Do not snooze on repurposing your content on Pinterest. Pinterest can bring your content from “crickets to crushing it”. It is the LEAST social, social media platform. On Pinterest, the lifespan of a post could be weeks, or MONTHS! You aren’t relying on comments and likes to build its reach! People search for SOLUTIONS on pinterest.
As a part of our series called “The Top 5 Ways To Market, Advertise & Promote An Ecommerce Business Today”, we had the pleasure of interviewing Lauren Petrullo.
Lauren Petrullo is an award winning marketing expert, digital marketing and ecommerce consultant, and successful multi-founder. As the CEO and Founder of digital marketing agency, Mongoose Media, Lauren drives brand growth in the baby, beauty and food space. She is also the owner of three brands in those spaces herself: eco-conscious baby swimwear brand Beau & Belle Littles, skincare products Asian Beauty Essentials, and ceremonial grade matcha brand, Shade Matcha. As a member of the prestigious Leaders Network at Meta (formerly Facebook), she is a social commerce and Meta ads expert who turns $5k in ad spend into $500k in sales. Lauren has been featured in Forbes, Yahoo!, Thrive Global, Refinery29, Shopify, Advertising Week, ComputerWorld and Ticker News. She is an instructor at premier online community of marketing professionals DigitalMarketer, and she is the winner of Prism’s Top 100 Marketing & Advertising Leaders, dotCOMM SEO Creativity & Excellence Awards, and Marcom’s Advertising & Communication Award. She is a sought-after speaker, podcast guest and consultant on social commerce and Meta advertising.
Thank you so much for your time! I know that you’re super busy. Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?
Tobe honest, I was fired from another digital marketing agency! Literally the next day I had people asking me, “Oh great! This must mean you’re doing your own thing now?” And “You’re amazing at this, when can I hire you?” and that’s essentially how I became an accidental entrepreneur. Now that I was freelancing, I was priced more competitively to produce excellent results without having to share the fee with a corporate agency structure. Clients started kinda flocking to me! Looking back, I know my clients would’ve paid quite a bit more for my services, and I probably could have priced my services a bit better, but that’s all part of starting your own shop and learning along the way.
Can you share the most exciting story that has happened to you since you began at your company?
I had a client who literally fell on her butt one time. She thought she had been “reverse robbed”. Let me explain. She fell out of her chair and bruised her tailbone. We brought her from $400K/year TOTAL to over $1M in online sales alone in 16 months. When she checked her bank account after running our ads, she couldn’t believe it. She was astounded at the early success from our Google and Facebook ads. I have never before enjoyed hearing about someone experiencing pain before! Of course, it wasn’t extensive but like our numbers, our success caused such a physical reaction that I think she even bought a cushion to sit on!
What’s the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? What lesson did you learn from that?
Once when I was just starting out, I went to a marketing conference. I kept introducing myself under different company names and businesses just to be funny, not thinking about potential networking consequences, but more oriented toward leaving a really fun impression. Then the next year when I met them all again, they weren’t sure which company name or business was the real one! Some people I never saw again and quite possibly still think I’m in the plumbing industry or invented a revolutionary aerospace engineering product that will change the face of technology haha. Or that I own the largest swimsuit line for cats.
What’s actually funny about this is, I left such a fun and original impact with the people I was interacting with that they sought me out based on the feeling I left them with. That’s really the most important thing about anyone we come into contact with. How do we make them FEEL by the time our exchange has ended? Little did I know at the time, I was actually setting up myself for accidental success.
People didn’t know who I was, but they definitely remembered me and LOOKED for me the following year at that same conference. I was the most memorable, unmemorable person if that makes any sense.
What are some of the most interesting or exciting projects you are working on now? How do you think that might help people?
Easy! For AsianBeautyEssentials.com our theory thus far is seeing corroboration with the Spanish speaking demographic in the United States being grossly underserved. There are nearly 60M Spanish speakers in the US, making that population the 26th largest population in the WORLD if it were its own nation! The beauty industry at large is the most EXCLUSIVE and DISCRIMINATORY industry in the world. So we’re making all of this content INCLUSIVE by including not just English and Spanish but soon to include Portuguese content, too. All so we can give people access to products and services that improve their lifestyle preferences, allergies, budget, and skin concerns. On our YouTube for Spanish speakers, Asian Beauty Essentials content is brand new and has hundreds of new subscribers already! We are here to challenge the industry into becoming more inclusive and serve a larger audience.
This theory is panning out as not just better for the community, but also better for the bottom line. As a person who’s known for Meta [formerly Facebook] ads and traffic. Growing AsianBeautyEssentials.com organically (without paid ads) from 2K organic visitors in March 2022 to over 100K organic traffic users in May of 2023 was something really incredulous. But also not, as we built data driven systems aligned with tight processes, and strong communication. And it was largely done through the inclusion of the Spanish speaking market and the power of AI in marketing.
