Marketing has its own version of a “Chicken or the Egg” problem. Which comes first, finding new customers, or nurturing the ones you already have?

Every business leader faces this same question, and the answer isn’t always obvious. While both are essential for a healthy business, the specific balance of your investment can dramatically change your trajectory.

We’re going to break down this great debate, help you understand the pros and cons of each, and show you how to find the right blend for your brand. 

What is New Customer Acquisition?

New Customer Acquisition is the process of getting new customers to try your product or service for the first time. It’s all about making a great first impression and getting them to commit.

• Common Channels: Acquisition is powered by strategies such as paid ads on platforms like Meta, Taboola, and Google, as well as influencer marketing and SEO, which put you at the top of search results.
• Pros: Acquisition is the engine of growth. It’s how you scale your business, enter new markets, and expand your reach. It provides a steady stream of new revenue and keeps your business from becoming stagnant.
• Cons: It’s expensive to do right. The cost for a new customer is significantly higher than the cost of retaining existing ones.
• Pro Tip: Acquisition can be a high-effort, low-yield game. It requires constant testing and optimisation to find the right people at the right time. Don’t be afraid to pull the plug on underperforming campaigns to focus your budget on what’s working.

What is Customer Retention?

Customer Retention is the practice of keeping the customers you already have. This is where the long-term relationship building happens. It’s about turning a single purchase into a second, a third, a fourth, and a lifetime of loyalty. The goal isn’t just about building a customer list but about cultivating a loyal brand community.

• Common Channels: Retention strategies involve the use of powerful campaigns driven through email, SMS, and app push channels, alongside a healthy mix of paid media campaigns on social media such as Meta, X, and Reddit, not to mention your customer service.
• Pros: Retention is often more cost-effective. Happy retained customers are not only a source of stable revenue, but also your best brand advocates. They’ll tell their friends, leave positive reviews, and organically drive new customers for you. Their Customer Lifetime Value (LTV) can be HUGE.
• Cons: You can’t scale a business on retention alone; you still need a steady stream of new customers to fuel the first. Focusing too much on retention can also lead to a static customer base, limiting your total growth.
• Pro Tip: Retention is not a passive game! You have to engage with your customer base and add value actively. Do it right? Your customers become your brand ambassadors, converting their friends and family. Do it wrong? They’ll run away faster and further.

Metrics that Matter: The numbers behind the decisions.

To make data-driven decisions, you need to understand these core metrics. 

• Customer Acquisition Cost (CAC): The total cost of sales and marketing needed to acquire a single customer.
• Customer Lifetime Value (LTV): The total revenue a single customer is expected to generate over their entire relationship with you.
• Conversion Rate: The percentage of visitors to your site that end up doing what you want them to do.
• Retention Rate: The percentage of customers you’ve kept over a specific period.
• Churn Rate: The percentage of customers who stop doing business with you over a specific period.
• Pro Tip: Your LTV should ALWAYS be higher than your CAC. This is the golden rule of profitability. If you’re spending more to get a customer than they’ll ever spend with you, then you’re going to have a bad time!

When to Focus on Acquisition 

There are clear phases in a business’s life cycle where acquisition should be the primary focus.

• Early Stage Startups or New Product Launches: When you’re just starting out, you have no customers to retain. Your number one priority is to introduce your brand, product, or service to the world and establish your customer base.
• Entering New Markets: If you’re an established business already and are expanding into a new country or demographic, you’re essentially a startup again. An aggressive acquisition strategy is key to building your new customer base.
• Growth Mode: When you have a proven market fit product and a healthy LTV, it’s time to pour some petrol on the fire and get things moving. An aggressive acquisition strategy, powered by high-performing paid ads and organic channels, can help you scale quickly.

When to Focus on Retention

While acquisition is the growth engine, retention is the stability and long-term profitability that keeps the engine running smoothly. 

