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Valentine's Day is another huge opportunity for you as a DTC brand. This is a big consumer spending period - and it’s coming soon!Really, you should have planned out Q1 by nowBrands usually run this campaign for 14-20 daysAnd end it on the date of their last day of guaranteed shipping February 14thSo it's not a massive window to scale, so you need to be accurate from the get-goYou need to plan.But if you're running late, we're going to share some ideas and help you get a hyper-profitable marketing campaign live in no time!Below are proven concepts you can get inspiration from that will get platform spend and help you scale quickly.REMEMBER:This is a gifting holiday - people buy for other peopleSo you may need to switch up your core avatar in the ad creativeFor Female gifting Male for masculine products and vice versaCheck out these graphic designs that did well for us last V-Day or we think we would do well as a concept:1. The Google search bar has been widely used but it's so powerful as it calls out those who are SEARCHING for answers.Perfect opportunity to use it in this Valentine's Day context.Don't forget a good OFFER can sway the click and purchase.

2. The Bundle Builder is always going to give you the best chance to be profitable, but tying it into a V-Day pun is clever and works!Especially with a play on "Coupling"Think of pairing products, mixing and matching, one for each couple, etc but tie it back into the Valentine's Couple as reasoning for doing the offer.

3. Testimonial Graphic. These are always a good staple to have in your creative setup.You can easily finesse any past creatives or seek out the best gifting reviews from your site to produce a specific gifting-focused testimonial from a happy customer.Add a few hearts and an "XOXO" website code for 20% off and you're set!

There are many other concepts and ideas you can integrate into Valentine's graphicsAnd we haven't even gotten started on the UGC video concepts!Just remember how GIFTING focused this term isDon't neglect the punsAnd remember, GALENTINES DAY trends pretty hard too!Good luck!Paul

When you have a goal, the best plan is to just move forward and make adjustments based on feedback as you go. Most people overanalyze the task ahead or the goal and therefore never actually start moving some people call it analysis paralysis.They think that something is too out of reach. A missile moves forward and then course corrects repeatedly until it meets its target.It doesn't take off in the perfect direction at the very start and you can use this principle in your ad creative planning too.So start with a concept, build to that concept, send it live, gather results, make adjustments and iterations, maybe like new hooks for the first three seconds or new offers or play on the same concept but with different variations. You could even switch out different avatars for similar concepts or maybe loads of the concepts flop and you chop that off the experience and you don't run those again, but don't fail to start or overanalyze just put something out and make adjustments based on the feedback that you get back and then go ham and double down on the ones that win.Watch the video here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cz9MM5xouvw/

Here's a quick concept that we call the MULTIPLIER EFFECT. Essentially, once we create a core video concept, when we shoot it, we actually create lots of different hooks inside of that shoot day.Or maybe we shoot lots of different offers or lots of different USPs.Then once we build that video, when we're actually delivering this video, maybe we've created three concepts, but we shot 10 hooks.Well, 3 videos with 10 hooks each.That's 30 videos!That's your multiplier effect.

A great thing about the multiplier effect is when you over deliver, it gives you more options to test, which gives you more chance of success.So try that really, really simple multiplier effect though every time you're creating multiple videos, create even more hooks.Here’s the video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CztigxQIdJy/

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In a world where everyone is doing video ads. You need something to stand out a bit.You need to be a bit more interesting than your competitor - and you can!From over $4,000,000 spent on ad creative testing, here are 3 ways to get more value out of your creatives.3 things you need to make your video ads interesting 

1. SPECIFICITY

The video needs to be specific, aka you should be creating a very thought-out persona or your brand's key avatar, and then building that video with them top of mind. This one thing will put you miles ahead of everyone else who builds general video content. A specifically targeted video that is relatable automatically becomes more interesting. 

