Saba Ghaffari

LET'S NORMALIZE TRANSPARENCY ON CONTENT MONETIZATION I manage the Snapchat of a handful of creators - the below data reflects a SINGLE 3 minute Snapchat episode comprised of 3 shortform Tiktoks. This is a major reason why I think Snapchat still represents such a golden opportunity for agencies and creators to monetize shortform content- the fact that a single video (only 180 seconds!) can be making a client AND agency an average of $500 a month each even after 9 months is astounding to me. Over $4,000 profit to both client and agency with only 1.3M impressions. (and the creator didn't have to lift a finger- I am just repurposing content they've already made) Now imagine how big these numbers get month after month for a channel that's uploading 15-20 episodes a month. It doesn't take a genius to run a successful Snapchat channel - I knew nothing about this platform when I got involved about a year ago. What's stopping you?

20

3 Comments

🛑 Stop roaming the internet streets looking for inspiration. Instead, hand off your digital content creation to our creative experts and finally get the well-rested night's sleep you deserve! Stop stressing and start dreaming again! Let’s chat about your content needs. #CrushCreative #BayArea #SmallBusiness #DigitalMarketing #ContentCreation #Wellness

4

PRSA Los Angeles brought together our region's top voices in media to discuss L.A.'s rapidly changing media landscape. Here are a few of my key takeaways from the great panel discussion: 🗞 Have a strategic media relations plan; make sure the stations and publications on your outreach list are a good fit for the news or story you are pitching. When trying to decide where to pitch, think about who the news story will resonate with. Ask yourself if that media outlet reaches that audience, then make sure the angle of your pitch demonstrates value and has real substance. 🎯 Don't blast your press release to everyone on your contact list. It will do more damage than help you achieve your goal of coverage. A generic pitch turns a lot of broadcast assignment managers, reporters and editors off. Take the time to personalize your media outreach and be sincere. Don't waste people's time with news that they can't or won't cover. ✏ Do your homework on the person you are pitching. Don't just know what beat they cover, read their stories! Get to know the style of their segments, writing and reporting. Understand the topics and sub-topics that matter to them and their readers. Also, be aware of story timing in the news cycle. 👨‍💻 AI will never replace human storytellers, but it will drive efficiency in newsrooms. Ethics in journalism and public relations will prevail; we need to be hyper-vigilant to ensure AI doesn't contribute to misinformation. Humans will always be the chief curators of authentic storytelling. Also, if you're letting AI write your press release and pitches -- just don't. Reporters are smarter than that and can tell. 🌎 Diversity matters, a lot. California has one of the most diverse populations in the world. People need to be able to see themselves in the news and stories we create and share. Think about representation. How can you make it easier for reporters to lift up unheard voices and bring forward new perspectives. Think about language-specific versions of your news, and having imagery and b-roll that caters to different audiences. Thank you to Armando Barragan at ABC7 Los Angeles; Hector Becerra at LA Times; Cora Jackson-Fossett at Los Angeles Sentinel and LA Watts Times Newspapers; Lori Streifler at City News Service; and Susan Hirasuna at FOX 11 Los Angeles. Also, shout out to the City of Beverly Hills communications team for hosting this event at your beautiful City Hall!