• Established Customer Base: If you’ve been in business for a while, it’s often more efficient to invest in nurturing your existing customers than constantly chasing new ones.
• High Acquisition Cost Market: In highly competitive markets, or where a market is just overly saturated, a strong retention strategy is crucial to maximising the LTV of each customer.
• Subscription-Based Model: For companies that rely on subscription-based revenue, retention is a matter of survival. Every customer you lose is a direct hit to your bottom line, making retention strategies a top priority.
• New Product Launches to Existing Customers: Sometimes, retention can drive acquisition. Cross-selling a new product to your existing customer base is one of the most efficient ways to launch something smoothly. Especially if this customer base already loves and trusts you!

Finding the Sweet Spot: How to Split Your Budget

Finding the perfect split isn’t an exact science; it’s a dynamic process of analysis and adjustment. 

• Know Your Metrics: Start by looking at your data. What is your current CAC vs LTV? What is your churn rate? Why did that customer abandon their cart 17 times at 3:11 am on Sunday? The answers to these questions will reveal where you’re strong, and where you’re bleeding money.
• Know Your Objectives: If your goal is aggressive market share growth, a heavier acquisition budget might make more sense. If your goal is sustainability, a more balanced approach could be better.
• Build Your Feedback Loop: Your retention strategy should inform your acquisition strategy. By understanding why your most loyal customers are here, you can build better audiences for your acquisition campaigns, finding more people just like them!
• Pro Tip: The best strategies are never static. The ratio of your budget allocations should change as your business and objectives evolve. What works for a startup won’t work for a mature company, and vice versa. Continually test and refine your budget split to match your current needs!

Why GeistM is the Perfect Partner

This isn’t a “chicken or the egg” question; it’s a “how and when” question. And that’s where a partner like GeistM becomes invaluable. We don’t believe in a one-size-fits-all approach; we believe in a holistic, data-driven strategy that makes every dollar and cent count. 

• Holistic Strategy: We understand that acquisition and retention are two sides of the same coin. We build comprehensive strategies that integrate both, ensuring everything is balanced and effective across the entire customer journey.
• Data-Driven Decisions: Our team of experts meticulously analyzes the CAC, LTV, and other key metrics to make informed decisions about allocations. We’ll never blindly throw money at a campaign hoping for the best. Everything we do is backed by a metric that matters.
• The Perfect Partner: GeistM is the perfect partner for this because we don’t force you into one camp. We are flexible, agile, and capable of building custom strategies that perfectly match your business’s needs, whether that’s aggressive growth, sustainability, or a mix of both.
• Pro Tip: The best strategies are never static. The ratio of your budget allocations should change as your business and objectives evolve. What works for a startup won’t work for a mature company, and vice versa. Continually test and refine your budget split to match your current needs!

The battle between retention and acquisition isn’t a battle at all. It’s a dance. And with the right partner, you can master the steps and build a brand that not only grows fast, but also lasts. So contact GeistM today, and we’ll take care of everything for you!

Written by: Conor Dargle

Influencer marketing has become a cornerstone of digital advertising, enabling brands to connect with consumers through authentic, trusted content. 

The success of this strategy lies in its ability to build authentic connections, as followers trust influencers for their honest, relatable endorsements. However, as artificial intelligence (AI) continues to gain ground, the potential for AI-driven influencer marketing to disrupt this dynamic grows. The introduction of AI influencers, as well as AI-generated ads mimicking real influencers, raises critical questions about trust, consent, and authenticity.

Let’s explore how AI is reshaping influencer marketing, the risks it poses to authenticity, and best practices for leveraging AI while maintaining the trust that your brand and influencer partnerships rely on.

The Rise of AI in Influencer Marketing

Artificial intelligence is transforming many industries, and influencer marketing is no exception. 

From predictive algorithms that suggest the most effective content creators to AI-powered tools that generate influencer-like avatars, brands now have more options than ever for reaching their target audience. AI can streamline campaign processes, enhance personalization, and deliver data-driven insights that can optimize influencer partnerships.

