parameters around a quality product review, give journalists what they need and they’ll remember you next time.

Be Story Ready

When every company says it’s unique or revolutionary, it’s not eye-catching anymore. In fact, 100% of journalists roll their eyes when they see those words, because about .05% of the time, it’s true.

If you’re looking to leverage PR for things like features or newsjacking, be ready to help shape, inform and create the stories that will be attractive to the media. Even if you really DON’T have “any competitors,” you STILL need a story to get deeper more important coverage.

One PR professional said it best in an anonymous interview with Digiday: “It’s not enough to just be a disruptive DTC brand anymore. Brands need to figure out who they are, why they’re doing something so innovative and then work with us to tell that story.”

Your PR company needs to know that when they schedule a meeting with a journalist, you will respond promptly. 1 in 4 journalists will block a publicist who fails to respond within the same day or a given deadline. If you’re not able to be available for journalists, say that upfront, to save face with journalists.

 

In Conclusion:

Working with journalists is a lot like working with influencers. It’s important to treat the media with professionalism and humility and when you do so, tips for CPG media coverage will all converge into more media coverage of better quality.

 

All statistics are from Cision State of Media Report 2022, unless otherwise noted. 

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