Good morning. Happy last Friday of 2023!
There were 52 Fridays this year, so be honest, how many Thursdays did you use any or all of the following phrases:
Can we all collectively agree to come up with a new phrase for 2024? 😂
For today’s DTC we’re hitting rewind and revisiting some of our favorite articles this year. Here’s what’s in store for you today:
You’re reading this newsletter along with new subscribers from: Core 2 Soul, King Richardson Logistics, and A Never Ending Basket 👋
This newsletter is brought to you…
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❌ Out:
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Rewind to April 2023:
This past weekend, one of Pilothouse’s co-founders, Kyle Hitchcox, had his newly kitted-out van stolen 😞 A six-month-long project seemingly down the drain.
You’re probably wondering, ‘Why is DTC telling me about a stolen van?’ But this isn’t just the story of theft; it’s a story showcasing the power of the internet, community, social media, and good ol’ media buying.
🚨 Sunday, April 30th: The day of the disappearance.
Shortly after noticing the van was missing, Pilothouse and local communities came together to conjure up organic posts on Reddit and Facebook targeting groups in Victoria, BC.
Kyle put on his thinking hat and said, “Let’s catch these losers.” And thus, the ‘Find Kyle’s Van’ Meta campaign was born (yes, this is an actual campaign with real spend behind it). 🛻
Across the various social media efforts, both paid and organic, the leads started to roll in from all over Vancouver Island.
🐝 Monday, May 1st: The sting.
A local Redditor commented on one of the threads with a sighting. Not across the Island, not in a different part of town, but a mere five blocks from Kyle’s house. Kyle and Archie (his dog) went for a stroll, and sure enough, the lead paid off.
The van looked a little different with a fresh coat of poorly applied white paint, but albeit it was the van
So why did we tell you this story? Because yes, the internet and technology can be scary, overwhelming, and a whole slew of other negative descriptors, but at the end of the day, it’s using our marketing skills, reach, and communities for reasons like this that make it feel so dang good.
💰 Performance marketing: the results
With $300 bucks spent driving six solid leads and about 60k impressions in a day, Kyle’s Cost Per Lead was $50 with a conversion rate of 16%.
The police have since pulled Kyle over, and the officer said it was because of the ad he saw on Facebook.
Rewind to March 2023:
🎧 Today on the DTC pod, we're joined by two ecommerce legends. Helen Crossley, Director of Marketing Science for the Small Business Group at Meta, and Ben Yahalom, President of True Classic.
🚨 Newsflash: Despite concerns around iOS14 updates and privacy changes, the golden days of scaling on Meta are far from over.
Today we're breaking down the five boxes every brand needs to check to be successful on the platform, why Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns (ASC) are the most meaningful product release since the chaos of iOS14, and the creative formula that took True Classic from bootstrapped to nine-figures in two years.
If there’s one podcast you can’t afford to miss, it’s this one. Let’s dive in!
The takeaways 👇
✅ Boxes here, boxes there, checkboxes everywhere
Whether you’re a Meta veteran or a small to medium-sized business looking to gain traction, Helen and her team have set out five key boxes your brand needs to check to maximize your potential with Meta ads.
After analyzing 200k+ campaigns across the platform, Helen says each point below should be part of your strategic roadmap.
🤖 The advantage of Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns
Once you have a lot of creative, a product with a broad audience, and a decent budget to play with, Helen suggests starting to explore Advantage+ Shopping Campaigns. 🛍️
Think of Advantage+ like an AI ads assistant. Although many fear the AI takeover, Ben highlights the benefits of relinquishing control to the machines.
Advantage+ allows for better and more scalable performance, so start delegating tasks to the bots to elevate things you can impact.
🧠 Dang, that’s creative
Ben and True Classic believe that creative is the single biggest asset within your control to move that needle. Your Meta ad creatives aren’t driven to success through colors and aesthetic — it’s about truly understanding your customer, their motivations and barriers, and who and why they’re buying for.
Lean into a psychology-based approach, utilize UGC for social proof, and make it all about that sale sticker in times of high-sale intent. The customer doesn’t care about your brand and if you’re making money, they just know they have a problem, and your ads should prove your product can solve it.
This podcast is jam-packed with advice for brands just starting out (and mistakes to avoid), including how to measure and evaluate your ad success, leaning into and testing Meta best practices, triangulating your data, how to become a brand that spends six figures on Meta per day, and SO. MUCH. MORE.
👉 Listen to the full episode with Helen and Ben here!
Rewind to September 2023:
If you aren’t already using custom metrics, the Pilothouse Meta team tells us they’re all the rage to gauge your ad performance.
Custom metrics provide media buyers with tons of flexibility as they dig into their data. The team uses custom metrics to calculate thumbstop rate, link click to page view rate, AOV, metrics for Shop, and more!
Interested? We thought so! Custom metrics are simple to implement: 👇
1️⃣ Create a new report or open an existing one.
2️⃣ Open the customize tab on the right > Select metrics
3️⃣ Click the “+ Create” button
4️⃣ Pop in a formula for a metric you’d like to measure!
Now that you’re all set, make sure to share access to everyone in the business. 💪
Looking for some examples like what you see below for Shop CVR? Click here!
We wanted to give a lil shoutout to a few DTC brands we’ve been loving!
🧁 Flings: These healthy toaster pastries are redefining snack time. High-protein and low in sugar, making it a great alternative to Pop Tarts.
👶 Biggest Little: Sustainable playtime squishy toys for babies and toddlers.
🧠 Emotional Utility Beverage: Adaptogenic-based drinks that help boost your mood and manage your stress levels.
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?
Don’t forget to rate the DTC Podcast on Apple (⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️)
Got an awesome DTC brand story to tell? Calling all brand-side founders and team leaders! Fancy joining us on the DTC Podcast as a guest? Tap the link to toss in your application.
DTC Newsletter is written by Rebecca Knight and Frances Du. Edited by Eric Dyck.
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