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$11 Million in 1.5 Years From One Simple Product (
$11 Million in 1.5 Years From One Simple Product (
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But today, I want to share a story that I recently came across because it’s just too good NOT to let you in
on.
medium.com
In this episode, he was interviewing Oliver Brocato, a 21-year-old entrepreneur who started selling small
boxes of chocolates online and ended up making over $11 million dollars within a year and a half.
There were several “ah-ha” moments in the interview that I think are worth sharing — AND that I will be
applying in my own business.
If you’re an article skimmer like me, make sure you check out the
marketing strategy section of this story, because it is freakin’
GENIUS.
Brocato sells a unique edible product called “Tabs,” that he describes as “sex chocolate.”
The product is packaged in a minimalist brown box that contains three small squares of chocolate. Each
piece can be broken in two and shared with a partner.
Oooh, la la.
Whether or not Brocato’s “sex chocolate” is capable of actually achieving what it claims is NOT the focus
of this story.
The lesson here is that Brocato KNEW this product had the
potential to go viral because it was controversial.
It was a product that grabbed people’s attention and got them talking on social media.
However, what did get me EXCITED was Brocato’s genius marketing strategy.
Brocato hired “UGC creators” to make TikTok videos about his product and post them on their own
“branded accounts.”
UGC creators are typically “micro-influencers” with small to moderate social media followings.
However, in some cases, they may not even have their own social media accounts.
They’re basically paid actors or spokespeople who look like your average Joe (or Jane.)
UGC content is effective because it’s usually not glaringly obvious that you’re watching a commercial.
The UGC creators would create a new TikTok account that contained the brand’s name and post their
videos there — eliminating the need for the business to manage all that content.
Brocato mentioned that he didn’t really give the creators strict guidelines for creating videos because
“you never know what will go viral.”
The initial videos put out by the UGC creators were designed to raise awareness of the product — not sell
it right away.
However, when people saw the UGC videos on TikTok, they started asking questions in the comments
like,
When viewers left questions about the product, the UGC creators would make follow-up videos and post
them using TikTok’s “respond to comments” feature.
Brocato discovered that when you post a video responding to a comment in this way, it is also shown to many of
same the people who watched the original video.
For example, say 2 million people watched the initial “awareness” video. Those same people would also
see the follow-up video answering the commenter’s question.
This is basically free retargeting and social proof rolled into one.
Honestly, I can see this strategy being so much more effective than running ads on TikTok (which most
people skip over).
Instead, when you see a brand responding to a viewer's comment like this, it doesn’t feel like an ad, so
you’re more likely to keep watching.
Also, when people see that other people are interested in buying a product, it tends to pique their
curiosity.
However, after making several follow-up videos in response to viewer comments, their sales shot up to
$130,000 within a few days, and they ended up bringing in over 7 figures in sales that month.
Absolutely insane.
4. Practical Application
Since watching the video interview, I’ve been thinking about how I could apply this strategy to my own
business.
After some brief research, I discovered that there are over 4,036 UGC services available on Fiverr,
starting at $10 and going up to over $100+ per video.
TikTok also has its own Creator Marketplace, where you can search for video creators, send invitations
for collaborations, and track the results of specific campaigns.
While hiring UGC creators is a great way to save time, I know that
not everyone has the budget for this.
Even though I’m actively trying to spend more on outsourcing tasks that will grow my business, my
inner penny-pincher immediately gravitates toward thinking about how I could create these videos
myself so I can test out the “respond to comments” feature.
In the meantime…
Have you heard about this free retargeting method on TikTok before? If so, have you tested it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you might use this in the comments :)
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