You’re a successful business leader. What are three traits about yourself that you feel helped fuel your success? Can you share a story or example for each?
My driving philosophy in business is to F.A.I.L. and FAIL often, which for me stands for: First Attempt In Learning. I want to constantly challenge myself and my learnings and I not only encourage my team to FAIL, but demand it of them. If they’re not developing better techniques through experience, they’re resting on what has worked vs testing what could really really work. It truly is a core element in our workplace.
Another element of my success would definitely be capitalizing on technology. Automation, AI, software organization, etc. I have restructured our digital tools to mitigate wasted effort. We use ClickUp, Slack, Gather, Loom, Dologale, Gmail, and more. I love having the knowledge of these applications where I can swiftly change a dashboard, or rearrange document files to make my team’s operation smoother. That’s something everyone benefits from. My tech stack and my SOPs are the real bread winners for us. We’re only humans and if we want to work smarter, not harder, leveraging efficient tools will be the big factor to that success. If I have to “force” a step more than 4 times in my workflow, the system has to change. I have a low tolerance for inefficiency. I made myself master the software we use now. So while many people shy away from investing costs or a learning period into software, they’re ultimately costing themselves in the long run. It’s like dropping a dollar to pick up a quarter. You cannot scale with broken systems and you shouldn’t pay for useless time spent on tasks that software has already solved. I mean think back to high school, do you still really want to write out your mathematical expressions or would you rather use a calculator? I refuse to waste precious time and resources on ineffective solutions and redundant processes.
I guess lastly, I would say that I was also never afraid to share my tricks of the trade with anyone; with clients, colleagues, connections, competitors, you name it. If someone can do something better than I can, and it fits my clients’ needs better, I’ll always connect those people together. It has actually brought me more clients in the long run because people respect my authenticity. It’s actually one of the main ways I grew my agency. People ask me all the time, “Why do you give out your SOPs for free?” By placing free information on my platforms as well as speaking publicly about my methods, I’m getting good karma two different ways: First, if they try to apply my marketing strategies themselves and it works I’m gonna get either private or public credit. The second way is when they try to apply my methods, realize they may not have the expertise to execute it the way they envisioned, and then they hire me anyway to carry out their needs. It’s a win-win for me, and it feels great to be recognized in any capacity but of course it’s even better when we can solve for them and deliver for our clients directly.
Awesome, thanks so much for sharing that. I want to shift gears and talk about eCommerce. In my work, I focus on improving shopper engagement, so I’m very passionate about this topic. As you know, mobile has taken center stage in terms of how people are engaging and transacting with eCommerce stores — leading a lot of stores to lean into mobile-first shopping experiences like mobile apps. Can you help articulate a few reasons why an eCommerce business should consider creating its own mobile app?
Specifically for Ecommerce stores with big inventory. If you have a big SKU; If you have over 200 products, you need an app. It’s the fastest and strongest way to develop brand loyalty through ease of access and use. There’s unlimited cross-sell and up-sell possibility. 1st party data is a necessity. Through mobile apps you can track your customer’s needs and place products in their line of sight based on their purchasing patterns, or search bar usage. After the whole iOS launch, there was a data DROUGHT for performance based advertisers. Had brands set up a first party data system with an ecommerce app, they could’ve been capitalizing on invaluable market research and sales.
Also, let’s be specific for a second. Large SKU stores will have a higher Add to Cart number than most other stores and a bigger discrepancy in their actual sales.Why? Because large SKU stores will have customers adding to carts to save as if it’s a wishlist.
Imagine being the solution for your customers and not forcing them to workaround what’s available and enjoy a better shopping experience (and more specific data). Are they actually ready to buy or are they actually wanting to wish list it and save it for later.
Last but most definitely not the least important reason for a mobile app experience is this, legislation in the United States is trending towards more data protection for the consumer and less data leveraging by the small businesses. Already in Florida the Senate has passed a bill that will drastically change the way we do personalized advertising on Meta, Google, and more. Owning the data, via an app, is a great way to mitigate risk against unpredictable legislation changes, increase customer loyalty, and deliver QUALITY shopping experiences for your customers.
The cost of paid ads is at an all-time high. What are some alternative strategies to reach your target consumers that don’t involve paying a third party like Facebook and Instagram?
Oh that’s easy, it’s creating content! We have 100k/ monthly visitors to our website from Blogs! Over 200K monthly viewers to our Pinterest page! All made possible with content. The content of course is value-driven material written WITH AI (not BY AI). By creating REAL content that benefits your customers, you’re also building your trustworthiness, and showing the public that you have more SUBSTANCE and passion behind your brand than simply the bottom line. People love a story, they love supporting a mission. If there are helpful or informative, or merely entertaining materials on your platforms that lead them to purchases, everyone wins. We all know that it takes multiple touches before someone is ready to buy. I think the last test revealed 20 interactions with a brand before someone will buy a candybar. A candybar! You need to be delivering valuable content. Be more than just a store. Become a brand.
