Director of Marketing
Content at GRIN
Welcome to the GRIN gets real podcast, the show for people who want to maximize their marketing potential. From influencer marketing to eCommerce strategy and everything in between, each episode will feature industry experts that share their insights and provide actionable tips to help you achieve your marketing goals. Subscribe and stay tuned!
General Manager
Mike Watts is a serial entrepreneur who has built several multi-million dollar companies over the last 15 years. He is currently the CEO of LoveHandle, which makes a low profile, comfortable smartphone grip in a variety of patterns and customizations.
“We [used to have] more of a shotgun approach. And that’s why I’m so excited about GRIN because it’s allowing us to be more of a rifle… We can really focus in on who we want to build a relationship with, who do we want to purposefully give these samples to, and then create win-win propositions from there.” – Mike Watts, LoveHandle
Marketing is a critical piece of any business because it’s marketing that gets the message about your new product out to the people who are ultimately going to buy it. Influencer marketing allows brands to target the exact demographics of their potential customers and deliver that message using authentic content.
Brands who want to succeed today need to get serious about building relationships with influencers, and managing those relationships even as the company continues to grow. A platform like GRIN offers growing brands a way to scale their influencer marketing programs and access thousands of potential influencers while still maintaining a relationship based approach. And all without wasting time or money.
“The great thing about the influencer strategy and partnerships, is the authenticity that comes ingrained in the message.” – Mike Watts, LoveHandle
“If you look at Facebook ads and Instagram ads and TikTok ads, the ones that are most successful are the ones that are almost camouflaged as real content… It tells you that real content is what people want. So why not partner with an influencer that can help you create real content for their audience that delivers value across the whole gamut.” – Mike Watts, LoveHandle
The LoveHandle product lends itself easily to social media posts and influencer marketing because so many people create content while facing a mirror, prominently featuring the LoveHandle on the back of their phone. When the audience sees the LoveHandle they instinctively ask, “What’s that on your phone?” and the conversation continues from there. The company offers both product seeding with influencers as well as affiliate programs. LoveHandle has recently brought in the GRIN platform to manage their influencer marketing program.
In this special Customer Spotlight episode of the GRIN Gets Real Podcast, Katya from GRIN, talks with Mike about the importance of marketing in today’s online world and how to build a brand that is consistent with your values. Mike also gives behind the scenes examples of how he maintains a relationship-based program with influencers and why he is getting more authentic content than ever before.
Matt explains how his hard work early on laid a strong foundation for LoveHandle’s influencer program and he is excited about using GRIN to scale it. As a relatively new customer of GRIN, he is able to give plenty of before and after insights on how GRIN has improved their influencer marketing efforts.
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Matt believes brands should use influencer marketing from the beginning, even if all they can afford at first is spreadsheet management. Getting in now with an influencer marketing program is essential because competition will only increase and, “it’ll get harder to build authentic relationships.” Matt has done the research and believes that once a brand is ready to scale, GRIN is the best software solution available.
“For us, GRIN was the clear winner, because of the type of business that we have, the structure, the integrations… and again, a lot of it came down to the authenticity.” – Mike Watts, LoveHandle
Get ready to hear how GRIN has helped Matt and his company grow their influencer marketing program, reach more potential customers and bring in thousands of sales.
If you aren’t already in love with both GRIN and LoveHandle… you soon will be! So listen to the podcast now!
“We’re all influencers… you are a personal brand, and the people that are your followers on social media, and your friend group, and your family, that’s your circle of influence. And as a brand, to align with those people that have the right types of influence… just makes a lot of sense.”
“At the end of the day. I see influencer marketing as marketing, especially going forward.”
“If you’re watching your phone, or you’re watching on a computer all day long, well, then that’s where the ads need to pop up. And the more authentically it can, the better.”
“[Influencer marketing] is definitely gonna last, and people that are calling it a bubble are going to get left behind.”
“The walls are gonna start going up, the influencers are going to become more aware of the value they’re bringing, and demand more… it’ll get harder to build authentic relationships.”
“Being early matters… especially if your competitors are not doing it, you have a real opportunity to jump out ahead of them, and build relationships with these influencers that can move the needle immediately..”
Director of Marketing
Content at GRIN
Welcome to the GRIN gets real podcast, the show for people who want to maximize their marketing potential. From influencer marketing to eCommerce strategy and everything in between, each episode will feature industry experts that share their insights and provide actionable tips to help you achieve your marketing goals. Subscribe and stay tuned!
