Marketing in 2024 with Ninety94
Our guest today is Lauren Carter, who is the founding partner of Ninety94, a boutique marketing firm & content creation hub for startups and small to medium sized businesses. We had the pleasure of working and meeting her at this year’s pet product trade show in Las Vegas. SuperZoo. Whisker Media did PR for TEEF, a dental health product company for pets and Lauren serves as their marketing manager.
Listen to Episode #11 Now:
BIO:
Transcript:
00:00:02.200 --> 00:00:04.000
Announcer: This is Pet Life Radio.
00:00:04.000 --> 00:00:05.080
Announcer: Let's talk pets.
00:00:14.965 --> 00:00:16.725
Mary Tan: Welcome to the Whisker Report.
00:00:16.725 --> 00:00:31.285
Mary Tan: We're a new podcast dedicated to helping anyone in the pet industry, whether you're an animal non-profit or a for-profit pet company, we wanna help you get some PR and buzz for your organization.
00:00:31.285 --> 00:00:42.285
Mary Tan: I'm Mary Tan, everyone, one of the hosts of the show, along with Alexane Ricard, who hails from France, but travels the world in hopes of spaying and neutering every single cat she meets.
00:00:42.905 --> 00:00:45.805
Mary Tan: And right now, she's across the pond in France.
00:00:45.805 --> 00:00:49.385
Mary Tan: Bonjour, Alex, I really need some French bread now.
00:00:49.385 --> 00:00:51.005
Mary Tan: Can you get me a baguette?
00:00:52.305 --> 00:00:53.645
Alexane Ricard: Bonjour, Mary.
00:00:53.645 --> 00:00:57.005
Alexane Ricard: I wish I could send you one, but I don't think it will arrive very fresh.
00:00:57.005 --> 00:01:00.285
Alexane Ricard: But yeah, sorry, you need to come to France.
00:01:00.285 --> 00:01:01.645
Mary Tan: I know, I do.
00:01:01.645 --> 00:01:03.325
Mary Tan: And so does our guest too.
00:01:03.325 --> 00:01:06.465
Alexane Ricard: Yes, we're so excited about the show today.
00:01:06.485 --> 00:01:16.885
Alexane Ricard: If you want to learn more about marketing, if you have a small pet business or a non-profit and really want to get the insights on marketing, we've got the expert for you today.
00:01:16.885 --> 00:01:25.005
Alexane Ricard: Before I introduce her, I want to introduce our producer, Mark Winter of Pet Life Radio who is the man who gets us to you each and every week.
00:01:25.005 --> 00:01:25.465
Mark Winter: Hi.
00:01:25.465 --> 00:01:26.545
Alexane Ricard: Bonjour.
00:01:26.545 --> 00:01:30.005
Mark Winter: I would like a croissant if you're sending pastries.
00:01:30.005 --> 00:01:32.665
Alexane Ricard: You guys just need to come to France, both of you.
00:01:32.665 --> 00:01:34.945
Alexane Ricard: Just do a podcast in France.
00:01:34.945 --> 00:01:38.225
Mary Tan: Yes, I could use actually, is it a macron?
00:01:38.225 --> 00:01:39.025
Mary Tan: Did I say it right?
00:01:39.305 --> 00:01:40.245
Mark Winter: Macaroon
00:01:40.245 --> 00:01:40.685
Mary Tan: Oh, no.
00:01:40.685 --> 00:01:43.685
Mary Tan: Chocolat.
00:01:43.685 --> 00:01:45.325
Alexane Ricard: Macaroon.
00:01:45.325 --> 00:01:47.445
Alexane Ricard: Moulin fruit.
00:01:47.445 --> 00:01:48.085
Alexane Ricard: Oh, wait.
00:01:48.085 --> 00:01:50.165
Mary Tan: Macron is your prime minister.
00:01:50.165 --> 00:01:51.025
Mary Tan: Sorry.
00:01:51.025 --> 00:01:52.985
Alexane Ricard: No, president, Mary.
00:01:52.985 --> 00:01:54.105
Mary Tan: Oh, my God.
00:01:54.105 --> 00:01:55.465
Mark Winter: Yeah, I don't think you could have him.
00:01:55.465 --> 00:01:57.585
Mark Winter: You could have a macaroon, though.
00:01:57.585 --> 00:01:59.365
Alexane Ricard: Yeah, not the president.
00:02:00.485 --> 00:02:01.225
Alexane Ricard: Amazing.
00:02:01.225 --> 00:02:14.005
Alexane Ricard: So, our guest today is Lauren Carter, who is the founding partner of Ninety94, a marketing firm who specializes to small and medium businesses.
00:02:14.005 --> 00:02:21.085
Alexane Ricard: We had the amazing pleasure of meeting her and working with her at SuperZoo in Las Vegas.
00:02:21.085 --> 00:02:29.385
Alexane Ricard: We did PR for TEEF, a dental health product company for pets, and Lauren works for them as the marketing manager.
00:02:29.385 --> 00:02:30.325
Alexane Ricard: So hi, Lauren.
00:02:30.325 --> 00:02:31.625
Alexane Ricard: Welcome to our show.
00:02:31.625 --> 00:02:33.045
Lauren Carter: Thanks for having me, ladies.
00:02:34.445 --> 00:02:39.085
Alexane Ricard: So first of all, Lauren, give us a little bit of your background.
00:02:39.085 --> 00:02:41.725
Alexane Ricard: How did you get working in the pet industry?
00:02:41.725 --> 00:02:44.025
Alexane Ricard: Because that's not where you're actually coming from, I think.
00:02:44.025 --> 00:02:46.025
Alexane Ricard: So can you give us a little bit of your background?
00:02:46.025 --> 00:02:48.145
Lauren Carter: Yeah, I have a really diverse background.
00:02:48.145 --> 00:02:53.785
Lauren Carter: I live in Minnesota now, but I sharpened all of my skills in Chicago.
00:02:53.785 --> 00:03:02.605
Lauren Carter: I actually started in the world of Chicago politics, which is not for the faint of heart, trying to change the world just like y'all, but Chicago politics.
00:03:03.065 --> 00:03:07.705
Lauren Carter: So I actually went to work for a political PR firm shortly after that.
00:03:07.705 --> 00:03:16.465
Lauren Carter: Behind the scenes, yet again, Chicago politics, and decided that I would enjoy the creative side of things a little bit more.
00:03:16.465 --> 00:03:22.525
Lauren Carter: So I worked a little bit with directors of TV commercials before I went and worked corporate.
00:03:22.525 --> 00:03:36.145
Lauren Carter: So I've got the agency side, the PR side, the corporate side, and then throughout all of it, I worked with some small businesses and startups and things like that, friends who were doing things to just, you know, run things behind the scenes.
00:03:36.145 --> 00:03:38.245
Lauren Carter: I've never been a girl to have one job.
00:03:38.245 --> 00:03:44.665
Lauren Carter: So I got laid off from my corporate job and found myself working with a friend startup.
00:03:44.665 --> 00:03:53.045
Lauren Carter: And at the same time, my family was working to open the first indoor outdoor dog park bar and restaurant in Minneapolis.
00:03:53.045 --> 00:04:03.185
Lauren Carter: And so my mom and brother actually worked to change the laws in Minnesota to allow this to happen because, you know, Minnesota already has really weird drinking laws.
00:04:03.185 --> 00:04:05.185
Lauren Carter: I don't know if you're aware.
00:04:05.185 --> 00:04:06.245
Lauren Carter: So it was really difficult.
00:04:06.245 --> 00:04:08.565
Lauren Carter: And so, you know, everyone wanted to open something like this.
00:04:08.565 --> 00:04:12.365
Lauren Carter: It's not a new concept per se, but there wasn't any in Minnesota.
00:04:12.365 --> 00:04:15.905
Lauren Carter: In fact, I think the closest was like Kansas City and Denver.
00:04:15.905 --> 00:04:17.845
Lauren Carter: And so they were doing that.
00:04:17.845 --> 00:04:22.725
Lauren Carter: And that was really where I started my work with the pet world.
00:04:22.725 --> 00:04:31.385
Lauren Carter: Personally, I've, you know, we had a dog growing up and then I got my first cat out of nowhere several years ago.
00:04:31.405 --> 00:04:34.665
Lauren Carter: And now I've got a cat who's a best friend.
00:04:34.665 --> 00:04:41.465
Lauren Carter: And so just the whole pet world, you know, and diving into it with my family and my family's business was really eye-opening.
00:04:41.465 --> 00:04:50.105
Lauren Carter: And so that was actually, we opened, we did a crowdfunding campaign and raised anything like $60,000 from strangers.