15

1 Comment

Let's talk about effective TikTok Shop commission optimization. 📈 Here is a small snapshot of 2x 456 Growth Talent-managed creators with the support of 25th Hour Social (our affiliate-focused entity) and their activity this month on TTS. 1️⃣Focus on under-promoted products from brands that can deliver on their promise of amazing products, shipping, and customer service. The wrong TTS brand partners can create massive negative repercussions. ❌📦 2️⃣ Identify brands committed to amplifying content and fueling the discovery algorithm. Great content will land in the For You Feed organically, and a strong paid media focus will accelerate impressions, driving commissions. 🚀📲 3️⃣ The right brand partners and TikTok Shop videos will be commission drivers for several months at a time (Passive, residual revenue is a life-changer). Once you build the pyramid and don’t have to worry about the infrastructure, you can rely on increasing its height. 💰🏗️ 4️⃣ Validate yourself as a recurring GMV driver and use that data-first approach to leverage higher off-campaign commission rates with brands that see your historical value. This will increase your average monthly commission takeaway and break you out from the normal 10%-20% range with 30%+ outliers. 📊📈 5️⃣ GMV, commission, and items sold don’t have to align. TTS is definitely one of the strongest customer acquisition tools at the moment with fairly low CPA’s. Leverage variable price point products, shops that sell packages, and even variable product categories to create universal reach and accelerate GMV and commission optimization. 🛍️🔍 This week, we had a TTS-first brand engaging in influencer marketing only via TikTok Shop email us directly about what else the creator can leverage on social platforms and partnership-wise to optimize customer acquisition and revenue growth from an omni-channel presence. 🌐 This will be interesting to see how TikTok Shop-first brands transition into omni-channel influencer marketing-focused entities and how TikTok Shop-first affiliate creators grow their omni-platform audiences and amplify their affiliate and flat-fee partnership opportunities simultaneously. 📧🤝 Thoughts? 💬 #TikTokShop #AffiliateMarketing #GMV #CreatorEconomy #InfluencerMarketing

22

Launching Bubba News has been a lot different than IJReview or Axios. When I was helping them get started, it felt like there was so much focus on growth or the business. With Bubba News, we’ve been exclusively focused on the editorial product and have yet to do any marketing whatsoever. Subsequently, we’ve seen really steady, purely organic growth from referrals. We’re still relatively small, but by focusing on our editorial quality, we’ve managed to attract and retain a list made up of Fortune 100 executives, the editors of major publications, agency founders, a slew of political and media consultants and operatives, and maybe most important to me personally, plenty of friends from back home or that I’ve made along the way. We’re about to get started with a real marketing push, so we will have to see how that goes, but this chart (last quarter growth) has given me lots of hope that we’re on to something. https://www.bubba.news/

94

9 Comments

The creator economy is full of payment horror stories. Today's conversation highlights the irrelevance of contracted terms and how many brands are playing with monopoly money. Does this sound familiar to anyone? 💡 #CreatorEconomy #InfluencerMarketing #PaymentIssues

19

9 Comments

When Dwayne Johnson, aka The Rock, launched Teremana Tequila, it wasn't just about selling a product. It was about sharing a story of community, quality, and authenticity. 🌍 "Teremana" blends the Latin "terra" (earth) and the Polynesian "mana" (spirit), echoing Johnson’s heritage and the brand's essence. The marketing spotlighted the meticulous tequila-making process and values of hard work and perseverance. Marketing Lessons: 1. Storytelling: Teremana’s success lies in its compelling narrative. Effective storytelling can transform a product into a beloved brand. 📚 2. Community Engagement: Johnson’s extensive engagement with his audience—from behind-the-scenes videos of the production process to personal anecdotes—fostered a sense of community and connection. 🤝 3. Quality and Transparency: Emphasizing the quality and craftsmanship behind Teremana Tequila built trust and loyalty among consumers. 🔍 Impact: 📈 Sales Surge: Teremana Tequila quickly became a bestseller. This was largely due to Johnson’s effective use of storytelling and his ability to connect with his audience on a personal level. 📊 Market Data: According to recent reports, Teremana's sales increased by 35% in the first year, demonstrating the power of authenticity and community engagement in marketing. ✨ Brand Loyalty: The focus on quality and transparency has resulted in a 25% increase in repeat purchases, highlighting the importance of trust in brand loyalty. Key Takeaways: 1. Authentic storytelling can elevate a brand 2. Community engagement fosters strong connections 3. Quality and transparency build consumer trust and loyalty #MarketingMasterstrokes #BrandStorytelling #CommunityEngagement #Authenticity #QualityMatters #DwayneJohnson #TeremanaTequila #MarketingStrategy #BrandLoyalty #MarketingTips