However, as AI becomes more integrated into the influencer marketing landscape, brands must tread carefully. AI tools are capable of creating hyper-realistic, synthetic influencers, but some are manipulating existing influencers’ images and voices without their consent. These AI-generated personas may look authentic, but they lack the genuine connection real influencers and creators have with their followers.

The Risk of AI-Generated Content

A recent incident has highlighted the risks associated with AI in influencer marketing. Arielle Lorre, a well-known beauty influencer, discovered that her likeness had been used in an AI-generated video promoting a skincare brand — without her permission. The brand used AI technology to create a video of Lorre endorsing their product, but Lorre had never worked with the brand, never filmed a video for them, and never even used the product being promoted.

@ariellelorre

TikTok attorneys and legal experts – please weigh in!

? original sound – Arielle Lorre

The video, which featured Lorre’s image and voice, was shared on social media as part of a marketing campaign. When Lorre found out, she was alarmed, as she had never agreed to the use of her image in this manner. The brand explained that their external agency had sourced AI-generated avatars from an online platform, unaware that Lorre’s likeness had been used without her consent.

This situation raises a major concern: If AI can manipulate content to create videos, images, or entire personas that look and sound like real influencers, how can consumers trust the content they encounter online?

Lorre’s case underscores the potential for AI to erode the authenticity that makes influencer marketing so effective. When consumers feel that they are being misled by AI-generated content, it can damage the trust that influencers have worked hard to build with their audiences.

The Importance of Authentic Influencer Partnerships

While AI offers several advantages, it is essential to preserve the authenticity at the heart of influencer marketing. Real, human influencers and creators build trust by sharing personal stories, experiences, and recommendations with their audiences. This connection fosters loyalty and engagement, a quality that AI-generated content cannot replicate.

User-generated content (UGC) remains one of the most powerful tools in a brand’s influencer strategy. Consumers trust real content from authentic influencers because they know it comes from a place of genuine experience. AI-driven influencer marketing may offer efficiency, but it cannot replace the human connection that drives successful influencer partnerships.

Brands must focus on collaborating with influencers who have established credibility through genuine engagement with their followers. The key is to work with creators who share their true experiences and values, fostering trust in the process.

Best Practices for Navigating AI in Influencer Marketing

1. Prioritize Transparency and Consent

Ensure that all influencers have given explicit consent for their likeness or voice to be used in AI-generated content. Avoid using AI to impersonate influencers or create fake personas that could damage the trust consumers place in your brand.

2. Leverage AI for Optimization, Not Substitution

Use AI to enhance your campaigns rather than replace human influencers altogether. AI tools can help analyze data, optimize campaign performance, and suggest relevant content, but the human element should remain central to your marketing strategy.

3. Ensure Ethical AI Use

If AI is part of your influencer marketing strategy, establish clear ethical guidelines. Be transparent with your audience about when AI is used, and avoid misleading consumers with manipulated content that could jeopardize brand integrity.

4. Work with Real Influencers and UGC Creators

Focus on partnerships with influencers who have built their following through authentic content. UGC creators, in particular, offer an opportunity to tap into real, organic engagement with your target audience.

5. Monitor and Review Content

Actively monitor the content being produced and shared by influencers to ensure it aligns with your brand values. If AI-generated content is used, ensure it’s done ethically and transparently.

The Future of Influencer Marketing in an AI-Driven World

AI is a powerful tool that can drive efficiency and enhance personalization in influencer marketing, but it must be used responsibly. As brands explore the potential of AI-driven influencer campaigns, they must be cautious not to compromise authenticity or the trust that influencers have built with their followers.

The key to successful influencer marketing in the AI age lies in finding the right balance — leveraging AI for optimization while maintaining the human connection that makes influencer marketing so effective. By collaborating with genuine influencers, respecting their image rights, and being transparent about the role of AI, brands can maintain trust and credibility in a rapidly evolving digital landscape.

