$11 Million in 1.5 Years From One Simple Product (and a Genius Strategy)
This marketing strategy is too good not to share.
I usually write about my own business experiments, strategies, and results.
But today, I want to share a story that I recently came across because it’s just too good NOT to let you in on.
Last night I was listening to Bret Malinowski’s podcast on YouTube.
In this episode, he was interviewing Oliver Brocato, a 21-year-old entrepreneur who started selling small boxes of chocolates online and ended up making over $11 million dollars within a year and a half.
There were several “ah-ha” moments in the interview that I think are worth sharing — AND that I will be applying in my own business.
If you’re an article skimmer like me, make sure you check out the marketing strategy section of this story, because it is freakin’ GENIUS.
1. Viral Product Idea
Before I get into the mind-blowing social media strategy that Oliver Brocato used to make $11 million in 18 months, we have to talk about his product.
Brocato sells a unique edible product called “Tabs,” that he describes as “sex chocolate.”
The product is packaged in a minimalist brown box that contains three small squares of chocolate. Each piece can be broken in two and shared with a partner.
The product claims to —
Build sexual arousal, heighten your senses and spice up the action in your bedroom.
Oooh, la la.
Whether or not Brocato’s “sex chocolate” is capable of actually achieving what it claims is NOT the focus of this story.
The lesson here is that Brocato KNEW this product had the potential to go viral because it was controversial.
It was a product that grabbed people’s attention and got them talking on social media.
2. The Marketing Strategy
To be honest, I could care less about the “sex chocolate” because it’s not even remotely related to any of my business niches.
However, what did get me EXCITED was Brocato’s genius marketing strategy.
It’s not something I’ve heard anyone else talking about.
Brocato hired “UGC creators” to make TikTok videos about his product and post them on their own “branded accounts.”
If you’re not familiar with “UGC,” it stands for “user-generated content.”
UGC creators are typically “micro-influencers” with small to moderate social media followings.
However, in some cases, they may not even have their own social media accounts.
They’re basically paid actors or spokespeople who look like your average Joe (or Jane.)
UGC content is effective because it’s usually not glaringly obvious that you’re watching a commercial.
In the interview, Brocato said he was willing to “hire anyone with a phone” to make videos about his product.
The UGC creators would create a new TikTok account that contained the brand’s name and post their videos there — eliminating the need for the business to manage all that content.
Brocato mentioned that he didn’t really give the creators strict guidelines for creating videos because “you never know what will go viral.”
Eventually, some of the videos DID go viral, racking up millions of views.
3. The Genius Part
Posting a bunch of product videos on TikTok in the hopes that a few will go viral isn’t new or genius.
However, it was this next part of Brocato’s strategy that blew my mind.
The initial videos put out by the UGC creators were designed to raise awareness of the product — not sell it right away.
However, when people saw the UGC videos on TikTok, they started asking questions in the comments like,
“Where can I get this product?”
“How does it work?”
When viewers left questions about the product, the UGC creators would make follow-up videos and post them using TikTok’s “respond to comments” feature.
Pay attention to THIS part!
Brocato discovered that when you post a video responding to a comment in this way, it is also shown to many of same the people who watched the original video.
…
Let that sink in.
…
For example, say 2 million people watched the initial “awareness” video. Those same people would also see the follow-up video answering the commenter’s question.
This is basically free retargeting and social proof rolled into one.
Honestly, I can see this strategy being so much more effective than running ads on TikTok (which most people skip over).
Instead, when you see a brand responding to a viewer's comment like this, it doesn’t feel like an ad, so you’re more likely to keep watching.
Also, when people see that other people are interested in buying a product, it tends to pique their curiosity.
After all, no one likes to feel like they’re “missing out.”
Just to drive home the power of this strategy, Brocato explained that at one point, they had an “awareness” video go viral on TikTok.
It got about 30 million views and led to $40,000 in sales.
However, after making several follow-up videos in response to viewer comments, their sales shot up to $130,000 within a few days, and they ended up bringing in over 7 figures in sales that month.
Absolutely insane.
4. Practical Application
Since watching the video interview, I’ve been thinking about how I could apply this strategy to my own business.
My first question was,
Where the heck do you find UGC creators?
After some brief research, I discovered that there are over 4,036 UGC services available on Fiverr, starting at $10 and going up to over $100+ per video.
TikTok also has its own Creator Marketplace, where you can search for video creators, send invitations for collaborations, and track the results of specific campaigns.
While hiring UGC creators is a great way to save time, I know that not everyone has the budget for this.
Even though I’m actively trying to spend more on outsourcing tasks that will grow my business, my inner penny-pincher immediately gravitates toward thinking about how I could create these videos myself so I can test out the “respond to comments” feature.
I’ll write a follow-up story once I’ve done more testing.
In the meantime…
What do you think of this strategy?
Have you heard about this free retargeting method on TikTok before? If so, have you tested it?
I’d love to hear your thoughts on how you might use this in the comments :)
