We recently went LIVE with Shivam K, co-founder of The Teaser Company to know about his journey from a copywriter to an Entrepreneur. In this interactive session, we discussed all there is to know about D2C.
Starting a business from scratch to setting up high conversion ads; Shivam shared his expertise on every aspect of D2C ads for small businesses.
If you missed this informative session, don’t worry, we’ve got you covered!
Before we dive right into high conversion ads, could you please elaborate on what exactly is Ad conversion?
Basically, conversion is the idea of showing your ad to a person, getting them to your eCommerce website, and generating a sale.
It involves the entire journey of showing an ad, getting them to your website, driving them to purchase, and finally converting them into your customers.
But before getting into high conversion ads, you need to know what your positioning is. Positioning is occupying the space in your market wherein you’re addressing the pain point of the problem, introducing your solution, and differentiating it at the same time. The exercise of positioning, no matter at what level you are operating, is important.
What according to you is the one thing that is driving D2C growth in India right now?
The biggest reason why D2C is flourishing in India right now is the huge lifetime value that you get right at the beginning of your business.
You get direct access to different points of the consumer journey. This helps brands to understand their consumers better and curate ads that are tailored for them.
What is the biggest advantage for brands going D2C vs selling on a marketplace?
I’d say it’s the fact that you get complete control of your business and owning your customers. This improves the lifetime value of customers and so your first set of customers turn into brand advocates. And that is how businesses win!
This is the age where millennials want to be more engaged with the brands and are willing to pay for that. D2C brings a huge opportunity for you to have your own brand voice and identity.
Related read: 5 Ways D2C eCommerce brands have an advantage over other businesses
What do you think is more important- Branding or performance marketing for D2C businesses?
First, let me explain what Performance Marketing really is. It is essentially the practice of marketing that converts into numbers.
If you are in the beginning stages of your business, invest in performance marketing first. Get the marketing right and then move into branding.
So yes, marketing comes first.
What is the first thing that businesses should focus on in terms of branding?
For a D2C business more than branding, looking into the pain point and addressing them is more important. If you want to co-exist in a market with your competitor, you must have a USP that is different from theirs.
Take Apple and Sample for example. They cater to the premium market of cellphones. Micromax saw an opportunity to provide the same service at a cheaper price and occupied that space.
Define your positioning in the market first. Branding comes into play a little later after your idea gets validated so then no one comes up and copies your product.
What are the various components to look for while creating a D2C ad?
Typically, there are 3 lenses through which you see through in a D2C ad.
First is the product. You need to have a product window in your ad. Give some space to your product to build the recall right from the beginning.
The second lens is through a consumer. Ask yourself these 2 questions:
- Are you talking in the language that your consumer is speaking or not?
- Are you addressing the problems that your consumers are facing?
Get into the shoes of your consumer and understand what their needs are.
The third is cultural influence. Make sure your cultural values are right, and both you and your audience align on those terms.
How do we get started with D2C ads?
The first thing would be to start your online store on a platform like Instamojo. With your own store, you can track your customers’ demographics and purchases efficiently.
Whereas selling in marketplaces like Amazon or on social media, you cannot track your customers’ journey. So step one would be to create an online store and know your audience better.
Which is the best marketing channel for D2C brands?
In my personal experience, the majority of the customers at the teaser company ask for Facebook and Instagram ads only. While these ads are obviously good, there are more upcoming channels where you focus on if you want to grab the first mover’s advantage.
One such channel is YouTube. Youtube ads have huge potential that still remains unexplored and they have reportedly done very well for some categories and brands. So one should definitely consider going into the depths of it.
Another one is Google Shopping ads. They are neither dependent on display marketing, nor on keyword search. They look for intent within your landing page and that’s how the algorithm works. It is easy to set up and the results are great in the short term.
Among the various ad formats, which type of ad performs the best on social media?
There are different kinds of ads that you can explore based on your business and product. Some of them are-
- Product centric ads
- Testimonial ad
- Video ads
- Review ad
- User-generated content
For the last 2-3 years, Video ads have worked the best across all categories. However, you can pick one or two ways in which you can promote your product and do an ad that actually works for you.
If you are keener on showing the product then a static ad is the way to go. For a D2C brand, the ads that work the best are the ones that don’t look like an ad.
For Example, an ad that is user-generated works better than an expensive ad film. This is because of its relatability and social proof. In India, there is a huge potential for User Generated Content that is untapped and should definitely be explored.
Pro Tip- Get the content done with the help of micro and nano influencers that resonates with your audience and leverage the content through your paid channels.
Do you recommend people to start a D2C business right away?
It depends. If you have an innovative product idea and are keen to occupy a space in the market, then D2C is the way to go about it. On the other hand, if your idea is more common, then you can consider selling in a marketplace first and eventually migrate into D2C
What is the right budget that businesses should keep aside for paid D2C ads?
Before deciding on the budget, you need to identify the channel that works best for your business and ace it there. Don’t engage in multiple channels when you are just starting out. So just pick one channel and give it sufficient time to learn and optimize.
I personally recommend Facebook ads to start with and keep a budget aside from anywhere around ₹1000-3000 a day. Make sure you’re testing enough to understand what kind of communication is working the best for you.
Do you have any tips on how to write d2c ads copies better?
Yes, of course! Here are my 5 tips on how to write an ad that actually works:
- Write for the consumer. Use the word ‘you’ more than ‘we’ in your D2C ads to make it sound more personalized.
- Be as crisp and concise as you can. For example: Instead of saying “Get a flat 10% off on your first purchase” just say “Get 10% off”
- Be bold in using different texts and fonts. Experiment till you know what works best for your business.
- Look for a thumb-stopping approach while making an ad. Try to incorporate a hook in the first 4 seconds that make the user stop and view your ad.
- Lastly, create some kind of urgency either by using facts or social proof to drive action.
TL; DR
Catch the LIVE webinar with Shivam here –