00:04:50.105 --> 00:04:57.685
Lauren Carter: I mean, it's amazing what you can do when you engage with the community and, you know, having a background in politics, right?
00:04:57.785 --> 00:05:00.285
Lauren Carter: Like, I'm not scared to be grassroots.
00:05:00.285 --> 00:05:01.525
Lauren Carter: I'm not scared to get on the ground.
00:05:01.525 --> 00:05:05.405
Lauren Carter: I'm not scared to reach out to people individually, you know, and that's what you have to do.
00:05:05.405 --> 00:05:12.625
Lauren Carter: So it was really cool to see, you know, I think we had like 400 or 500 backers on that first crowdfunding campaign.
00:05:12.625 --> 00:05:17.145
Lauren Carter: And we baked in an instant community, which was super cool.
00:05:17.145 --> 00:05:21.625
Lauren Carter: And so from there, we opened six weeks before COVID.
00:05:21.625 --> 00:05:22.445
Mary Tan: Oh my gosh.
00:05:23.045 --> 00:05:23.825
Lauren Carter: Yes.
00:05:23.825 --> 00:05:27.685
Lauren Carter: So Unleashed Houses and Hubs opened six weeks before COVID.
00:05:27.685 --> 00:05:32.905
Lauren Carter: And honestly, it's hard enough to own a restaurant in the best of times.
00:05:32.905 --> 00:05:35.325
Lauren Carter: It's hard enough to own a business in the best of times.
00:05:35.325 --> 00:05:38.145
Lauren Carter: And so we opened six weeks before COVID.
00:05:38.145 --> 00:05:55.725
Lauren Carter: And you know, what I will say is, is we lucked out in a lot of ways because we had that baked in community, because we had a lot of things we could lean on, including like a big outdoor patio and a huge, huge influx of people having dogs during the pandemic.
00:05:55.725 --> 00:06:02.585
Lauren Carter: We actually, you know, were able to withstand that and continue to grow.
00:06:02.585 --> 00:06:04.125
Lauren Carter: So that just blew up.
00:06:04.125 --> 00:06:05.885
Lauren Carter: We started a pet market.
00:06:05.885 --> 00:06:10.965
Lauren Carter: And that's where I really started getting engaged with really small pet businesses.
00:06:10.965 --> 00:06:15.645
Lauren Carter: That's how I met TEEF actually, and nonprofits and a lot of rescues.
00:06:15.825 --> 00:06:26.465
Lauren Carter: And so, you know, we created a huge network of pet businesses and rescues and other, you know, adjacent providers.
00:06:26.465 --> 00:06:29.285
Lauren Carter: And it just kind of went from there, you know.
00:06:29.285 --> 00:06:39.305
Lauren Carter: I believe that everyone should have access to good marketing and good ideas, whether you are teeny tiny or gigantic.
00:06:39.305 --> 00:06:45.325
Lauren Carter: And, you know, I think that it's important to have, you know, that be available for everybody.
00:06:45.645 --> 00:06:49.285
Lauren Carter: And so, yeah, anyway, we just kind of created a cute little community.
00:06:49.285 --> 00:06:51.865
Lauren Carter: And then, yeah, it's kind of grown from there.
00:06:51.865 --> 00:06:57.165
Mary Tan: Do you think that the community part of it really stemmed, like you mentioned, from your political side of it?
00:06:57.165 --> 00:07:06.785
Mary Tan: Because you can get, I've seen a small cat store here, they couldn't pay the rent the following month, and they raised all the money in like two days on Facebook.
00:07:06.865 --> 00:07:09.805
Mary Tan: And that's kind of the stuff you're talking about, correct?
00:07:09.805 --> 00:07:10.625
Lauren Carter: Absolutely.
00:07:10.625 --> 00:07:21.865
Lauren Carter: And I mean, you know, we're really close with, or I am with, the Great Gain Rescue of Minnesota, and they do a phenomenal job with the community as well, because each person is needed to contribute.
00:07:21.865 --> 00:07:23.545
Lauren Carter: And it does, I mean, it's hard.
00:07:23.545 --> 00:07:25.525
Lauren Carter: I always say a bunch of pennies make a dollar, right?
00:07:25.525 --> 00:07:30.005
Lauren Carter: Like a penny seems very small, but when you have a ton of them, you know, you're getting somewhere.
00:07:30.005 --> 00:07:42.045
Lauren Carter: And so again, it's really important to engage with people, engage with community, engage with like, even in competitors, I always say that there's enough room in the sandbox for everybody.
00:07:42.045 --> 00:07:46.705
Lauren Carter: And there are some areas that get really saturated, right?
00:07:46.705 --> 00:07:54.425
Lauren Carter: So after the pandemic, you've got a lot of like bandana businesses and bandanas with like matching masks.
00:07:54.425 --> 00:08:01.545
Lauren Carter: And you know, it's amazing, like at the time, cause you know, a lot of people could do that, but there is enough room.
00:08:01.545 --> 00:08:03.625
Lauren Carter: Everyone does something a little differently, right?
00:08:03.785 --> 00:08:11.705
Lauren Carter: And so in a way, having some competition, having some people doing similar things is a good thing, right?
00:08:11.705 --> 00:08:13.425
Lauren Carter: And it lifts everybody together.
00:08:13.425 --> 00:08:15.865
Lauren Carter: So there are power in numbers for sure.
00:08:15.865 --> 00:08:25.565
Lauren Carter: And I think that if you're a small business, the best thing that you can do is create a community with other small businesses.
00:08:25.565 --> 00:08:34.205
Lauren Carter: And you know, word of mouth is a great way to build, that's a great way to find out what events are going on.
00:08:34.205 --> 00:08:45.985
Lauren Carter: If you're doing pop-ups, a lot of people, if they can't do something, they'll be really happy to refer somebody, you know, and say, oh, I can't be here, but this person is also great and they can.
00:08:45.985 --> 00:08:58.665
Lauren Carter: And so I think people should learn from each other too, because I can't tell you how many things I've tried to even just learn on my own, when I could just say, hey, how did you do that?
00:08:59.285 --> 00:09:07.185
Lauren Carter: You know, and so I've kind of, and I'll still do that sometimes, and then I'll catch myself, and I'll check myself, and I'll be like, why don't you just ask somebody?
00:09:07.185 --> 00:09:09.665
Lauren Carter: You know, because Google can only take you so far.
00:09:09.665 --> 00:09:11.465
Lauren Carter: It can take you very far.
00:09:11.465 --> 00:09:18.205
Lauren Carter: But sometimes, you know, you'll go down a rabbit hole and you could just say, hey, you're on Shopify, I'm having this issue.
00:09:18.205 --> 00:09:22.205
Lauren Carter: Have you had, you know, what's your, it works both ways, right?
00:09:22.205 --> 00:09:27.065
Lauren Carter: So give a little take a little, give a little back and, you know, everyone can grow together.
00:09:27.545 --> 00:09:28.565
Mary Tan: Absolutely.
00:09:28.565 --> 00:09:31.985
Mary Tan: Alex, you had some great questions for Lauren.
00:09:31.985 --> 00:09:42.365
Alexane Ricard: So first of all, Lauren, when we met, I remember you telling me a story about PR agencies and how skeptical you were about them.
00:09:42.365 --> 00:09:51.205
Alexane Ricard: So I just wanted to get a little insight about your experiences with other PR agencies and your experience with Whisker Media.
00:09:51.205 --> 00:09:55.185
Lauren Carter: To be fair, I'm also skeptical of marketing agencies.
00:09:56.465 --> 00:10:01.825
Lauren Carter: I'm skeptical of anyone whose job it is to make something sound good.
00:10:02.625 --> 00:10:06.025
Lauren Carter: Because that's for me.
00:10:06.025 --> 00:10:13.885
Lauren Carter: I can't tell you how many times clients have come to me and said, I spent all of this money and they told me all of these things are going to happen.
00:10:13.885 --> 00:10:20.185
Lauren Carter: Everyone gets it, especially you small businesses, you get these emails saying, oh, your website needs to be improved.
00:10:20.185 --> 00:10:21.445
Lauren Carter: It's good, but it can be better.
00:10:21.805 --> 00:10:25.385
Lauren Carter: Or I noticed that your search, but you need to do this.
00:10:25.385 --> 00:10:27.705
Lauren Carter: Or I can promise you this many leads.
00:10:27.705 --> 00:10:29.305
Lauren Carter: What do you think?
00:10:29.305 --> 00:10:33.725
Lauren Carter: And they're starting to sound really real to some people.
00:10:33.725 --> 00:10:40.125
Lauren Carter: I still get several forwarded to me a week from clients who, and I'm like, no, these are all fake.