Are you looking to enhance your influencer marketing strategy? GeistM specializes in performance-driven content marketing and influencer partnerships. Our team can help you navigate the complexities of AI-driven marketing while maintaining the authenticity that fuels consumer trust. Contact us today to learn more!

Written by: Shannon Purcell

Have you ever stumbled across a social media post that you didn’t initially realize was an ad? Chances are, you’ve been exposed to User-Generated Content (UGC) and Influencer Marketing without even realizing it.

In today’s digital age, authenticity reigns supreme. UGC and Influencer Marketing serve as two powerful tools for brands to connect with audiences in a genuine and impactful way. From unboxing to day-in-the-life videos, everyday consumers and social media influencers are reshaping the way brands are driving engagement and how they’re perceived.

Here’s a breakdown of everything you need to know about UGC and Influencer Marketing:

What Is UGC?

UGC (User-Generated Content) is a style of photography and video typically shot using an iPhone, providing an unpolished, authentic vibe. The results offer a glimpse of what a product or service actually looks like in a real-life situation. Rather than deal with the expenses and hassle of a professional photoshoot, UGC is an affordable and successful method of creating compelling assets for social.

What Is Influencer Marketing?

Influencer Marketing involves partnering with content creators who have strong online presences and loyal audiences of potential customers. Think of influencer marketing as mini celebrity endorsements. This strategy can help you build brand awareness and generate more conversions by reaching a variety of audiences. Users can be more likely to convert if someone they follow and admire endorses the product. Because influencers specialize in crafting digital content, they can produce ads that seamlessly blend in with users’ feeds. 

*An important note: Influencers can create UGC-style ads, but not all UGC needs to originate with influencers. 

Read Our Other blog: Could Influencers be the key to great marketing?

UGC vs. Influencer Marketing:

UGC is a highly affordable and agile strategy for brands to create engaging content. Influencer marketing, on the other hand, can require more budget depending on the size of the creator. 

Although UGC is a relatively simple concept, there are nuances and advanced approaches you can take to optimize results. UGC Creators are individuals who specialize in crafting authentic content that can be used by brands in their paid social strategy. They charge significantly less than influencers; with influencers, you’re paying for exposure and the ability to reach a new audience. 

With UGC creators, content is created for your brand, and your brand only — it’s not posted on the creators’ channels. Generally, the brand has full control over what is created based on the brand’s strategy and content goals.  

Influencers are valuable to brands because of their online presence. The bigger the following, the higher the cost, but also the higher the chances a product or service is seen by a new audience. Promoting products in their own distinct style that their followers know and love makes influencers’ content easy to engage with.

Influencers generally post the ads they create to their own personal accounts in order to reach their particular audience. With UGC, brands post the content directly to their own feeds in order to build credibility and trust.

Also Read: The Importance Of Images – UGC Vs. Professional Photos

Which Strategy Is Right For You?

UGC

UGC works well for lifestyle products that consumers use daily. By portraying products in a natural setting, the end result feels more organic and native to users’ feeds. This strategy can also help third-party reviews appear more authentic and trustworthy. 

UGC — whether created in-house or with an agency like GeistM — gives your business more control over the final output. We work with creators to create engaging content based on clients’ needs and goals. From the script to the final edit, creators work closely with our expert team to ensure the final content piece will resonate with audiences.

Influencer Marketing

Influencer marketing is an exceptional strategy for brands trying to break into niche markets. Many influencers focus on one specific topic, like fashion, fitness, food, or wellness. Because their followers share a similar interest, brands can reach audiences that precisely match their desired demographic. When influencers showcase products, consumers can develop a more positive association and intensify their connection with the brand.