Ok super. Here is the main question of our interview. Based on your experience and success, what are your “ Top 5 Ways To Market, Advertise & Promote An Ecommerce Business Today?” Please share a story or an example for each.
- Create a value-first content strategy. Only 3% of the market is ready to buy right now. 17% are still searching. 60% problem-aware but doesn’t know what solution is best for them. Most marketers only pay attention to the 3% who are ready to buy right now. WE WENT AFTER THE 60% by helping produce SOLUTION-FIRST content that helps build our brand and trust-worthiness. I have to earn a prospect’s trust. I can’t just assume they’re going to buy because I have the best product on the block. We’re going after a much larger collection of humans, the 60% who are still unsure about what they want their solution to be to their problem or need. By delivering better content, we’re becoming a better brand to our customers.
- Leverage social commerce, which means the intersection of eCommerce and social media. This is the way of the future for sure! It’s more than just tagging specific items with links in posts, it’s delivering an entirely integrated ecommerce experience to the user WHERE they are. Your customers don’t have to be an INFLUENCER to be INFLUENTIAL. When someone is wearing your hat, you can set people up with a community driven, conversational, transactional centric relationship in a way that feels authentic. By setting up Meta Shops or other social commerce stores, you’re essentially creating an Amazon like shopping experience for the IG user. Where Amazon is inbound centric, social commerce is a unique disruptive way to interrupt the user’s experience and inspire them to buy.
- Do not snooze on repurposing your content on Pinterest. Pinterest can bring your content from “crickets to crushing it”. It is the LEAST social, social media platform. On Pinterest, the lifespan of a post could be weeks, or MONTHS! You aren’t relying on comments and likes to build its reach! People search for SOLUTIONS on pinterest. As long as your post is attached to filling a need, and strong search keywords through SEO, it will funnel lots of wonderful traffic to your sites. We’ve seen TikToks and IG posts that got less than 100 engagements generate THOUSANDS of engagements and even clicks to the site by bringing them to the Pinterest platform.
- Talk about your products on podcasts! Podcasts are often in need of interesting guests and if your ecommerce store has a story to share or a unique position in the market, talk about it! And drop some promo codes for listeners while you’re at it. It’s a great way to track how many listeners come to your checkout page via which podcast they heard your brand on. Plus it can help you uniquely reach new audiences that 90% or more of the ecommerce brands out there aren’t even thinking about.
- Don’t just create content to create content, get you content to be Shoppable!! More specifically, I have a plan to creat shoppable blogs!! If you have a blog with great content for your site and it’s NOT shoppable (meaning embeddable components that let the customer buy directly from your content), you’re leaving money on the table. How cool is it that while you’re reading a travel blog, and the writer is raving about their new hiking backpack and why it served them so well in their travels, that you can click and buy it in the same breath? Most ecommerce brands will have a link to the Product Display Page that interrupts the content consumption experience, by incorporating shoppable blogs, we’ve seen blogs generate sales consistently as a reward for the high value content and frictionless buying process.
You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. :-)
Demanding transparency for marketing affiliates. The technology is already there and with social commerce enabled you let a third party be the connection point between brands and influencers. This cloudy data for affiliates is archaic. Brands don’t want to hire influencers and affiliates without knowing the value they’ll deliver and affiliates and influencers do not want to work with brands that can’t accurately report the lift their influence provided. It’s a current game of chicken for brands and influencers/ affiliates fighting to see who will reveal their ‘secret sauce’ first. We’ve evolved in marketing tech so much but this painfully embarrassing hurdle STILL exists. I want to start a movement where it’s better for all parties involved, even the third parties that manage the contracts, payment distributions, tracking, and more. THIS IS SOLVABLE.
But on a personal level, it’s that universal access to clean water SHOULD EXIST. This is a human right. We support clean water initiatives at AsianBeautyEssentials.com to help give access to the most important resource on the planet. We want to help those that don’t have access to clean water. We should take care of this as a global population. Imagine how many more genius minds we could have working on more complex problems if water and other basic needs were taken care of? It takes a big village to save a dehydrated one.
How can our readers further follow your work online?
You can connect with my company and team at MongooseMedia.us and of course on all the socials. I’m most active now on LinkedIn and Twitter. But of course, I would love to see you on AsianBeautyEssentials.com and help you get your glow on!
I want to thank you so much for your time and for sharing your expertise with us. I wish you continued success!
This article was originally featured on Authority Magazine at the following URL: https://medium.com/authority-magazine/lauren-petrullo-of-mongoose-media-on-how-to-use-social-media-to-grow-your-ecommerce-business-9309d71c3a43
We hope you found this article by Lauren Petrullo of Mongoose Media on using social media to grow your eCommerce business insightful!
Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below. How has social media played a role in your eCommerce journey? Have you implemented any of the strategies mentioned?
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