00:10:41.245 --> 00:10:43.305
Lauren Carter: If they're not fake, they're just cold calling.
00:10:43.305 --> 00:10:44.005
Lauren Carter: You know what I mean?
00:10:44.225 --> 00:10:47.225
Lauren Carter: If this isn't personal to you, right?
00:10:47.225 --> 00:10:54.965
Lauren Carter: And so, yeah, I just want to bring that back because it's not PR agency exclusive to my skepticism.
00:10:54.965 --> 00:11:03.165
Lauren Carter: It's just knowing that there's a lot of wolf and sheep's clothing out there and a lot of people who they want you to believe.
00:11:03.165 --> 00:11:04.445
Lauren Carter: They want you to believe in yourself.
00:11:04.445 --> 00:11:06.685
Lauren Carter: They want you to believe in them.
00:11:06.685 --> 00:11:12.785
Lauren Carter: But the fact of the matter is media has changed a lot and it's very pay to play.
00:11:12.785 --> 00:11:22.285
Lauren Carter: And so I think that when PR agencies come to you and say, oh, you can pay us this a month, and most people don't have budgets.
00:11:22.985 --> 00:11:32.525
Lauren Carter: If we have $100,000 a month budget to build a brand, then okay, we can consider a few thousand dollars a month for a PR agency.
00:11:32.525 --> 00:11:44.905
Lauren Carter: But when you don't have that, when you aren't even paying for paid media or other organic methods like influencers or things like that, that $2,000 is very important.
00:11:44.905 --> 00:11:52.305
Lauren Carter: And so I think it's hard because a lot of PR agencies will say, oh, we have connections with these people or those people, and here's who we're going to pitch.
00:11:52.305 --> 00:11:57.405
Lauren Carter: And they're very careful with their words to not make any promises.
00:11:57.405 --> 00:12:01.365
Lauren Carter: But entrepreneurs are really, and so am I.
00:12:01.365 --> 00:12:02.205
Lauren Carter: I mean, I'm a believer.
00:12:02.625 --> 00:12:15.505
Lauren Carter: I, you know, are really apt to believe and feel like their product will be worthy of a pick up on the Today Show or on these big outlets or even these small outlets.
00:12:15.505 --> 00:12:24.805
Lauren Carter: But it's just not as easy as they make it seem, I think, especially if this is just kind of a day-to-day thing, if that makes sense.
00:12:24.805 --> 00:12:26.865
Lauren Carter: If you have some big news, right?
00:12:26.865 --> 00:12:30.765
Lauren Carter: Like the human product for TEEF was on the International Space Station.
00:12:31.385 --> 00:12:32.365
Lauren Carter: Huge news.
00:12:32.365 --> 00:12:33.185
Lauren Carter: Woo-hoo.
00:12:33.925 --> 00:12:35.005
Lauren Carter: Huge news.
00:12:35.005 --> 00:12:37.025
Lauren Carter: The opening of Unleashed Hounds and Hops.
00:12:37.025 --> 00:12:38.145
Lauren Carter: Huge news, right?
00:12:38.145 --> 00:12:48.405
Lauren Carter: Like those are things that, again, but at the same time, when things are huge news, a lot of the outlets will pick it up, right?
00:12:48.405 --> 00:12:51.645
Lauren Carter: So with Unleashed, we didn't spend a dime.
00:12:51.645 --> 00:13:01.325
Lauren Carter: But because of the community outreach, because of that, we were picked up because it is a good story and we were doing something truly unique and first of its kind.
00:13:01.325 --> 00:13:02.205
Lauren Carter: Does that make sense?
00:13:02.205 --> 00:13:04.485
Mary Tan: That completely makes sense.
00:13:04.485 --> 00:13:09.105
Lauren Carter: I just think a lot of people are very quick to say, oh, we can do all these amazing things.
00:13:09.105 --> 00:13:11.945
Lauren Carter: Then at the end, they're like, oh, well, we didn't promise.
00:13:11.945 --> 00:13:19.965
Lauren Carter: Then you're out thousands of dollars and you maybe have a weird pickup in a weird publication.
00:13:24.625 --> 00:13:28.045
Lauren Carter: Can you cut out that there's no weird publications out there?
00:13:28.045 --> 00:13:30.345
Mary Tan: Yes, there are.
00:13:30.345 --> 00:13:34.385
Mary Tan: Mark, we should leave that in because there's a lot of bizarre publications out there.
00:13:34.385 --> 00:13:35.685
Mary Tan: Trust me.
00:13:36.705 --> 00:13:44.245
Mary Tan: We have to pay for this show, so we're going to take a break and then we'll be right back with this amazing conversation with Lauren.
00:14:24.225 --> 00:14:26.685
Announcer: Take a bite out of your competition.
00:14:26.685 --> 00:14:31.505
Announcer: Advertise your business with an ad in Pet Life Radio podcasts and radio shows.
00:14:31.505 --> 00:14:38.705
Announcer: There is no other pet-related media that is as large and reaches more pet parents and pet lovers than Pet Life Radio.
00:14:38.705 --> 00:14:45.605
Announcer: With over 7 million monthly listeners, Pet Life Radio podcasts are available on all major podcast platforms.
00:14:45.605 --> 00:14:55.045
Announcer: And our live radio stream goes out to over 250 million subscribers on iHeartRadio, Audacy, TuneIn and other streaming apps.
00:14:55.045 --> 00:15:01.885
Announcer: For more information on how you can advertise on the number one pet podcast and radio network, visit petliferadio.com/advertise today.
00:15:23.812 --> 00:15:25.012
Mary Tan: And we're back.
00:15:25.012 --> 00:15:29.392
Mary Tan: Lauren, continuing what we were talking about, I completely agree with you.
00:15:29.392 --> 00:15:34.612
Mary Tan: I have actually hired PR firms myself, and they made a lot of promises.
00:15:34.612 --> 00:15:40.672
Mary Tan: And that's something that at Whisker Media, we don't make any promises, because we can't, right?
00:15:40.672 --> 00:15:45.292
Mary Tan: But you know, what makes us different is we just are so niched into the pet space.
00:15:45.292 --> 00:15:45.992
Mary Tan: That's all we do.
00:15:46.992 --> 00:15:47.972
Mary Tan: Yep.
00:15:47.972 --> 00:15:49.372
Mary Tan: You know, Alex and I, right?
00:15:49.372 --> 00:15:50.812
Mary Tan: Alex, that's all we want to do.
00:15:50.812 --> 00:15:52.912
Mary Tan: And Mark too, we just want pets.
00:15:53.172 --> 00:15:56.372
Mary Tan: And so that's kind of our take on it.
00:15:56.372 --> 00:15:58.792
Mary Tan: But we completely agree with you.
00:15:58.792 --> 00:16:04.292
Mary Tan: There's, you know, just like there's good and bad people, there's good and bad PR and marketing firms.
00:16:04.292 --> 00:16:05.452
Lauren Carter: Oh, yeah.
00:16:05.452 --> 00:16:05.932
Mary Tan: Yeah.
00:16:05.932 --> 00:16:15.872
Mary Tan: So kind of switching things, I wanted to ask you about what's it like to market a health focused product in the pet space?
00:16:15.872 --> 00:16:17.192
Mary Tan: How do people react to it?
00:16:17.632 --> 00:16:18.512
Lauren Carter: So that's hard.
00:16:18.512 --> 00:16:20.412
Lauren Carter: You know, it's kind of so pit.
00:16:20.412 --> 00:16:21.812
Lauren Carter: It is so fun.
00:16:21.812 --> 00:16:25.752
Lauren Carter: Pet market, you know, marketing in the pet space is not the hard.
00:16:25.752 --> 00:16:31.952
Lauren Carter: I mean, when we opened Unleashed Homes and Hops, or even with just all of these different pet brands I've worked with, right?
00:16:31.952 --> 00:16:41.552
Lauren Carter: Like, it's a much easier sell when you got a cute furry pet, and you can market to cute furry pet loving people.
00:16:41.552 --> 00:16:42.672
Lauren Carter: You know what I mean?
00:16:42.672 --> 00:16:48.532
Lauren Carter: So there's definitely much, you know, a lot of things that are harder to market.
00:16:48.532 --> 00:16:50.232
Lauren Carter: Within that space, though, right?
00:16:50.232 --> 00:16:52.432
Lauren Carter: Anything you have that's functional.
00:16:52.432 --> 00:16:54.392
Lauren Carter: Talk about promises, right?
00:16:54.392 --> 00:17:03.752
Lauren Carter: When you're selling a bandana or a leash or whatever, you know, you're just promising that it looks cute, or it, like, does the basic job.