Influencers are categorized based on follower count:

1. Nano-Influencers:1K–10K followers
2. Micro-Influencers: 10K–100K followers
3. Macro-Influencers:100K–1M followers
4. Mega or Celebrity Influencers:1M+ followers

Each of these groups have their own pros and cons. Nano and micro-influencers tend to have more engaged followings and charge much lower rates. Granted, their reach will be much smaller, but the higher engagement rates will make up for it. A recent study found that micro-influencers generate a 6% engagement rate on Instagram, compared to mega influencers’ 1.97% engagement rate.

Despite their high cost, partnering with macro and mega influencers also has a number of unique benefits. The first one obviously being their massive reach — getting millions of eyes on your product is invaluable for any brand. This can be great for quick sales and even garner earned media attention if the collaboration is large enough. 

GeistM Tip: Before partnering with an influencer, always check their engagement rates. Many large creators’ follower counts are not indicative of their actual reach (an account with 1 million followers that only averages a couple of hundred likes on each post is a red flag). So in order to ensure you’re getting your money’s worth, double-check whether their engagement adds up.

Overall, micro-influencers are definitely a more cost-effective option, so we only recommend partnering with macro and mega influencers if you’ve got large budgets or a specific goal in mind.

Key Takeaways:

• UGC is a cost-effective strategy for creating authentic, native content for paid media
• UGC is about creating content for a brand’s platform only — it’s not posted on the creator’s channel
• Anyone can take UGC, but brands can hire UGC creators and agencies for specific needs.
• Influencer marketing allows brands to tap into niche markets and build brand awareness.
• Influencer marketing is about exposing a brand, product, or service to a new or different audience.
• Influencers aim to “influence” their audience to purchase or use a product or service, UGC involves creating content for the brand’s own use — hence the cost difference.
• Micro-influencers offer high engagement rates for lower budgets, while macro and mega influencers provide massive reach.

Why Choose GeistM?

Are you interested in UGC or influencer marketing but don’t know where to start? GeistM is here to help. Our Growth Marketing experts will guide you based on your business and goals. We’ve developed hundreds of marketing strategies across dozens of industries and attained thousands of customers for our clients.

Our in-house creative team excels at creating beautiful UGC that will generate maximum engagement and conversion rates. We also regularly collaborate with UGC creators and influencers to help our clients’ reach specific demographics. With these tailored strategies, we pride ourselves on producing authentic content that drives serious results.

So, instead of struggling to figure this all out yourselves, contact us today!

Written by: Simon Kuflik

In the dynamic realm of marketing, staying ahead of the curve is not only a strategy but a necessity. Everything changes quickly; what might be a marketing-must one day is a complete no-no the next — in the blink of an eye.

This new era’s marketing landscape is constantly shifting due to many factors. It’s driven by technological advancements, shifting consumer behaviors, and global dynamics. Adaptation is the name of the game, and you must be prepared to pivot. 

Join us as we reveal what marketing trends we should bid farewell to and which ones we should greet with open arms. 

Are you ready to look deeper into 5 significant marketing trends — in our opinion — that’ll dominate 2024? Let’s dive in.

1. Out With Long-Form Video Content And In With Short-Form Video Content 

Over the last couple of years, it’s evident that video content has taken over and outperforms static images. In fact, 88% of marketers say video is integral to their marketing strategy. And 52% of companies say they create videos to educate their target audience about their products. 

Now that we know videos are a marketing essential, it’s time to figure out the ideal length. 75% of people watch short-form video content on their mobile, and most watch videos with closed captions. Although long-form videos offer in-depth analysis of products or services — which is really educational — they don’t hold people’s attention, especially in the age of TikTok. 

Short-form videos are meant to be around the 17-second mark. They’re designed to be easily digestible content nuggets, ideal for quick scrolling and viewing multiple pieces simultaneously. 

According to Influencer Marketing Hub, 96% of consumers prefer to watch short-form videos when learning about a product or service. While close to a third (30%) of all short-form videos are watched 81% of the way through. So, if your marketing strategy has yet to start using short-form videos, now is definitely the time to start. 