6

1 Comment

Brand Breakdown: La La Land Kind Cafe 😊 I live in Los Angeles... the pinnacle of trends, brands, and culture. And there are SO many brands here that deserve recognition for how above & beyond they go. This week, I'm walking you through La La Land Kind Cafe, my favorite coffee spot to work from in LA. Here's why they crush: 🙂 Brand Identity The brand is "in the business of kindness." They literally call themselves the 'Kind Cafe' because they envision a world where EVERYONE is kind to each other. Kindness is at the root of everything they do. 🙂 Visual Identity La La Land leans into yellows, creams, and browns to cue happiness. They took the original smiley face and made it THAT much better. 🙂 Merch Strategy I might be bias but... La La Land crushes merch. Every time I bring a new friend in, they go "ugh I need one of these hats." They merch you would actually want to wear. ... it also helps that they keep the merch on a rack next to where you line up to order. Smart. 😂 🙂 Social Strategy La La Land isn't a regular coffee shop on social. Yes, they promote their new drinks. But they also sprinkle in positive affirmations. AND they have a series called "Drive By Kindness" where they shout compliments out of their car to strangers. 🙂 Mission The Kind Cafe puts their money where their mouth is. They hire & mentor foster youth as one of the ways they give back to the community. And their brand strategy is clearly working... La La Land Kind Cafe just opened their 12th location in Plano, TX in March! I expect them to be all over the map pretty soon. --- Follow Ali Kaltman more brand breakdowns, and DM if there are any LA brands you think I should cover! (And yes... I know La La Land started in TX, but it's only in TX and CA, so wanted to share!) #brandbreakdown #LAlocal #brandmarketing

22

3 Comments

UGC creators should be on red alert. UGC is turning AI-GC. We've been sharing our thoughts on AI disruption on Influencer Marketing, and predicted UGC was the most vulnerable category of the creator economy, the most susceptible to transformation. Now Techcrunch reports that TikTok will allow brands to create UGCs (more like AI GCs) with genAI. What does this mean for creators? What does this mean for brands and agencies? Will YouTube and IG follow? https://lnkd.in/dU-iPaBK

3

If you are on TikTok shop, you may have noticed a nuke of an update that was dropped today. There's now a limit on how many creators you can reach out to based on your store's weekly GMV. Here's what this means: - Many new sellers are going to have a harder time getting off the ground - More than ever, organic performance follows paid. You MUST invest into paid ads as a foundational tactic to get the flywheel spinning. This has been true but now going organic-only isn't going to work. - Bands out of the gates could focus on paid relationships at first with pay per deliverable. Offer $50-100 flat rate plus commission for posts with spark codes. You can tap your existing relationships, or leverage tools like Insense on top of TikTok's platform to acquire spark codes. - We noticed that cap is only for open collab DMs. Sellers can still leverage target collabs (1000's of invites per day) to reach out to affiliates. - For those that approach TikTok Shop with the right strategy, this will be a benefit because there will be less noise and competition at the top. For those that don't, RIP. #tiktokshop

23

2 Comments

PSA for my friends at #Meta!!! The Instagram Creator Marketplace has insane potential with a couple of easy to implement changes. I promise this will make EVERYONE (Brands, Agencies, Creators and Meta) more money. CC: Meta Instagram Facebook Insights: We're using it more and more and it's great for getting the conversation started, but you have to take it further. Please make it easier to share products creators can tag and then allow us to split commissions. I promise if you do this more brands and agencies will use it. Right now it's just used to move the creators off platform and not being able to give them access to tagging products when building campaigns is a huge opportunity. ... Also please allow us to invite more than 20 creators to a campaign at a time. 😆 #Instagram #creator #advertisingandmarketing #creatoreconomy #socialcommerce #influencermarketing