00:17:03.752 --> 00:17:17.612
Lauren Carter: But when you come to anything where you need to educate people, and you need to educate people not only on the product, but the need for the product, that's huge because, I mean, and listen, this is, my cat has, like, three teeth left.
00:17:17.612 --> 00:17:18.612
Lauren Carter: I got him that way.
00:17:18.612 --> 00:17:25.752
Lauren Carter: I was like, everyone should know that the $100,000 cat was got that way.
00:17:25.752 --> 00:17:32.512
Lauren Carter: But, you know, each tooth that a pet loses is years off their life, except for Russell.
00:17:32.532 --> 00:17:39.852
Lauren Carter: And I think that a lot of times, especially dental health or health in general of your pet, you know what I mean?
00:17:39.852 --> 00:17:42.252
Lauren Carter: Like, it just isn't talked about a whole lot.
00:17:42.332 --> 00:17:44.992
Lauren Carter: It hasn't been, historically.
00:17:44.992 --> 00:17:53.752
Lauren Carter: I remember 10, 15 years ago, hearing about friends with their cats who have, you know, their litter box problems or UTIs and things like that.
00:17:53.752 --> 00:17:56.272
Lauren Carter: But that was the very beginning of that conversation.
00:17:56.272 --> 00:17:58.052
Lauren Carter: That was before, like, the pretty litters.
00:17:58.052 --> 00:18:02.612
Lauren Carter: That was before all of these innovations and even people knowing that they can prevent it, right?
00:18:02.612 --> 00:18:11.672
Lauren Carter: Like, in the past, it's kind of like you bring your dog or cat, they give you, you know, you do your vaccines, maybe you give them their tick and flee stuff.
00:18:12.112 --> 00:18:15.992
Lauren Carter: In the summer, but, like, that's kind of it, right?
00:18:15.992 --> 00:18:18.292
Lauren Carter: It's a whole different world now, right?
00:18:18.292 --> 00:18:24.132
Lauren Carter: As people are starting to realize how important, first of all, our own health is.
00:18:24.132 --> 00:18:26.192
Lauren Carter: I think it is parallel, right?
00:18:26.192 --> 00:18:35.512
Lauren Carter: I think it's going with the generations who are focusing more on, in general, some of these terms for their bodies, so pre and post-biotics, right?
00:18:35.512 --> 00:18:43.292
Lauren Carter: Like, olipop, like, that's just starting to kind of, like, gut health is starting to be a focus and it's 2024, right?
00:18:43.292 --> 00:18:51.892
Lauren Carter: So the pet stuff is kind of coming with our generation, who is starting to kind of invest more in preventative, holistic things like that.
00:18:51.892 --> 00:19:03.312
Lauren Carter: All to say that when you're educating anybody about anything new, or cutting edge, or non-traditional, right?
00:19:03.312 --> 00:19:08.612
Lauren Carter: It's an uphill battle because there's a lot more conversation that needs to happen.
00:19:09.152 --> 00:19:18.692
Lauren Carter: It is getting easier with things like, and again, there are really bad products, like greenies out there on the market.
00:19:18.692 --> 00:19:20.452
Lauren Carter: You can keep that in there.
00:19:21.712 --> 00:19:23.272
Lauren Carter: Everyone said that.
00:19:23.272 --> 00:19:25.492
Lauren Carter: I'm not the first one to say it, okay?
00:19:25.492 --> 00:19:33.232
Lauren Carter: But even that helps because that conversation is becoming, people are at least starting to think about it.
00:19:33.232 --> 00:19:37.452
Lauren Carter: Then ideally, they'll be like, oh, this is important.
00:19:37.452 --> 00:19:39.092
Lauren Carter: Maybe I can do it better.
00:19:39.092 --> 00:19:40.772
Lauren Carter: Maybe I should do this.
00:19:40.792 --> 00:19:51.772
Lauren Carter: One thing I'll say that is important for all brands, or a really good consideration for all brands, specifically those that need more discussion, are influencers.
00:19:51.772 --> 00:19:55.552
Lauren Carter: But not the type of influencer that we're thinking, a professional one.
00:19:55.552 --> 00:20:06.152
Lauren Carter: So one of my very good friends and colleagues, Aha Marketing, based in Chicago, you know, focuses on these really unique networks of professionals.
00:20:06.152 --> 00:20:17.412
Lauren Carter: So in the pet world, it's veterinarians, it's groomers, it's dog walkers, you know, but it's also doulots and OBGYNs, and teachers and educators.
00:20:17.412 --> 00:20:28.732
Lauren Carter: Because when people are looking for recommendations, you know, they will, these are people they pay and already trust to recommend things, a vet, even a groomer, right?
00:20:29.252 --> 00:20:37.392
Lauren Carter: And you can educate the professional on these things, they become a network for you as well, right?
00:20:37.392 --> 00:20:41.472
Lauren Carter: Because if you think about a groomer, they probably see 10 clients a day.
00:20:41.472 --> 00:20:44.672
Lauren Carter: If you think about a vet, they probably see more than 10 clients.
00:20:44.672 --> 00:20:47.012
Lauren Carter: I mean, vets are like stacked, right?
00:20:47.032 --> 00:20:52.232
Lauren Carter: And even my vet, it's actually hilarious because I was like trying to pitch TEEF.
00:20:52.232 --> 00:20:54.572
Lauren Carter: And they're like, oh yeah, I already recommended to everybody.
00:20:54.572 --> 00:20:55.812
Lauren Carter: And I was like, oh, you already use it?
00:20:55.812 --> 00:20:57.992
Lauren Carter: They're like, no, but another vet told me it's amazing.
00:20:58.452 --> 00:21:07.032
Lauren Carter: And that's all it took was a vet that they know who said, this is a great product, give it to people who are having issues with their dentals, blah, blah, blah.
00:21:07.032 --> 00:21:08.972
Lauren Carter: And then they just recommend it to people.
00:21:08.972 --> 00:21:10.312
Mary Tan: That's so cool.
00:21:10.312 --> 00:21:11.392
Lauren Carter: Huge.
00:21:11.392 --> 00:21:12.752
Lauren Carter: And I'm like, well, do you want to try it?
00:21:12.752 --> 00:21:15.532
Lauren Carter: She's like, no, I already like it.
00:21:15.532 --> 00:21:17.832
Lauren Carter: But I'm like, okay, fine.
00:21:17.832 --> 00:21:19.092
Alexane Ricard: That's incredible.
00:21:19.092 --> 00:21:23.792
Alexane Ricard: And it's so nice to hear that because we've heard so much talk about influencers lately.
00:21:23.792 --> 00:21:29.232
Alexane Ricard: I mean, Mary at SuperZoo, you were in a panel saying, are influencers still a thing?
00:21:29.232 --> 00:21:29.892
Alexane Ricard: Right?
00:21:30.732 --> 00:21:35.632
Alexane Ricard: The big talk was about, is the money spent on influencers for small pet brands?
00:21:35.632 --> 00:21:37.032
Alexane Ricard: Is it worth it?
00:21:37.032 --> 00:21:38.272
Alexane Ricard: And there was a huge talk about it.
00:21:38.272 --> 00:21:47.792
Alexane Ricard: But I think it is very interesting that you say you just need to go to actual influencers, people actually influences other people and not just somebody who has a lot of followers.
00:21:47.792 --> 00:21:50.872
Lauren Carter: Well, I'm a huge fan of micro influencers as well.
00:21:50.872 --> 00:21:57.712
Lauren Carter: I mean, it's so back in the day, you could buy followers back in the day, there were a lot of bots, right?
00:21:57.712 --> 00:21:59.532
Lauren Carter: There are a lot of people.
00:22:00.632 --> 00:22:17.752
Lauren Carter: I recommend anybody who considers an influencer should really consider their engagement and their actual interaction with their following and with the community, right?
00:22:17.752 --> 00:22:23.052
Lauren Carter: And I think that if you, again, promises, right?
00:22:23.192 --> 00:22:28.472
Lauren Carter: People will be like, oh, they have three million followers, like whatever, whatever.
00:22:28.472 --> 00:22:30.012
Lauren Carter: And this is going to be great.
00:22:30.012 --> 00:22:31.332
Lauren Carter: Like they're going to post.
00:22:31.332 --> 00:22:32.412
Lauren Carter: Oh, my gosh.
00:22:32.412 --> 00:22:33.512
Lauren Carter: OK, listen to this.
00:22:33.512 --> 00:22:42.172
Lauren Carter: I had a product a long time ago called, it wasn't a pet product, but it was called Ho Ho Ho H2O.
00:22:42.172 --> 00:22:44.372
Lauren Carter: Easy Christmas Tree Watering System.
