Brief #28: Why Facebook Live Streams are up 50% since January

When you bring two unique brands together, the impact can be exponential – if it's done right. 

In an article by The Drum, Simon Cotterrell shares, “while currently many companies innovate in isolation from their peers, from a customer's perspective, not only are brand partnerships fast becoming more intuitive, they could soon be regarded as the more preferred.  

From a macro-economic perspective, and even an environmental perspective (the Greta effect will return), resource-sharing also makes the most sense.” 

Switch your mindset from ‘why collaborate' to ‘how' and work with relevant partners – customers, fans, influencers, brands – to cross-promote and solve bigger problems.

Social video shopping

Facebook Live streams have risen by 50% since January as people shifted online to stay connected. Now, Facebook and Instagram are among social media platforms experimenting with Live shoppable features.

Teespring published multiple guides with examples of successful marketing techniques to sell merchandise across various social platforms and dives into topics like social proof and crowdsourcing.

The rise of video consumption, social commerce, and user-generated content all present new opportunities to collaborate with micro- and nano-influencers. Marketers can collect and repurpose feedback, stories, tutorials, interviews, and testimonials at scale – and repurpose this content across multiple touchpoints. 

"Making UGC shoppable on Facebook or TikTok is just the beginning of how retailers should be using powerful word-of-mouth marketing,” TrueLoyal shares. “Look beyond the walled garden of these platforms to implement an omni-channel social commerce strategy, starting with your own website."

Build smarter partnerships

In Southeast Asia, Unilever is working with hotels, restaurants, and ride-sharing companies to sell hygiene products – considering that safe and strict cleaning procedures are now a priority around the world. 

Unilever is also pushing for a more sustainable future, repurposing user-generated content (UGC) on Instagram to highlight polls, stories, and interviews with experts. 

Check out this “Ask a Scientist” series where Unilever asked a packaging expert how they created recycled Magnum ice cream tubs (and ‘recycled' this content as social assets):

Strategic partnerships with relevant brands, fans, and experts can potentially solve big, global challenges – from the pandemic to hunger, inequality, and climate change. And by building relationships and embracing UGC, brands can share relevant content – while alleviating production headaches.

What we're learning...

• In the U.S., dozens of brands will advertise job openings instead of sales this Labor Day
• LinkedIn published an insightful guide to help marketers use its ad tools – from awareness to conversion
• Forbes states smart marketing isn't afraid to show feelings and emotional IQ matters in relationship-building and customer experience
• The Social Commerce Specialist is a marketing role of the future (a future that is already here)
• CMOs for hire: Hootsuite is seeking its next Chief Marketing Officer and Bud Light is hiring a Chief Meme Officer. Is this the new ‘CMO?'

#brandcrush: Mattress Firm

Each week in #brandcrush we highlight exceptional brands that are channeling their customers' voice to connect more authentically with their audience.

If you've been on the road lately, you may have noticed there are more camper vans driving around than usual. 

Mattress Firm, a traditional brick-and-mortar business, has to compete with online-only retailers, so they had a choice to make: create their own campaign or capitalize on an existing trend and ‘own' that space. 

It chose the latter. 

Mattress Firm joined the #VanLife movement and launched Sleep.com – the ‘go-to website' for advice on wellness, design for sleep spaces, and technology to help you sleep better. 

To embrace #VanLife, Mattress Firm partnered with VanDOIt (a van sales and leasing company) to journey on a 1,078-mile road trip across Texas and explore its effects on physical and mental wellbeing – a unique move for a mattress company. 

In its article, Dreamy Camper Van Beds Giving Us Major Wanderlust – which aims to inspire people's van conversions – Mattress Firm shares stories and photos by five van owners who discuss how they built their camper van beds with its mattresses (i.e. UGC).

This was a great way for Mattress Firm to weave social proof with unique and personal stories. 

So, what did we learn from Mattress Firm? 

• Considering over 8 million Instagram images have been tagged with #VanLife since 2011, Mattress Firm joined an existing community with a loyal fan base
• Mattress Firm moved from a traditional brick-and-mortar to compete and be more relevant online
• Mattress Firm differentiated itself by teaching wellness, design, and technology
• And Mattress Firm collaborated with strategic partners and creators to share fresh perspectives.

If you'd like to learn more about increasing eCommerce sales with UGC and social media, here's a good webinar.