40

4 Comments

Exciting news! It was just announced today that starting this week, #Meta will begin to roll out #HorizonWorlds to people in all Meta Quest markets in supported languages. Now more people can connect with each other around the globe. 🥳 Here’s the details: 🔹Expanding access to everyone 13+ in Meta Quest-supported markets (14+ in South Korea and Spain). 🔹Opening up access to Worlds on headsets as well as mobile devices and the web. It will be a slow roll out over the next few months, so you may not have access right away. 🔹Meta protections, safety defaults, and parental supervision tools are translated into Meta Quest-supported languages to support a safe and engaging experience for everyone. 🔹Meta will continue to expand localization over time, including within individual worlds. Currently, creator tools are only available in English, but anyone can create Worlds in their preferred language using the localized keyboard. List of Meta Quest markets: https://lnkd.in/gytRJ_Vz Hey Andy Fidel ✨ It looks like we need to host a #GetSocial worldhop soon! 😉 #socialvr #community #diversity #expansion #xr

45

13 Comments

Remember the creator economy craze? Get ready for the producer economy – A single "rockstar" or "unicorn" (as we like to call them) driving projecs forward, powered by AI and the independent network. Leveraging platforms like Jauntboards. Article predictions: 1. Producers will eliminate the need for project management tools like Asana and Monday.com. 2. Producers will drive project scoping, planning, and execution. At any given point, they'll decide: am I going to do this myself, collaborate with AI, or tap a resource? 3. Producers will come from all kinds of backgrounds, not just the ones you think. Read the article to learn more 👇 And if you feel like this describes you, I want to hear about it ✨

24

6 Comments

🎥 In another episode of the return of long-form content, TikTok is experimenting with allowing users to upload videos up to 60 minutes long! 📺 But the vertical format, lack of extensive UGC monetization and their recent restructuring around publishers could mean this initiative is really targeting media publishers who use Tiktok, rather than challenging YouTube for user-generated content dominance. #TikTok #socialmedia #creatoreconomy

11

I honestly think we're at the end of the Renaissance for TTRPG's and it'll be a very important stage for the entire industry. Historically the tabletop space has not handled post boom markets well and we've seen significant shake up and loss of IP, which is what really lead to consolidation around the DnD name. We're seeing much less OFFICIAL support in the market and a LOT more third party and independent support. The oft forgotten metric here is that brick and mortar stores are the lifeblood for the hobby and we're seeing more and more locations shut down, limiting access to the hobby as a whole. The forced migration to online spaces has been a boon, but that check will come due at some point and the lack of physical support will be a stifling factor if not addressed.

1

Kudos to our own Greg Mize and Franco García for concepting and spearheading this promo and Insung Kim and Daniel Easley for the knockout creative. Outside of the facts that I am an indie rock fan, a vinyl aficionado, and have been known to frequent record stores (shout outs to Criminal Records, Wuxtry Records-Athens, SCHOOLKIDS RECORDS, and my childhood haunt RTO in Dunedin, Florida) here's why I love this promo: - It doesn't work without collaboration and partnership with our All-Star pitcher Spencer Strider. He is committed to the idea, and as the linear notes below describe, is passionate about local independent music and the Atlanta music scene. As team marketers, we strive to connect our players, with their permission, more deeply with our fans. Spencer is sharing his love of music and it is resonating. - This is both a gate giveaway AND an experience. On top of the vinyl giveaway, these bands will play a free post game show in our plaza and Spencer will host their performance. While the vinyl giveaway requires a ticket to receive it, the concert is not ticketed and open to the public. It's entirely possible we draw two different audiences for the same promo night. - From its launch a few hours ago, I am already seeing this promo take our brand into interesting places. We've heard from other artists, music venues, independent record stores, and creative types who have been struck by this promo. I'm excited to see what unexpected collaborations and opportunities will emerge from this. - There's been a lot of complexity to get this done. I applaud Greg for persevering. It's easy NOT to do something, especially when there's no need to do it. We could've rolled out a safe promo and conducted business as usual. But here we live by the creative mantra of "Wouldn't it be cool if?!?!?" rather than, "My only concern is..." We are better for it. So I am excited to get this program launched and see where it goes. Come check it out August 7th!

97

21 Comments