SOCIAL MEDIA
BeReal surpasses Instagram in weekly downloads
… Or, to put it another way, the app went from “unknown” to the most popular app on the App Store in the US.
Big gains: Just nine months ago, Instagram was getting nearly 100 times more downloads than BeReal.
But BeReal got 6.5M new downloads between July and August—nearly 2M more downloads than Instagram!
Pics or it didn’t happen: Not surprisingly, Instagram is prototyping its own version of a feature that asks users to take candid photos at specific times… you know, like BeReal.
Why we care: While BeReal hasn’t figured out how to monetize the platform, with the traction it’s getting, that seems like a matter of time.
As a marketer, you’ll want to have an early mover advantage. Keep a close eye on the platform.
If you can figure out how to use it for your own marketing purposes, you’ll reap the rewards.
Now introducing podcasts
Fire up that mic and adjust your headset…
Twitter announced they’ve begun integrating podcasts with the redesigned Spaces tab, meaning you may soon find your favorite audio creators on the platform.
Sounds pretty good: Twitter says the redesigned Spaces tab will include personalized hubs that recommend podcasts based on your interests and Twitter interactions.
Users can also customize the experience by upvoting podcasts they’d like to see more of, and vice-versa.
It will also feature popular and engaging podcasts from around the world.
Who can see it: The new Spaces tab should be visible to a select global English-speaking audience on iOS and Android.
Why we care: If the podcasts experiment succeeds, it will be another opportunity to distribute podcast content or promote your brand on Twitter with relevant podcast ads.
And while we’re on the topic of ads…
SPONSORED BY OMNEKY
Double your ROAS with ads that make customers feel seen and understood
Ever come across an ad so good, you actually felt emotional… or had to buy the product right away?
That’s what Omneky does.
Omneky helped Yotta, an investing app, reduce cost per registration by 55% and double the rate of connected bank accounts on Facebook, Google and programmatic television.
It helped Runa HR, a B2B SAAS company, decrease cost per leads by 90% on Facebook and Google.
Omneky creates personalized creatives tailored to hit your prospects right in their hearts and minds.
It mixes deep learning, top creators, and billions of data points from marketing to find and generate the precise language and design that is most relevant to the needs and desires of your audience.
In one click, you can launch ad creatives that have optimal angles, video length, color choices, sequence, and copy.
… And that makes scaling your campaigns so much easier.
INFLUENCER MARKETING
Calm is a $2B media empire. Here’s what you can learn from their influencer partnership model
Today, meditation app Calm has over 120M downloads and $23M in in-app revenue.
Lots of smart marketing moves enabled Calm to leapfrog its competitors and become the go-to app for chilling the heck out.
But the one tactic stands out to us was their use of influencer partnerships.
In the saturated meditation apps market, Calm needed a way to stand out.
So instead of developing content on their own, they decided to get celebrities to do it for them.
Here are just two of the ideas they came up with:
- LeBron James prepping users for a big event with his own calming tips.
- Matthew McConaughey reading a bedtime story.
This kind of influencer power gave Calm brand awareness and credibility. It also had a ripple effect with users who joined organically, because it featured their favorite celebrities.
And as a result, Calm also got high quality organic PR coverage and reliable backlinks going to partnership pages. Powerful stuff.
Here’s how you can replicate their strategy without investing millions on celebrity features:
First, find experts in your niche. Map out thought leaders from your website and rank them according to which metric is most important to you: followers, authority, etc.
Then, figure out the connection between you and experts. You may have a relationship with experts that already know the people in your list. Use that to build a good pitch.
Brainstorm creative campaigns you can do together. Think of how the experts can fit into your particular brand. For Calm, it was calming content. What can your partnership content look like?
… And finally, make sure both you and the creator benefit from the partnership. This increases the chances of getting partners willing and able to help you, and makes the relationships more profitable for everyone involved.
Best of luck as you build your own media empire!
SPONSORED BY AFFILIATE BUSINESS CLUB
Meet top super affiliates, e-commerce, and online entrepreneurs in sunny Portugal
World-class networking. Trading experiences with peers. And having a lot of fun… all in one, beautiful place.
We’re talking about the Affiliate Business Club Conference in Lisbon on October 17, 2022.
There will be affiliate and e-commerce marketers from all over the world, industry-leading companies, well-known exhibitors, and top speakers and influencers.
Affiliate Business Club is known for delivering outstanding events.
And for this conference, they’re hosting the event inside an old convent. Want to join?
You’ll find all the conference details here.
THE CREW’S INSIGHTS
Five psychological levers you can use to boost conversions
In previous newsletters, we’ve talked about how you can use logical fallacies to nudge customers to take action.
Today, we’re covering a different sort of logical fallacy: “Appeal To” fallacies.
These are fallacies that increase the perceived value of something by appealing to another thing, often without providing hard evidence.
Successful marketing campaigns use these principles all the time.
Here are five of them:
1. Appeal to tradition. This is when you claim something is good, or true, because it’s always been this way. Meditation apps do this by appealing to Buddhist tradition.
2. Appeal to popular belief. When you assume something is true because lots of people believe it, you’re appealing to popular belief. A line of copy that reads “everyone knows that major cell carriers are bad” is appealing to popular belief.
3. Appeal to fear. This is common in marketing—getting your prospect to feel scared of something that might happen if they don’t buy your product. A legal compliance product might warn that you’re at risk of major penalties if you don’t buy their product.
4. Appeal to nature. An all-natural deodorant might appeal to nature by claiming that their product is what people were “meant to use,” implying that their product is better because it’s connected to the natural world.
5. Appeal to wishful thinking. A hair growth product might appeal to the wishful hopes of their prospects, claiming that their product is truly the only way to regrow your hair and gain your confidence back. Because people want to believe it, they often will.
So there you are. Five more psychological principles you can use in your marketing.
Why are we talking about this so much lately? Because we wrote an entire report on this stuff, which you can preview here.
ROUNDING UP THE STACK
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E-COMMERCE: Shopping carts curated by… celebrities? Yep! Instacart’s new feature helps you find shopping inspiration by browsing the wishlisted products of famous influencers. Sounds like a new influencer marketing opportunity…
BUSINESS: You’ve heard of Buy now, pay later (BNPL), right? Get ready for Donate now, pay later (DNPL). A new company helps you donate to charitable causes by lending money that users pay back in equal, interest-free installments. Nice.
E-COMMERCE: Drop it like it’s hot. Brands used to announce products. Now they just “drop” them. Product drops are on the rise and they’re not going anywhere soon. Prepare your countdown clocks, influencer announcements, and collabs…
*This is a sponsored post.
BRAIN TEASER
I cut hair every day, but my hair stays the same. Who am I?
You can find the answer here.
POOLSIDE CHAT
Cool tech, (funny) business, lifestyle and all the other things marketers like to chat about while sipping cocktails by the pool.
Drink more alcohol, please
You don’t hear this kind of plea often.
… especially not from a federal agency.
But that’s exactly what Japan’s National Tax Agency urged its citizens to do in a bid to improve tax revenue that fell off during the pandemic.
The agency is looking for strategies to incentivize citizens aged 20–39 years to… drink more. And they’re encouraging citizens to imbibe at home, among other things.
How about a drinking game where you take a shot every time Facebook flags your ads for no reason?
Sounds like the perfect way to get the alcohol flowing…