00:22:44.372 --> 00:22:46.012
Lauren Carter: OK, it's actually a great.
00:22:46.012 --> 00:22:47.412
Lauren Carter: OK, it was like a gift box.
00:22:47.532 --> 00:22:49.512
Lauren Carter: It was when I first saw it, I'm dead.
00:22:49.512 --> 00:22:57.312
Lauren Carter: It was literally a watering tank that was like disguised as like a present, and it would automatically reveal your Christmas tree.
00:22:57.312 --> 00:22:59.772
Lauren Carter: Anyway, so fun.
00:22:59.772 --> 00:23:10.832
Lauren Carter: But the guy, one of the guys got this girl who was on like Say Yes With Your Dress, but she was like a tattooed model, and she was like, oh, she's got three million followers.
00:23:10.832 --> 00:23:15.092
Lauren Carter: She's going to post it and we're going to like become millionaires.
00:23:15.092 --> 00:23:18.472
Lauren Carter: And I opened the account, and I was like, what?
00:23:18.472 --> 00:23:21.352
Lauren Carter: First of all, this has nothing to do with our brand.
00:23:21.352 --> 00:23:24.632
Lauren Carter: Second of all, like what?
00:23:24.632 --> 00:23:30.692
Lauren Carter: And I think she posted, and I don't think we got any sales for it.
00:23:30.692 --> 00:23:37.932
Lauren Carter: But it just, that type of stuff, like just because people have numbers or have, you know what I mean, eyeballs or, I don't know.
00:23:38.172 --> 00:23:42.472
Lauren Carter: It's just, it's, you gotta really think about where you spend your money, right?
00:23:42.472 --> 00:23:46.412
Lauren Carter: And so again, back to just like the number side of things.
00:23:46.412 --> 00:23:48.932
Lauren Carter: I had a client who sent me a lady.
00:23:48.932 --> 00:23:53.452
Lauren Carter: She's like, oh, she's just, you know, she's not even trying hard, and she's got like 2 million followers.
00:23:53.452 --> 00:24:06.812
Lauren Carter: I did the math and I was like, okay, but it's like 2% engagement because yeah, she's got four, you know, 30,000 likes, but that's like nothing compared, like that's not good for 2 million followers, right?
00:24:06.972 --> 00:24:17.692
Lauren Carter: Versus if you have someone who has 600 followers, who actually know them, who actually exists, who actually engage with these people, and they maybe get 100 likes, like, you know what I mean?
00:24:17.692 --> 00:24:18.792
Lauren Carter: Like, that's 20%.
00:24:19.572 --> 00:24:20.412
Mary Tan: Yeah.
00:24:20.412 --> 00:24:21.952
Mary Tan: So I have a question for you.
00:24:21.952 --> 00:24:24.512
Mary Tan: So during this panel, it was interesting.
00:24:24.512 --> 00:24:29.012
Mary Tan: It was about pet influencers at SuperZoo, the trade show in Las Vegas.
00:24:29.012 --> 00:24:34.852
Mary Tan: And a lot of the panels were like, you know, this isn't, it's not working like it used to.
00:24:34.852 --> 00:24:35.892
Mary Tan: Or you know what?
00:24:36.052 --> 00:24:44.812
Mary Tan: Influencer marketing works better in other spaces, like fashion or lifestyle, but it doesn't seem to be working in pet.
00:24:44.812 --> 00:24:45.772
Lauren Carter: Well, here's the deal.
00:24:45.772 --> 00:24:47.352
Lauren Carter: First of all, people know.
00:24:47.352 --> 00:24:54.252
Lauren Carter: Like when you, like people are so aware that something is being paid to share.
00:24:54.252 --> 00:24:56.672
Lauren Carter: Like it's just obvious.
00:24:56.672 --> 00:24:57.792
Lauren Carter: You know what I mean?
00:24:57.792 --> 00:25:13.132
Lauren Carter: Like the fact of the matter is, like if you have something people truly need, or so for us, for example, our Influencer programming is based around sharing the messaging, right?
00:25:13.132 --> 00:25:16.352
Lauren Carter: Like almost more, it's a much more grassroots approach.
00:25:16.352 --> 00:25:25.332
Lauren Carter: We don't engage these knowing we're going to get instant return and instant sales, but it's a long game, right?
00:25:25.332 --> 00:25:28.952
Lauren Carter: It's brand recognition, it's people using it and then recommending it.
00:25:28.952 --> 00:25:33.752
Lauren Carter: It's much more, again, of that grassroots approach to it.
00:25:34.172 --> 00:25:38.012
Lauren Carter: I guess you have to manage your expectations when you use influencers.
00:25:38.012 --> 00:25:45.212
Lauren Carter: I feel like that's maybe the better thing to say because you can get, again, sometimes content is expensive to make.
00:25:45.212 --> 00:25:53.112
Lauren Carter: So for us, when we consider influencers and what our budget is, we consider a lot more than just sales.
00:25:53.592 --> 00:25:56.192
Lauren Carter: It's almost like a PR spend, right?
00:25:56.312 --> 00:26:06.992
Lauren Carter: It's not guaranteed and maybe someone will do something, it'll go viral and you know what I mean, but that's not how it works anymore.
00:26:06.992 --> 00:26:08.692
Lauren Carter: It's so loud, right?
00:26:08.832 --> 00:26:10.792
Lauren Carter: Everybody knows that things are sponsored.
00:26:10.792 --> 00:26:15.692
Lauren Carter: Everybody knows that things are pay to play, if that makes sense.
00:26:15.852 --> 00:26:21.012
Lauren Carter: So that's the thing about in pet or any industry, right?
00:26:21.012 --> 00:26:23.712
Lauren Carter: It's easy to sell anything that looks cute, right?
00:26:23.812 --> 00:26:35.332
Lauren Carter: Like influencers, because it's like, oh, that's cute, or you know what I bought the other day, you guys, is like a can opener for like my cat food cans, because my nails are too nice to keep messing them up.
00:26:35.332 --> 00:26:37.712
Lauren Carter: I got it off a TikTok shop, okay?
00:26:37.712 --> 00:26:44.592
Lauren Carter: Literally, two things I bought off a TikTok shop, a can opener, because I was like, oh my God, I've been looking for, like this is what I've been needing.
00:26:46.392 --> 00:26:48.352
Lauren Carter: It was like $13, you guys.
00:26:48.352 --> 00:26:50.152
Lauren Carter: Like I literally should put it a magnet.
00:26:50.152 --> 00:26:52.232
Lauren Carter: Anyway, I'm happy with a 10 out of 10.
00:26:52.872 --> 00:26:57.392
Lauren Carter: And like coloring books, because I'm like, oh, this is a great coloring book with thick line.
00:26:57.392 --> 00:26:59.212
Lauren Carter: You know, but that's a visual.
00:26:59.212 --> 00:27:03.292
Lauren Carter: Like this is something that I can see and it's cute and I want it.
00:27:03.292 --> 00:27:06.112
Lauren Carter: Or, you know, it's functional and I need it.
00:27:06.112 --> 00:27:14.912
Lauren Carter: Like all the other stuff that comes out on my stuff, like, oh, there was like the steamy duster that's been like going all over the place.
00:27:14.912 --> 00:27:16.312
Lauren Carter: Which is what I think about.
00:27:16.312 --> 00:27:22.512
Lauren Carter: And I'm like, or the ice machines, like all over TikTok, which also I do think about because I love Peblice.
00:27:22.512 --> 00:27:26.032
Lauren Carter: But really, I'm still not buying them.
00:27:26.032 --> 00:27:27.952
Lauren Carter: Because I'm like, this is just gonna be junk.
00:27:27.952 --> 00:27:28.672
Lauren Carter: You know what I mean?
00:27:28.672 --> 00:27:33.412
Lauren Carter: Like if I'm gonna actually buy an appliance, I'm gonna go do research.
00:27:33.412 --> 00:27:35.992
Lauren Carter: I'm not gonna buy it off a fricking TikTok shop, okay?
00:27:35.992 --> 00:27:42.492
Lauren Carter: Like I cannot, like that's where I get cut off, is if I start buying appliances off a TikTok, okay?
00:27:42.492 --> 00:27:46.272
Lauren Carter: But, but, you know, see how long that'll last, okay?
00:27:46.272 --> 00:27:50.632
Lauren Carter: Because you'll see my ass with like something in a few years.
00:27:50.712 --> 00:27:52.932
Lauren Carter: It's gonna be like, I got it on TikTok, Jeff.
00:27:54.072 --> 00:27:56.492
Lauren Carter: But, and that's just the algorithm, right?
