#78 The Least Boring Weekend Newsletter
Good Morning readers! โ
Have a great and a chill weekend!ย
92 percent of Gen Z wants to utilize ar for purchasing, according to Snapchat.๐ธ
With social commerce expected to rise in the next few years, augmented reality solutions, according to research commissioned by Snapchat, will become more crucial for brands and merchants trying to interact with young buyers. ( wow) ๐ฎ
Sixty percent of Gen Z customers believe AR experiences are more personal, and more than half of Gen Z consumers would be more inclined to pay attentionโ ๏ธ to an AR commercial.
Almund's newsletter will let you in on all kinds of tips for D2C brands and much much more.ย
Alright, so let's get right to it!ย
This newsletter is going to dive into :
๐Fortnite developer Epic Games and Lego partner to build a metaverse aimed at kids
๐ ย Embracing The Metaverse: What New Skills Will Businesses Need To Succeed?
๐ New Platform, Different Strategy, Better Results
๐ Top reads for this week
๐ฉ๐ปโ๐ผ Plenty of jobs awaiting you!
So, scroll down already to THE VERY END & read up on what's yet to come your way!
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D2C x CRYPTO
Fortnite developer Epic Games and Lego partner to build a metaverse aimed at kids
Epic Games, the creator of Fortnite, has announced a collaboration with Lego to create a metaverse geared at children. ๐จโ๐ฉโ๐ฆโ๐ฆ
The corporations claim they will design the metaverse's future to make it safe and enjoyable for children while also creating an immersive digital world for them to play in. ( Children got lucky)๐
While the corporations did not elaborate on their ambitions for this virtual world, they did describe three principles that they claim will assure the safety of the digital areas they create.ย
The two will collaborate to prioritize children's safety and well-being, protect children's privacy, and provide children and adults with tools ๐ฆthat offer them control over their digital lives.๐๏ธ
โThe LEGO Group has captivated the imagination of children and adults through creative play for nearly a century, and we are excited to come together to build a space in the metaverse thatโs fun, entertaining, and made for kids and families,โ Epic CEO and founder Tim Sweeney said in a press release.
The digital experience, according to Epic, would be family-friendly๐จโ๐จโ๐งโ๐ง and will inspire children to be confident creators.
The corporations want to pool their resources to ensure that the future generation of the internet ๐งis built with children's safetyโ๏ธ in mind. There's no indication yet on how the virtual world will look or when the two corporations will deploy it.
Epic and Lego are joining a slew of other corporations attempting to create their metaverses.
Meta, formerly known as Facebook, is primarily focused on the development of the metaverse and has even altered its corporate logo to reflect its future intentions.ย
Last September, the corporation announced the creation of a $50 million ๐ฐresearch fund to ensure that the metaverse is constructed properly.
Since then, the corporation has reaffirmed its commitment to the metaverse, canceling its F8 developer conference yesterday to focus on the metaverse's development. ( Really can't wait to see where it goes) ๐
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New Platform, Different Strategy, Better Results
With all the time to ourselves during the pandemic and through the extended work from home opportunities, weโve all come to like the idea of podcasts. Audio recordings of some of the greatest minds in the industry, their life experiences, struggles and learnings, and practical tips can help many across the world. And you can be one of them!
Letโs address the potential issue of faltering confidence firstโyou deserve a mic in front of you just as much as anyone else.
A new DTC business owner, an experienced DTC marketer, a brand strategist, regardless of your position in a business, your personal experience can perhaps bring value to another individual wishing to embark on the same journey miles away. So, donโt hesitate to just start recording.ย
But first steps are always difficult. Wondering how you can make them easy? Weโve put together some tips and advice from podcasters worldwide for you.