2. THE AESTHETIC

A lovely-looking video that is on brand with the style, text, and audio is going to make your video stand out ahead of competitors who don't think about this detail. Choose your creator wisely to make sure they understand creative aesthetics or take time to plan your shots - what's in them and what's not. A more pleasing viewing experience will make your video more interesting.3. RE-ENGAGE 

This is the KEYOnce you get the attention of the viewer and stopped them in their scroll, you need to consistently reengage them throughout the video with interesting visuals and information.Book a call if you want us to try this with your brand: https://calendly.com/life-like-media-sales/creative-discovery-call

A winning creative has to be malleable. If we take a video and we put it live and it does well, we want to be able to turn it into another variation quickly and effeictently for testing.Some people get themselves backed into the corner.They make something that's just one dimensional, it doesn't have opportunity for variation or perhaps they didnt shoot any extra shots or sentences to allow for variationsThis means they need to put a lot of time and a lot of energy into making another version.Not ideal.Enter creative remix framework.What we do when we're creating, is always in the back of our mind, even from the scripting to the briefing, we're thinking about how we can make more versions if this the first batch of ads do wellEasiest win for creating variation is shooting extra hooks.We shoot plenty of extra hook varitations and ideas and we can stick these ontot the front of the video we make. 1 video plus 5 new hooks = 6 videos.We're also thinking of the different USPs of the product which could be swapped in and out.An easy win for this is positive spins vs negative spins.Problems and solutions.We're thinking about that when we're making the creative and scripting the shoot day, because then if one pops off, we could actually make four or five or six more versions of that for scaling.We've called it the creative remix framework so we can just remix those creatives.

Most creators are amazing at creating aesthetic videos and they look great. But if you want to make more money, get more clients and keep them for longer,you need to change how you think about content.We hire people just like you so I know exactly what we're looking for so we're hiring creators. Unfortunately, purely aesthetic videos do not make sales for brands so I'm going to tell you exactly what to make.[caption id="attachment_4211" align="alignnone" width="300"]

 [/caption]A lot of the time, the prettier videos actually perform worse because the less aesthetic ones follow this framework. We call it marketing messaging and it's the most important aspect that we look for or when we're looking to work with creators. You need to think of your content like a sales tool.First you want to make a strong hook that's gonna stop the scroll.That's the first three seconds of the video.You can have an incredible video but if the person who's looking to watch it doesn't actually stop scrolling, they're never gonna see it.Bonus points, if the hook is super relevant to the avatar you're targeting.Second, you need to re-engage them immediately.So you've just got them to stop and I need to get them to stay potentially by using something like a pain point that you're gonna solve.And that's why it's key to know who you're speaking to so you know how to re-engage them.That pain point is what`s gonna get the attention so that you can queue up all the reasons why they should buy your product.AKA provide the solution.Once you've got them emotionally bought in with your messaging you're much more likely to hold them in that video and you're much more likely gonna get a click of buying intent at the end. Which brings me to my last point.You need a strong offer.

So if someone's watched your video, it's now time to make sure that they click and purchase. That happens in a great call to action and an offer.Try that with your next video, Hook, Pain Point, Solution and Offer.Here's the video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzeLTYSq7EW/

So you've heard of UGC? Have you heard of PGC? Podcast Generated Content?I 've seen it brands like HISMILE and other big brands where they have the podcast studio a set up just to talk about the brand.Or they're sending the brand to podcasters to talk about it, like a casual conversation.“Oh, did you see our product?” or “Did you see that thing?”“Did you notice that thing X that's happening?”It's a plug, but it;s light. It’s candid.Then they use in the podcast format as the ad, perhaps with some broll showing what they are explaing.I think that could be where content is starting to move to or a trend that will definitely come in heavy like UGC did.It's almost like the podcast studio is being used a film set.It's set design more so than the brand actually wanting to make a podcast and publish it every week.Something interesting to think aboutBook a call if you want us to try this with your brand:Here's the video: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cwm1FMsI7qN/

Is there a race to the bottom for creators?Are creators becoming just a commodity now?Well, I would say it depends.In most cases, the difference between really expensive and excellent creators and much cheaper is very little.Perhaps the more expensive ones have, you know, more experience or even just a better portfolio and they back themselves.But often the quality of work is very similar.I can clearly tell a great video versus a per video when I see one.But the greats are becoming much more difficult to find.And I work with dozens and dozens of creators.I've produced thousands of videos and I know what they're worth the value they create for the client.I know the return because we pay them so I can see the value exchange and I know what we're getting back in return.In reality, the creator economy is saturated.I can put out one Tweet or IG Story requesting a creator for a job role and I will receive 100 replies. That's why I think it's a commodity and I think that's a race to the bottom.Most of those replies will be fairly poor creators, over 80%But the 20% that are great, are great for very specific reasons.The goal is to try not find yourself as commodity creatorSo there is good news.If you understand the marketing fundamentals of being a creator, you can increase your value a lot.And we will share exactly how to do that in the next blog post!Here’s the video: https://www.instagram.com/p/CzbmdlaK6Wk/