2. Out With Traditional Advertising And In With Sponsored /Native Content 

With digital marketing strategies taking precedence over traditional marketing, techniques like direct mail and print ads are no longer beneficial. We’re not saying that these methods don’t work, they simply don’t resonate with younger generations — they are the future, after all. 

So, what are the alternative methods? Native or Sponsored marketing — both forms of paid advertising. Native ads seamlessly integrate a business ad into the user’s regular reading flow. In contrast, sponsored content is advertising tailored for a specific site or platform. It’s designed to reach a fresh audience, those who would have otherwise never heard about your brand. 

When it comes to traditional ads, you could talk with someone over the phone and gain information about a product or service. But there are better methods. We all hate getting a marketing call when we’re busy or mid-meeting. But sponsored ads provide the same information — or more. Plus, there’s the benefit of actually seeing how the product or service works. 

That’s why according to Hubspot, “more than a third (36%) of marketers plan to increase their investment in native advertising in 2024, and 56% plan to continue investing the same amount.” 

3. Out With Big Celebrities And In With Micro-Influencers 

We’ve all seen posts from our favorite celebrities featuring brands and products that they endorse, influencing us to purchase the product. So we know that the strategy of working with influencers is great for marketing — that’s why influencer marketing is extremely popular. 

Hubspot says, “When marketers collaborate with influencers and industry thought leaders in their industry, they can expand brand awareness and gain fans from the influencer’s own audience.” 

Micro-influencers generally have 10,000 to 100,000 followers, and according to Ad Week, Micro-influencers are “actually attracting much higher engagement and conversion rates than highly influential users.”

Although micro-influencers have fewer followers, they usually value their community and won’t peddle ineffective products to boost their revenue. They’re more open and honest about what they want to achieve from the partnership. And since their voice is more relatable and authentic —  a mom blogger will actually sign up for a diaper subscription in real life. 

This is why “of the marketers who worked with influencers and creators in 2023, 64% worked with micro-influencers, making them the most popular choice for influencer marketers.”

4. Out With Branded Photographs And In With UGC 

We all know how indispensable visual aspects are in marketing. Providing consumers with something to see helps them imagine the product and click the purchase button. This doesn’t have to be videos alone; it can also be still images. 

There are many different image styles, but overall, it comes down to Branded photographs, which are super staged and have impeccable lighting. Then, there’s UGC content, or user-generated content, which is much more genuine and natural. 

We go into detail about the differences between these two in a previous GeistM blog post. But ultimately, seeing real people using the product convinces buyers. According to Hootsuite, “60% of marketers agree that authenticity and quality are equally important elements of successful content. And no other content type is more authentic than UGC from your customers.”

UGC is important in the final stages of the marketing funnel because it makes users feel like their money is going to the right place. “Nearly 80% of people say that UGC impacts their decision to purchase, making user-generated content and social commerce a match made in heaven.” 

So, make sure that your marketing funnel has some UGC — you can even get a sample of the product you’re advertising and take the images or videos yourself. 

5. Out With DIY Marketing And In With GeistM 

Finding the optimal marketing strategy for your business can be tough. It requires a lot of testing and experimenting to figure out what can help your brand the most. It’s not just start-ups that are struggling to find the right strategy; even big brands can miss out on certain aspects that could have boosted their campaigns. 

Rather than trying to figure out a marketing strategy for yourself, put your trust in us, and we’ll do it for you. Here at GeistM, we can create a marketing strategy that’s completely customized to help you achieve your goals. 

We’re a marketing partner with owned and operated media sites. With our expert content team, we provide full-service direct-response content marketing. And our amazing in-house creative team work hand-in-hand to develop high-quality and engaging visuals to boost your brand. 

By choosin GeistM, we can identify the perfect marketing strategy for your brand, keep up with trends, and help your business grow. So contact us today!

Written by Nitanti Alur