00:27:56.492 --> 00:28:03.292
Lauren Carter: Like that's just them knowing how to tart, like, and I even know the game and I get got by the game.
00:28:03.332 --> 00:28:04.532
Lauren Carter: You know what I mean?
00:28:04.552 --> 00:28:09.412
Lauren Carter: Like, you know, that awesome shirt that says, first of all, I'm a delight.
00:28:09.412 --> 00:28:11.812
Lauren Carter: Yep, bought that off of Facebook.
00:28:14.252 --> 00:28:18.292
Lauren Carter: Like, but it took them like 10 times to show me the ad.
00:28:18.292 --> 00:28:19.212
Lauren Carter: So I don't know.
00:28:19.672 --> 00:28:27.272
Mary Tan: So we know that TikTok ads, our social media ads, work, especially with Lauren.
00:28:27.272 --> 00:28:31.472
Mary Tan: We had no idea that you were an artiste with your coloring books.
00:28:31.472 --> 00:28:32.692
Lauren Carter: I'm not, that's the thing.
00:28:32.692 --> 00:28:34.612
Lauren Carter: It's like thick lines, so I can't admit it.
00:28:34.612 --> 00:28:36.612
Lauren Carter: Cause some of those coloring books are stressful.
00:28:36.612 --> 00:28:40.212
Lauren Carter: Those grown up coloring books are like not fun.
00:28:40.212 --> 00:28:43.772
Lauren Carter: They're like really little and they hurt my eyes.
00:28:43.772 --> 00:28:45.292
Lauren Carter: And then I can mess up and then I quit.
00:28:45.552 --> 00:28:47.752
Lauren Carter: So, hmmm.
00:28:47.752 --> 00:28:48.512
Mary Tan: Well, you know what?
00:28:48.512 --> 00:28:58.072
Mary Tan: We gotta take a quick break and then we're gonna come back with Lauren, who's gonna enlighten us with more of whatever she does in her off time.
00:29:00.612 --> 00:29:04.232
Announcer: Here's Daryl Michaelson, owner of Purniture Cat Furniture.
00:29:04.232 --> 00:29:07.212
Daryl Michaelson: Back in 1990, I was in the market for some cat furniture.
00:29:07.212 --> 00:29:12.692
Daryl Michaelson: And as looking at the cat furniture available, I realized that most of it is basically overpriced junk.
00:29:12.692 --> 00:29:22.912
Daryl Michaelson: The big difference between our furniture and other cat furniture is the fact that we use plywood and all other cat furniture is made with some sort of a particle board.
00:29:22.912 --> 00:29:26.812
Mark Winter: You can see the Purniture difference online at purniture.com.
00:29:26.812 --> 00:29:28.172
Mark Winter: That's P-U-R-R-N-I-T-U-R-E.
00:29:30.772 --> 00:29:31.932
Mark Winter: Let's talk pets.
00:29:32.852 --> 00:29:33.892
Mary Tan: On PetLife Radio.
00:29:33.892 --> 00:29:35.192
Mary Tan: PetLife Radio.
00:29:35.192 --> 00:29:36.272
Mark Winter: petliferadio.com.
00:29:36.272 --> 00:29:37.332
Mark Winter: petliferadio.com.
00:29:46.364 --> 00:29:54.124
Alexane Ricard: And we're back with Lauren, who was just telling us a really cool story that she needs to repeat all her life.
00:29:54.124 --> 00:29:55.404
Lauren Carter: No, it's just embarrassing.
00:29:56.364 --> 00:30:01.724
Lauren Carter: So I get a cat, I get made fun of because I'm the only person in my whole family with a cat, right?
00:30:01.724 --> 00:30:06.344
Lauren Carter: And so just having a cat is reason to get dragged in my family.
00:30:06.344 --> 00:30:13.764
Lauren Carter: And so all of a sudden I have this cat who literally will go on leash walks, and he's the bougie little cat with two teeth.
00:30:15.504 --> 00:30:21.984
Lauren Carter: And we finally found a food that he would eat, and it was called Tiki Cat After Dark.
00:30:23.104 --> 00:30:28.524
Lauren Carter: It had a half a quail egg that floated on top of it, and that's all he would eat for months.
00:30:28.524 --> 00:30:36.044
Lauren Carter: And the price was one thing, but having to tell the vet, you know, they ask you to the food.
00:30:37.844 --> 00:30:39.364
Lauren Carter: Very embarrassing.
00:30:39.364 --> 00:30:42.324
Lauren Carter: Anyway, we're on the fancy feast life now, so.
00:30:42.344 --> 00:30:47.304
Mary Tan: Ah, well, you know, you're, that's kind of, your cat is a reflection of you.
00:30:47.304 --> 00:30:49.464
Lauren Carter: Well, you know, he eat benito, he boogie.
00:30:49.464 --> 00:30:51.764
Lauren Carter: Just like, yeah, good life.
00:30:51.764 --> 00:30:53.304
Lauren Carter: He has a very good life.
00:30:53.304 --> 00:30:57.444
Mary Tan: Okay, so getting back to the focus of the show.
00:30:57.444 --> 00:31:00.644
Mary Tan: So we need some tips and tricks from you, Lauren.
00:31:01.084 --> 00:31:12.344
Mary Tan: For those who don't think that they can do their own PR and marketing, you know, they're the startup, it's the founder, inventor, who's doing everything themselves.
00:31:12.344 --> 00:31:17.684
Mary Tan: And then, you know, people tell them, well, no matter where you sell it, you've got to promote it.
00:31:17.684 --> 00:31:20.084
Mary Tan: You need some marketing, especially.
00:31:20.084 --> 00:31:21.664
Mary Tan: So what do you say to that?
00:31:22.084 --> 00:31:28.084
Lauren Carter: I, you know, I feel like Peewee Herman with like a word of the day, community, right?
00:31:28.084 --> 00:31:39.664
Lauren Carter: I think that's the biggest thing, especially if you live, especially if you live in, you know, Minneapolis is unique because it's got very small town vibes for being a city.
00:31:39.664 --> 00:31:50.004
Lauren Carter: But if you're not, especially if you're not in a big city, you know, I think that just starting to get to know the people around you, everyone has pets, right?
00:31:50.144 --> 00:31:58.964
Lauren Carter: And so I think that's one thing that's like really fun about marketing for pet is, it's not localized like a restaurant.
00:31:58.964 --> 00:32:03.384
Lauren Carter: It's not an age demographic, right?
00:32:03.384 --> 00:32:05.304
Lauren Carter: Like certain products.
00:32:05.304 --> 00:32:07.644
Lauren Carter: It's not a gender demographic.
00:32:07.644 --> 00:32:10.484
Lauren Carter: It's all sorts of people, right?
00:32:10.484 --> 00:32:18.984
Lauren Carter: And it's all sorts of people from, you know, people are starting to have pets at a much younger ages now, and have pets.
00:32:18.984 --> 00:32:20.844
Lauren Carter: I'm talking about like having kids.
00:32:21.864 --> 00:32:23.584
Lauren Carter: Because they're not having those.
00:32:27.164 --> 00:32:33.124
Lauren Carter: And so, because again, like you see a lot of like people in their young 20s who have dogs and have cats.
00:32:33.124 --> 00:32:35.704
Lauren Carter: And so it's just start to get to know people.
00:32:35.704 --> 00:32:41.044
Lauren Carter: And you also have not to take any tricks from the MLMs.
00:32:41.044 --> 00:32:44.364
Lauren Carter: But you've got your own community as well.
00:32:44.364 --> 00:32:46.204
Lauren Carter: And your communities have community.
00:32:46.364 --> 00:32:49.724
Lauren Carter: And there's a lot of people who are cheerleaders for you.
00:32:49.724 --> 00:32:55.244
Lauren Carter: You know, I think one thing that I also want to tell everyone, like like all your friends posts.
00:32:55.244 --> 00:33:03.204
Lauren Carter: Like it's such an easy thing to even like save it or share it just to another account and give them a boost.
00:33:03.204 --> 00:33:11.524
Lauren Carter: I have friends who are still liking like past clients posts just because like they knew that I work with them and like they have nothing to do.
00:33:11.524 --> 00:33:13.084
Lauren Carter: Like they don't live in Minneapolis.
00:33:13.184 --> 00:33:18.224
Lauren Carter: They have no reason to be engaging on Minneapolis focused business posts, right?
00:33:18.224 --> 00:33:20.724
Lauren Carter: But they do because they're supportive.
00:33:20.724 --> 00:33:25.384
Lauren Carter: And so I think that be supportive of other businesses and they'll be supportive of you.
00:33:25.384 --> 00:33:28.324
Lauren Carter: Like I think that's a really big thing.
