DTC POD: How The Best Brands Are Built

How Stratia Skincare used Reddit as launchpad for building a DTC brand (with Alli Reed, Owner and Founder or Stratia Skincare)

Episode Summary

Alli Reed, Owner of Stratia Skincare, joins the POD to give some insight on the direct-to-consumer business’s growth, marketing strategy, and how the brand got started. Stratia Skincare is a cosmetic brand focused on being affordable and effective that started off on Reddit and exponentially grew. Alli had no expectations of the product developing into a large entrepreneurship opportunity; However, the product grew a natural following and boomed from there. No marketing or advertising expenses were involved for the first three years of production. Brand growth was fostered by positive reviews and word of mouth. Stay tuned as Alli discusses how Stratia Skincare has grown from a small hobby into a successful business. If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn. We Speak About: [00:53] Alli introduces herself and Stratia [03:21] How Stratia became an unanticipated entrepreneurship opportunity [04:14] Previous work experience that helped shape the marketing strategy for Stratia [06:57] Utilizing Reddit as a foundation for building the brand [10:37] How the brand stays an active part of the consumer community [12:05] How the marketing mix has altered as the brand has progressed [14:16] The social media platforms that enabled early product growth [15:38] Growth strategies on Instagram that differentiated the brand [18:30] The unique approach for promoting through TikTok [20:19] Challenges faced with differentiating the brand through social media [22:30] How to avoid common mistakes when building a business [24:04] Industry networking for Stratia Skincare [25:30] What’s next for Stratia and where to find Stratia Skincare, and Alli Reed online

Episode Notes

  1. “A consumer's attention is a finite resource. Make sure you do the most with the time you have with them.” @alliareed #DTCPOD
  2. “Reddit is a wonderful tool for research, for tapping into that community and getting a finger on feedback for a product.” @alliareed #DTCPOD
  3. I didn't spend any money on marketing or advertising of any kind for the first three years. So it was 100% organic growth.” @alliareed #DTCPOD
  4. “On Instagram, I shared the science that I was discovering behind the research, and it was something that you couldn't really get anywhere else because there weren't a lot of people manufacturing cosmetics live.” @alliareed #DTCPOD
  5. “I think there is a unique challenge in selling direct to consumer skincare in that if you're selling fashion, you can like how it looks. Skincare isn’t something you can necessarily convey digitally. ” @alliareed #DTCPOD

We Speak About:

How Reddit helped launched Stratia skincare from hobby into full-time job

Alli Reed, Owner of Stratia Skincare, joins the POD to give some insight on the direct-to-consumer business’s growth, marketing strategy, and how the brand got started. 

Stratia Skincare is a cosmetic brand focused on being affordable and effective that started off on Reddit and exponentially grew.

Alli had no expectations of the product developing into a large entrepreneurship opportunity; 

However, the product grew a natural following and boomed from there. No marketing or advertising expenses were involved for the first three years of production. Brand growth was fostered by positive reviews and word of mouth. 

Product growth transitioned the marketing mix and sales coming from reddit have extended to other platforms. As the business has grown it has now saturated credit markets.

Alli recognizes that Stratia is an authentic cosmetic company that will continue to grow, as direct- to-consumer companies are gaining more attention due to COVID-19 increasing online shopping.

Sometimes in DTC, it pays to market differently

Stratia Skincare stands out as an eCommerce cosmetic company that delivers simple, effective, and affordable products. 

The brand further differentiates itself by providing the science behind the ingredients in their products and sharing this knowledge with their consumers. 

A large percentage of their business now comes from instagram, and Alli is now utilizing TikTok to further the brand’s growth.

Alli takes a unique approach of showing how knowledge based the brand is and the level of research involved, through social media platforms.  

Alli recommends seeking advice from established companies in the industry you are getting into to avoid simple mistakes. 

Stay tuned as Alli discusses how Stratia Skincare has grown from a small hobby into a successful business. 

If you’d like to learn more about Trend and our influencer marketing platform for influencers and brands visit trend.io. You can also follow us for tips on growing your following and running successful campaigns on Instagram and LinkedIn.

Mentioned Links:

Stratia Skincare website: https://www.stratiaskin.com/

Stratia Skincare instagram: https://instagram.com/stratiaskin/  

Stratia Skincare TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@stratiaskin/

Alli Reed’s email: Alli@stratiaskin.com