โ Plan First, Act Later
Beginning too soon can be as disastrous as trying something too late. Take baby steps to start strong and pace yourself through the process to go about a learning curve and come out better at the end of theโฆpodcasting tunnel.ย
Understand the production process and try out a pilot episode. Consider brainstorming and planning a podcasting schedule with guests and topics weeks ahead of time to avoid any last-minute problems. You can slowly increase the frequency of your podcasts and guests as you get the groove of it.ย
โ๏ธ Invest In Good Gear
A decent sound mixing and editing software, a pair of good headsets, and quality studio microphones can change the quality of your podcasts drastically. No matter how great your themes or guests are, low-quality recordings can turn every listener off.ย
๐ฃ๏ธ Practice Speaking Beforehand
Every podcast host has been where you are. Itโs understandable to be nervous, but no one would listen to a podcast with a nervous host who mumbles or breathes into the microphone now and then. Practice speaking alone and read through your questionnaire beforehand to make sure youโre completely prepared.ย
๐ฅ Include Your Team
Your team comprises people handling various roles and responsibilities. Donโt just shine the spotlight on the podcast production team; have every team member be a part of the recordings as a guest speaker, interviewer, etc.ย
๐ฏ Prioritize Quality Content
Itโs okay to upload only one or two podcasts a week if you can ensure that those are loaded with quality content and insights. Not every company can churn audio content like a production house. Plan content and themes around your brand, and ensure that youโve prepared open-ended questions that prompt your guests to give you industry insight and practical knowledge that cannot be replicated elsewhere.ย
๐ฉน Have Some Ideas To Fall Back On
Itโs great to mix things up a little every once in a while. From inviting different team members in front of the mic to hosting great guests, podcasting can be a buzzing ground for creativity for you. However, sometimes, things need to be casual. Have some easy-to-follow podcast ideas listed on a content plan that you can turn to when things have been hectic. These can also be useful if your guest needs to cancel due to unforeseen circumstances.ย
๐ต Create Some Intro Music
Itโs always great to begin your podcast on a high with some catchy and great beats. Itโs bound to catch your audienceโs attention and can be a rhythmic start. It can also serve as breaks within the podcast to jump through the conversation or be used as a filler before and after ads.ย
๐ผ๏ธ Create Funky Podcast Covers
They say, โdonโt judge the book by its cover,โ but some people do. Many podcast listeners scroll through the list of available podcasts and pay attention to the album covers. A funky, eye-catching design will attract a wide variety of audiences.
๐ Make It SEO-Friendly
Podcasting platforms are search engines too. Creating an SEO-friendly title and description can help you get a lot of traction. It can be even more helpful to add your guestsโ names right in the title!
Itโs important to revisit and review all your recordings to understand truly where your shortcomings lie and how you can improve. After all, podcasting, at its core, is an extension of social skills that requires enough practice if one wishes to be better.ย
Want great insight on the industry from DTC experts? Check out our How To ECommerce Podcast on Spotify. See you soon!
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WHATโS COOKING, HUH?
Embracing The Metaverse: What New Skills Will Businesses Need To Succeed?
If you've ever heard of bitcoin or video games๐ฒ, you'll be familiar with how augmented reality works: It's a virtual environment where you may build three-dimensional avatars, shop for items, and connect with other users.
ย It is envisaged that this new dimension will be incorporated into an increasing number of facets of our daily lives.๐
ย Numerous brands now offer NFT items, indicating that consumer behaviors are already shifting.๐น
The metaverse was not explicitly linked to Facebook until Mark Zuckerberg made a startling announcement: his firm is now called Meta, a reference to the metaverse.
Now comes the question of what this move means for small and medium-sized businesses.โ๏ธ Depending on their product, target audience, innovation, budget, internal structure, and, of course, their openness or opposition to this new paradigm, any digital shift can be an obstacle or a tremendous opportunity for small and medium-sized businesses.โฝ
ย As a result, each company will need to create new talents, tools, and resources, such as the ones listed below.
๐You'll need to alter your marketing and sales strategy for this new environment. It will no longer suffice to concentrate just on sponsored social media ads.
๐ค It will be nearly impossible to avoid learning more about artificial intelligence. Although some bots and platforms use AI to develop, it is still something that many people are unfamiliar with, but it will be the foundation of a fundamental transformation.
๐ง You'll have to learn to communicate with users in a new way. Face-to-face communication is becoming increasingly rare๐, thus personalization will be sought through highly personalized content, products, and services.
โฅ๏ธYou must keep the user at the heart of everything you do. This isn't new, but the metaverse will necessitate greater data and precision in terms of community data, tastes๐ , and preferences.
As is well known( Yes yes), the pandemic has accelerated the development of digital alternatives for consumers and businesses alike.ย
Others that were digitized saw their growth accelerate๐ฑ, while those who had not yet invested in the upgrade were obliged to adjust.๐ต๏ธ
It also represents a broad technology and innovation democratization. This new stage of progress on the internet will not go ignored. Are you prepared for this change? ( Are you?)โ๏ธ
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TOP READS FOR THIS WEEK
โฝGoogle Play will hide and block downloads for outdated apps starting
g later this year
7๏ธโฃVuori expands to 7 international markets in the first move outside the US
๐ฐInstagram cuts influencer payments for short videos
๐จWhatsApp working on a new feature of message reactions similar to Instagram
๐๏ธSpotify continues testing a TikTok-like discovery feed
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In need of aย job? Weโve got plenty awaiting you!
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CHOOSE SUCCESS below and have a great week! โGet that D2C business runninโ.