00:33:28.324 --> 00:33:35.684
Lauren Carter: And that's something that honestly kind of bugs me because it's like, why are you going in and liking like other people's business posts, right?
00:33:35.684 --> 00:33:38.864
Lauren Carter: Like it's such an easy way to kind of like support a business.
00:33:38.864 --> 00:33:48.004
Lauren Carter: And I know that doesn't necessarily lead to sales, but it also feels good to not have like, you know, a post where it has like three likes and everyone has those, you know what I mean?
00:33:48.004 --> 00:33:50.944
Lauren Carter: Because the algorithm sucks these days.
00:33:50.944 --> 00:34:01.044
Lauren Carter: Also, don't spend money boosting things on Instagram and Facebook unless you really know what your goal is and what you're not what you're doing.
00:34:01.044 --> 00:34:04.644
Lauren Carter: Like feel free to play around, but just know that that won't lead to sales.
00:34:04.644 --> 00:34:10.164
Lauren Carter: Like there's very few things monetarily that will lead directly to sales.
00:34:10.564 --> 00:34:18.784
Lauren Carter: Like at the end of the day, if you're not doing what you need to be doing the best way that you can do it, your money will just fall flat.
00:34:18.784 --> 00:34:19.804
Mary Tan: So how do you?
00:34:19.804 --> 00:34:21.244
Mary Tan: What has been your experience?
00:34:21.244 --> 00:34:24.264
Mary Tan: What works on getting products to sell?
00:34:24.264 --> 00:34:29.584
Lauren Carter: You know, I think just do everything to the best of your ability.
00:34:29.584 --> 00:34:30.684
Lauren Carter: Don't rush.
00:34:30.684 --> 00:34:32.064
Lauren Carter: I think that's another thing.
00:34:32.064 --> 00:34:35.064
Lauren Carter: A lot of people are really eager and I get it.
00:34:35.064 --> 00:34:36.124
Lauren Carter: Like it's so exciting.
00:34:36.124 --> 00:34:40.164
Lauren Carter: Like you just want to be selling or you just want to be live.
00:34:40.164 --> 00:34:51.284
Lauren Carter: But you know, I think it's really important to have all of your ducks lined up before you really start pushing that.
00:34:51.284 --> 00:34:58.364
Lauren Carter: Because at the end of the day, each set of eyeballs that you get on your brand is very important.
00:34:58.364 --> 00:35:02.984
Lauren Carter: And you, if you lose them once, it's hard to get them back.
00:35:03.684 --> 00:35:10.884
Lauren Carter: And so, you know, make sure that even if it's really simple, or even if it's just like an Etsy site, you know what I mean?
00:35:10.884 --> 00:35:14.324
Lauren Carter: Like make sure that you have your best foot forward.
00:35:14.324 --> 00:35:21.864
Lauren Carter: Make sure that things look good or that they're quality, or you know, that they're getting to experience them, right?
00:35:21.864 --> 00:35:35.424
Lauren Carter: Because again, what you really want to do is get off on that right foot, and have people who want to come back, because then they tell their friends, and then they come back to you, and their friends tell their friends, which again comes back to community, right?
00:35:35.424 --> 00:35:42.724
Lauren Carter: Like if you really truly have a holistic brand, it will grow itself, and it might not grow quick.
00:35:42.724 --> 00:35:44.044
Lauren Carter: It won't grow quick.
00:35:44.044 --> 00:35:48.504
Lauren Carter: I mean, you know, I think, love shark tank, right?
00:35:48.504 --> 00:36:04.584
Lauren Carter: But like I think just in the same ways of the kickstarters, of the glory days of kickstarters, where people were seeing people make millions of dollars, but they weren't seeing the thousands of other campaigns that barely passed 100.
00:36:04.584 --> 00:36:05.484
Lauren Carter: Right.
00:36:05.484 --> 00:36:09.044
Lauren Carter: So it's similar with business, right?
00:36:09.044 --> 00:36:10.644
Lauren Carter: Where they're like, oh, that's a great idea.
00:36:10.644 --> 00:36:13.144
Lauren Carter: And they were able to execute this, you know, and mine's better.
00:36:13.144 --> 00:36:20.484
Lauren Carter: Or, you know, one of my favorite things is when people say, oh, I was going to do that.
00:36:20.484 --> 00:36:23.344
Lauren Carter: And it's like, have you heard that from people before?
00:36:24.944 --> 00:36:26.524
Lauren Carter: Like, oh, I was going to do something like that.
00:36:26.524 --> 00:36:27.984
Lauren Carter: Oh, I had that idea.
00:36:27.984 --> 00:36:29.604
Lauren Carter: Like, well, you didn't do it.
00:36:29.604 --> 00:36:30.464
Lauren Carter: Okay.
00:36:30.464 --> 00:36:36.284
Lauren Carter: Like that was seriously drove me crazy, especially at like, they were like, oh, we wanted to open one of these.
00:36:36.284 --> 00:36:37.524
Lauren Carter: And it's like, well, you did.
00:36:38.884 --> 00:36:46.564
Lauren Carter: So like, you clearly didn't know how to, you know, but like everyone can have the idea, but it's on execution, right?
00:36:46.564 --> 00:36:56.444
Lauren Carter: And I think it's just important to like keep, because again, slow and steady really, really is the way to look at things.
00:36:56.444 --> 00:36:58.084
Lauren Carter: Make sure you prove your concept.
00:36:58.084 --> 00:37:06.484
Lauren Carter: Like, don't just quit your job and dive into something because, you know, you're like, oh, I can just, I can do this.
00:37:06.484 --> 00:37:07.044
Lauren Carter: You know what I mean?
00:37:07.044 --> 00:37:08.984
Lauren Carter: And I'm a passionate guy, right?
00:37:08.984 --> 00:37:12.924
Lauren Carter: Like, I'll be the first one to be like, quit your job and come to the dark side.
00:37:17.844 --> 00:37:21.564
Lauren Carter: We have martinis at lunch here, but I get to be free.
00:37:21.564 --> 00:37:26.564
Mary Tan: No, we, like, share so many things in common.
00:37:26.564 --> 00:37:31.264
Mary Tan: We here at Whisker Media, we've had situations where people just start up a product.
00:37:31.264 --> 00:37:33.504
Mary Tan: They don't even have it on the market yet.
00:37:33.504 --> 00:37:36.244
Mary Tan: And then they want us to promote them.
00:37:36.244 --> 00:37:38.944
Mary Tan: And it's like, well, where can you buy your product?
00:37:38.944 --> 00:37:46.684
Mary Tan: So one of the big mistakes in terms of a PR agency is you really need to do all of the things Lauren said first.
00:37:46.684 --> 00:37:49.604
Mary Tan: Because PR is really brand management.
00:37:49.604 --> 00:37:52.804
Mary Tan: You know, do all the advertising, get your product.
00:37:52.804 --> 00:37:57.764
Mary Tan: So it's, you know, in tip top shape that you're gonna get awesome reviews.
00:37:58.844 --> 00:38:06.084
Mary Tan: Because we've also run into issues where we've had a client who just got terrible reviews.
00:38:06.084 --> 00:38:15.904
Mary Tan: And oh my gosh, it's like, okay, we can't work with you anymore because like, you know, this is affecting our reputation too.
00:38:15.904 --> 00:38:29.944
Mary Tan: And so it's, you know, when you're finding a marketing or PR person, you know, so much of it is based like on our personal philosophies, you know, on how we view things.
00:38:29.944 --> 00:38:37.184
Mary Tan: And we don't want you to waste your money because there are so many agencies out there, PR or marketing, that will waste your money.
00:38:37.224 --> 00:38:42.104
Mary Tan: They will promise things or they won't promise things and you get nothing in return.
00:38:42.104 --> 00:38:44.524
Mary Tan: And that's, we're small business owners.
00:38:44.524 --> 00:38:48.684
Mary Tan: We know like what that's like, right, Lauren?
00:38:48.684 --> 00:38:54.324
Lauren Carter: Well, and listen, everyone wants to sell, like it's sales, you know?
00:38:54.324 --> 00:39:02.824
Lauren Carter: And so I think I trust someone more when they tell me they can't do something or won't do something.
00:39:02.824 --> 00:39:08.484
Lauren Carter: Then someone who's like, yeah, for sure, you know, no questions asked, like this is what it'll cost.
00:39:08.484 --> 00:39:14.364
Lauren Carter: I lost clients because I'd said, no, I don't think that's the way to go.
00:39:14.364 --> 00:39:20.824
Lauren Carter: If you want to do that, you should hire someone else, but you should be doing this, you know?
