This week you'll learn:

• 📌 How Pinterest is Boosting Ad Performance

• 📈 Increasing Instagram Sales Naturally

• 👚 Nori’s Revolutionary Clothing Care

• ⚡️ Quick Hits: Snapchat Influencer Strategy, Instagram Video Dominance, and Apple's AI Focus.

Pinterest Boosts Ad Performance with AI

Pinterest is introducing new tools for advertisers, including campaign automations, personalized backgrounds, and shoppable collages. Their new "Performance+" tool uses AI to enhance every aspect of Promoted Pin creation.

Product backgrounds, for instance, are a crucial component of an engaging advertisement. With Pinterest’s AI-generated backgrounds, products are now able to be showcased in an environment that is tuned to each user’s aesthetic preferences, helping users visualize how products fit into their design plans.

Pinterest is also testing shoppable collage ads, allowing advertisers to tag products, making the collage format more shoppable, and promoting these collages as showcase or collection ads.

What It Means

Pinterest's AI-powered tools aim to drive more interest and engagement in their ad offerings. While some marketers may be hesitant to rely on automation, these features show promise in aligning with key platform trends.

Read More: Social Media Today

Sell More on Instagram Organically

Instagram's 2 billion monthly active users make it a powerful platform for businesses to connect with their audience and drive sales organically.

The Power of Instagram

Instagram provides free traffic, advertising, and community for businesses. Kar Brulhart, a social media strategist, emphasizes that Instagram should be the first thing businesses consider, even before their website:

"If you don't have a presence on Instagram, then it's the new calling card. That's the first place that people will go to really understand if you are someone that they want to work with, they want to buy with, what's your story?"

The 'HOP' Organic Selling Method 

Kar's proven "HOP" framework helps businesses sell more on Instagram without relying on paid ads:

• Humble Brags: Share achievements that inspire your audience and establish credibility. Rotate humble brags and testimonials in your content.

• Origin Story: Share your business or personal journey and how it relates to what you offer. Tell your story in various engaging formats.

• Prop Up Your Product/Service: Display your offerings while providing value and education first. Include clear calls-to-action to guide your audience.

By consistently cycling through these content types, businesses can increase engagement, drive conversions, reach new audiences, and spend less time creating content.

Putting it All Together

The "HOP" method creates a natural content cycle that engages your audience at every stage of the buyer's journey. As Kar points out:

"The key is to always think about your content through the lens of your business and audience. Every piece of content you create should serve a specific purpose and tie back to your overall goals and objectives."

By focusing on creating authentic, valuable content that resonates with your target audience, businesses can make the most of Instagram to drive organic sales and sustainable growth.

Read More: Social Media Examiner

Nori's Journey to Disrupt Clothing Care

Nori emerged as a disruptor in the stagnant ironing industry, pioneering innovation where few dared to venture.

CEO and Co-Founder Courtney Toll shares her journey of launching Nori in the face of investor skepticism as she navigated the complexities of hardware manufacturing and retail distribution.

Identifying the Opportunity

Toll's decision to innovate in the ironing and steaming category stemmed from a personal pain point. As a young professional in New York City, she struggled with the lack of effective and affordable clothing care solutions.

"This highlighted the lack of innovation in the ironing and steaming market since the 1980s. So, we set out to create a solution designed for an urban, on-the-go lifestyle, branded and sold directly to consumers. That solution became our hero product, the Nori Press."

Tackling Hardware Challenges

Building a hardware company with a supply chain is complex, especially for a risk-averse founder. Toll's approach involved:

• Staying Employed: She stayed in her corporate job until Nori needed a full-time employee, which allowed time to minimize risks.

• Extensive Research: Toll interviewed over 19 design firms and chose one with experience from brands like Conair, Remington, and Cuisinart.

• Early Fundraising: She secured $300,000 via a convertible note before leaving her job, providing a runway to pursue Nori full-time.

"Taking smaller, tangible steps to de-risk the venture made the entrepreneurial leap much easier."

Succeeding as a Digitally Native Brand

Despite irons being a commodity dominated by big-box retailers, Nori saw potential in a digitally native iron brand. Surveys with over 500 consumers showed that the current generation, who shop primarily online, had no attachments to existing ironing products.

"By launching direct to consumer, we became the first digitally native iron brand. This allowed us to educate consumers on our innovative product and transform ironing from a mundane chore into a part of a beauty routine, emphasizing clothing care."

Expanding the Vision

The immediate success of the Nori Press revealed a larger opportunity in the $90 billion clothing care market, positioning Nori as a next-gen clothing care brand.

By spotting an overlooked opportunity, overcoming hardware challenges, thriving as a digitally native brand, and expanding their vision, Nori has transformed from a startup to an industry disruptor. As Toll states, their goal remains: "to revolutionize the laundry room."

Read More: Forbes

⚡️ Quick Hits

• Google Analytics Conversion Metrics introduced metrics to track user and session conversion rates.

• Snapchat's Influencer Marketing Strategy helps brands engage the app’s 422 million daily users through influencer partnerships

• Apple's AI Investment remains strong, focusing on generative AI, despite a global reduction in AI spending.

• Verizon uses Pega Decisioning to customize services for businesses of all sizes, enhancing B2B engagement.

What we’re working on right now

Have you listened to our Podcast yet? Pioneering Perspectives: A Dia Creative Podcast 🎙️

Ready to break new ground in marketing? In this podcast, we crack the code of marketing within regulated industries. Join real industry leaders as they navigate the unique challenges and share their groundbreaking strategies for success in the marketing field. Our goal is to inspire and equip you to conquer the frontiers of marketing in a complex landscape. Click here to listen to the episode of Pioneering Perspectives with Larry Diamond.

Larry Diamond is a pioneering force in the healthcare industry, known for his relentless commitment to innovation and excellence across various sectors, including health insurance, medical devices, and medical practice. His career has been at the forefront of developing groundbreaking approaches that have significantly enhanced the accessibility, quality, and efficiency of healthcare services.

New to our Podcast? Here, you can explore all the episodes. 

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