This week on BANKNOTES News: Yes it’s almost time to go back to school The growth of the community manager role Shopify announces losses and round of layoffs Instagram finds itself in the crosshairs DTC brands founded by influencers: The future is now
This week on BANKNOTES News for July 28, 2022:
Welcome to this week’s episode of Banknotes news for the week of July 28, 2022.
Each week we provide a short rundown of what we’re keeping our eye on across eCommerce, retail and the creator economy. You can always check banknotes.co for daily articles and insights from across the industry and subscribe to our channel wherever you download your podcasts.
So here’s what we’re keeping tabs on this week …
Yes it’s almost time to go back to school
They come every year without fail: Back-to-school sales and ads.
Let's be honest—most people could live without the constant barrage of ads everywhere, but with $37 billion in revenue up for grabs this season, brands can’t ignore the importance of the next couple of weeks.
So how do you make your brand stand out in the noise of back-to-school ads?
BANKNOTES highlights a few ways working with collaborators and influencers can help brands cut through all the noise.
Read more over at banknotes.link/backtoschool
Community manager: It’s become the hottest hire for SAAS and ecommerce companies.
Type the words “head of community” under Jobs in LinkedIn and nearly 11,000 listings show up.
But what does a community manager actually do? BANKNOTES spoke to several trailblazers in the community management arena to talk about the importance of what they do and the communities they’re trying to create.
Read more over at banknotes.link/communitymanagers
Shopify announces losses and round of layoffs
Speaking of Shopify, the company this week announced it missed its $190 million in Q2 losses, leading to a significant dip in the company’s stock price.
Shopify also this week announced layoffs of about 10 percent of the company; about 1,000 employees.
“We now expect 2022 will end up being different, more of a transition year, in which e-commerce has largely reset to the pre-Covid trend line and is now pressured by persistent high inflation,” the Ottawa-based company said in a statement Wednesday.
Instagram finds itself in the crosshairs
Instagram found itself in the crosshairs Tuesday as Twitter went off on Adam Mosseri, the head of Instagram, who took to social media to discuss new features that users feel make the app feel more like TikTok.
“I do believe that more and more of Instagram is going to become video over time,” Mosseri said via a Twitter video post.
But social media wasn’t having it:
“Today's lesson for those who missed it: Don't gaslight your users,” Tweeted @ThatChristinaG
“Enough. i love instagram because it’s instagram, not a generic social app that tries to be a third rate version of whatever 13-year-olds are using at the moment,” Tweeted @mattxiv
We’ll watch to see how Instagram continues to address these pivots and the public response.
DTC brands founded by influencers: The future is now
Charli and Dixie D’Amelio’s apparel brand, Social Tourist, recently took over a Glossier storefront in West Hollywood. This is just one example of many of how influencer-founded DTCs are now taking the lead in the retail landscape.
Influencers and creators have realized how to convert their fame into lucrative business opportunities. They can further use the DTC brands they found to grow their following to newer heights—a feedback loop of sorts.
Additionally, creators and influencers are cutting out the middleman and exerting their own creative control, connection with their community and diversifying their revenue stream.
Read more about the how influencers are expanding into the DTC space over at banknotes.co
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