00:39:20.824 --> 00:39:27.044
Lauren Carter: Because again, you know, I'm not willing to just take people's money and be like, oh, whatever happens, happens, right?
00:39:27.464 --> 00:39:37.464
Lauren Carter: It's very much, I can't tell you how many times, someone was like, oh, I need social media help, and then I literally just take the call to convince them not to, and tell them what they actually should be doing, right?
00:39:37.504 --> 00:39:41.484
Lauren Carter: Like, okay, instead of spending money on that, why don't you do X, Y or Z?
00:39:41.484 --> 00:39:43.224
Lauren Carter: You know, why don't you focus on things?
00:39:43.224 --> 00:39:46.624
Lauren Carter: So I always, you know, is the juice worth a squeeze, right?
00:39:46.624 --> 00:39:53.564
Lauren Carter: Like, you need to focus on some things that will get directly into people's, you know, and result in sales.
00:39:53.564 --> 00:39:55.844
Lauren Carter: So I'm a huge fan of email marketing, right?
00:39:55.964 --> 00:40:05.804
Lauren Carter: These, you already have customers, you already have a base, there's a way to stay in front of people in a better way and continue engaging them, right?
00:40:05.804 --> 00:40:14.364
Lauren Carter: So I love doing email marketing because that's a much more sure way to get in front of people than social media marketing right now.
00:40:14.364 --> 00:40:18.804
Lauren Carter: I look at things in how many ways you can use them.
00:40:18.804 --> 00:40:31.764
Lauren Carter: So for example, influencer marketing, micro influencer marketing, and there's a great new business based on the Midwest called Hummingbirds, which is a micro influencer business, and it's actually super cool and affordable.
00:40:31.764 --> 00:40:56.524
Lauren Carter: And long story short, if you can spend a couple hundred dollars on an influencer, do it in a controlled way where you can also kind of work on an outcome together, if that makes sense, where it's like, hey, I'd really like to see you unboxing it and then giving it to your pet, and then this, or set a timer and see how long it takes you to do this, or you know what I mean?
00:40:56.524 --> 00:41:05.444
Lauren Carter: And it'd be great if you could add us as a collaborator, right, because then it's more content and it's more eyes that end up coming to us directly.
00:41:05.444 --> 00:41:25.684
Lauren Carter: And so just work on things and spend your money on things that you can utilize in multiple ways, if that makes sense, not just out of the promise of sales, but okay, we also need some more content, or okay, we also would like to see more reels or videos or photos of the new packaging that we have, because that's also really expensive.
00:41:25.684 --> 00:41:29.564
Lauren Carter: But there's also really great accessible resources.
00:41:29.564 --> 00:41:41.944
Lauren Carter: There's a studio called Suna, S-O-O-N-A, and they're a photo and video studio, and they're like six or seven locations, but they also do it virtually, and you pay per photo, right?
00:41:41.944 --> 00:41:44.724
Lauren Carter: So literally, if you just need a photo on white, it's like $39.
00:41:45.584 --> 00:41:47.644
Lauren Carter: You send in your product, they take the picture, and that's it.
00:41:47.644 --> 00:41:48.364
Lauren Carter: Wow.
00:41:48.364 --> 00:41:49.844
Lauren Carter: You can zoom in.
00:41:49.844 --> 00:41:57.504
Lauren Carter: You can do whole shoots on Suna, a bunch of the stuff on my website, is stuff that I took from Suna shoots that I did for different clients.
00:41:57.504 --> 00:41:59.524
Lauren Carter: But there's accessible ways.
00:41:59.524 --> 00:42:04.924
Lauren Carter: You don't need to just extend three, four grand on a photo shoot just to do that, right?
00:42:04.924 --> 00:42:10.044
Lauren Carter: Maybe you just need one great photo of this, or one great setup for the holidays, or, or, or.
00:42:10.044 --> 00:42:12.464
Lauren Carter: So look for resources.
00:42:12.544 --> 00:42:14.924
Lauren Carter: There's a lot of really cool things out there.
00:42:14.924 --> 00:42:16.784
Lauren Carter: And stop using AI.
00:42:16.784 --> 00:42:17.864
Mary Tan: Yes.
00:42:17.864 --> 00:42:18.984
Lauren Carter: Stop using AI.
00:42:18.984 --> 00:42:20.104
Lauren Carter: You can tell.
00:42:20.104 --> 00:42:21.064
Lauren Carter: You can tell.
00:42:21.064 --> 00:42:23.484
Lauren Carter: And the emoji, like just stop.
00:42:23.484 --> 00:42:25.804
Lauren Carter: Oh, yeah.
00:42:25.804 --> 00:42:27.984
Lauren Carter: I use AI like a research tool.
00:42:27.984 --> 00:42:32.444
Lauren Carter: You know, like if I'm doing something and I'm like, okay, like what are five reasons that I should do that?
00:42:32.444 --> 00:42:33.824
Lauren Carter: And then I'll be like, okay.
00:42:33.824 --> 00:42:38.524
Lauren Carter: And then I'll go and, you know, do something else like a Google, right?
00:42:38.524 --> 00:42:49.104
Lauren Carter: But never in my life will I ask for it to give me a voice for a brand or, you know, fix things or Photoshop, oh, Photoshop.
00:42:49.104 --> 00:42:49.644
Lauren Carter: Oh my gosh.
00:42:49.644 --> 00:42:50.824
Lauren Carter: The amount of, okay.
00:42:50.824 --> 00:42:58.804
Lauren Carter: I really hope she doesn't hear this, but this one time I had a client who literally asked if we could Photoshop this cat's tail, like in a different way.
00:42:58.844 --> 00:42:59.404
Lauren Carter: What?
00:42:59.404 --> 00:43:00.664
Lauren Carter: And I was like, no, dude.
00:43:00.664 --> 00:43:03.324
Lauren Carter: And this is why it's like hard to work with cats.
00:43:03.324 --> 00:43:05.224
Lauren Carter: Like, it's just like, I don't know.
00:43:05.224 --> 00:43:07.624
Lauren Carter: It was, it was something.
00:43:07.624 --> 00:43:10.364
Lauren Carter: But I was like, no, like we're not Photoshopping this cat's tail.
00:43:10.664 --> 00:43:13.464
Lauren Carter: Like, like, no, we're just not doing it.
00:43:13.464 --> 00:43:18.324
Lauren Carter: So, yeah, you know, be genuine as a brand, I guess is all I'm saying.
00:43:18.324 --> 00:43:29.424
Lauren Carter: Like, and if you really want to do it, like, and not grassroots it, like there's also opportunities for incubators and investments and things like that.
00:43:29.424 --> 00:43:30.304
Lauren Carter: You know what I mean?
00:43:30.304 --> 00:43:38.824
Lauren Carter: But that's also not necessarily necessary because a lot of people do that and they still have the same struggles as a little business because, you know, then they just throw their money.
00:43:39.244 --> 00:43:40.144
Mary Tan: Right.
00:43:40.144 --> 00:43:42.344
Lauren Carter: I know we got a little off topic at the end.
00:43:42.344 --> 00:43:50.044
Mary Tan: No, this is great information and I think what we'll do is we'll link to the resources that you mentioned in our show page.
00:43:50.044 --> 00:43:51.244
Mary Tan: And you know what?
00:43:51.244 --> 00:43:52.324
Mary Tan: We're out of time.
00:43:52.324 --> 00:43:54.864
Mary Tan: Thank you so much, Lauren.
00:43:54.864 --> 00:43:56.124
Lauren Carter: Thank you for having me.
00:43:56.124 --> 00:43:57.464
Mary Tan: This is so awesome.
00:43:57.464 --> 00:43:59.844
Mary Tan: Well, that's a wrap for the show.
00:43:59.844 --> 00:44:06.224
Mary Tan: We're so excited to be doing this for all of you out there who are making life better for animals.
00:44:06.824 --> 00:44:16.304
Mary Tan: And if you have a question or any kind of concern that you want us to answer, reach out to us on Instagram or Facebook under the Whisker Report.
00:44:16.304 --> 00:44:19.744
Mary Tan: And we'll try to answer it in a future podcast episode.
00:44:19.744 --> 00:44:26.424
Mary Tan: But as we always say at the end of the show, bark loud and purr smart.
00:44:26.424 --> 00:44:27.724
Mary Tan: Thanks, everyone.
00:44:27.724 --> 00:44:29.004
Mary Tan: See you later.
00:44:29.004 --> 00:44:30.324
Announcer: Let's Talk Pets.
00:44:30.364 --> 00:44:32.344
Announcer: Every week on demand.
00:44:32.364 --> 00:44:34.984
Announcer: Only on petliferadio.com.