Mastering Social Commerce Conversion | Maria Sipova from Trnd.io

Ernesto Quezada: Pathmonk is an intelligent tool for website lead generation. With increasing online competition, over 98% of website visitors don’t convert. The ability to successfully show your value proposition and support visitors in their buying journey separates you from the competition. Online, Pathmonk qualifies and converts leads on your website by figuring out where they are in the buying journey and influencing them in key decision moments. With relevant micro experiences like case studies, intro videos, and much more, stay relevant to your visitors and increase conversions by 50%. Add Pathmonk to your website in seconds. Let the AI do all the work and get access to 50% more qualified leads while you keep doing marketing and sales as usual. Check us on pathmonk.com. Welcome to today’s episode. Let’s talk about today’s guest. We have Maria Sipova from Trnd.io, CMO with them. How are you doing today, Maria?

Maria Sipova: Doing fantastic. Thank you so much for having me over today.

Ernesto: It’s great to have you on, and I’m sure our listeners are tuning in wondering what Trnd.io is all about. So in your own words, tell us a little bit more.

Maria: Absolutely. Trnd is a social commerce platform built specifically for ecommerce brands that work with influencers or creators. The influencer or creator channel is gaining popularity, especially for brands in athletics, fitness, wellness, and cosmetics. Collaborating with creators, getting to know their audience, and ultimately converting through sales is crucial. Trnd helps brands convert at a much greater rate, build emotional connections, improve technology, and see a clear ROI on the influencer channel, which is still being developed. Many organizations do it for awareness but not necessarily seeing the sales.

Ernesto: Great to hear that. So, what would you say is the key problem that you’d like to solve for clients at Trnd?

Maria: That’s a great question. I bet almost anyone in the audience has tried to buy something either through Instagram or by clicking on Pinterest. Think back to the experience—it takes you through ten clicks, offers upsells, maybe goes through shipping, and if you have to buy three items because you love them from the person you follow, you probably stop at one because it is a pain. Brands are still working with creators, paying for the content and partnership, but then losing sales through the process. Just like you optimize website conversion, we optimize the conversion of that click-to-sale process by reducing the clicks from ten to pretty much just one. TrndCheckout does this and builds an emotional connection with the influencer. It’s a highly personalized, curated experience where all the information from the creator is there. This increases conversion both technically and emotionally. Our platform also provides insights into the process, from analytics to scaling and managing gifting.

Ernesto: Definitely. I’ve been a victim of that—seeing something I like, clicking, and then giving up after too many clicks. It’s amazing that you guys can streamline that process.

Maria: As a marketer, it breaks my heart to see that, knowing all that goes into it and then losing sales. I’ve done that myself too.

Ernesto: Exactly. So, is there a vertical that you guys like to focus on?

Maria: Essentially, it’s any ecommerce brand that has built an influencer program. We’re seeing a lot of success in wellness, nutrition supplements, cosmetics, fashion, retail, and some CPG brands. It’s where creators showcase themselves and their lifestyles well. However, I see potential for almost any industry because creators show their life—it’s the new way of media, so almost any industry can benefit.

Ernesto: Perfect. How do these ecommerce platforms usually find out about you? Is there a top client acquisition channel for you guys?

Maria: As a marketing approach, I always diversify. We just came off one of our largest industry shows, ShopTalk in Las Vegas, which helped us build connections with many ecommerce brands. We work with people who work with influencers, so social media is a huge channel for us. It’s also a huge referrals channel. Our website is another channel. We have two types of audiences: brands with ecommerce platforms and creators. The magic happens when they start referring each other. Brands bring in multiple creators, and creators refer brands. It’s an interesting dynamic where we expand the funnel by adding value and delighting both creators and brands, getting the referral engine working.

Ernesto: Great to hear that. For our listeners who are tuned in, they can check you out at trnd.io. What role does the website play for client acquisition?

Maria: Great question. First of all, it’s the face of the brand. It has to be clear and provide an explanation of exactly what we do. It has to answer three main questions: what it is that we do, why they have to care, and how it benefits them. We have two homepages: the primary one for brands and the secondary one for creators. The user journey and the ability to relate to what we’re saying is really important. From demand generation and capturing conversions to supporting conversations for business development outreach, the website plays multiple roles. We’re building out a resources section that talks to both brands and creators about best practices.

Ernesto: Awesome. On that note, are there any tools or methods you would recommend to our listeners for website lead generation?

Maria: Clarity is essential. Having a single CTA and understanding what you’re trying to accomplish with the website is crucial. Tools like Hotjar can provide insights into whether people are following the intended journey. It’s helpful to ensure the website is clear and intentionally designed for conversions.

Ernesto: Thanks for sharing that. Let’s switch gears a bit, Maria, and talk about you as a leader. What are some key tasks you like to focus on in your day-to-day work?

Maria: At Trnd.io, we are in high growth startup mode. I focus on three major things: ensuring the goals and strategy for everyone on the team are clear, helping my team remove obstacles to achieve our goals, and enabling my team to achieve our projects and goals. I also focus on identifying gaps and plugging them to ensure we cover all priorities. As a leader, I remove blockers and enable the team to focus on what they do best. This involves both the marketing team perspective and executive leadership.

Ernesto: It sounds like you have a full plate. How do you stay up to date with all the marketing strategies out there? Is there a preferred channel you like to go with?

Maria: I’m pretty ruthless at curating my LinkedIn feed and follow people I respect. I also listen to podcasts, diversifying them to avoid burnout from repetitive marketing content. Additionally, teaching and delivering presentations help me stay up to date. Teaching forces me to go back, find factual information, and confirm my knowledge and biases.

Ernesto: Great to hear that. Let’s jump into our rapid-fire question round. Are you ready for them?

Maria: Go for it.

Ernesto: First off, what is the last book that you read?

Maria: I’m still reading it. It’s “Daring Greatly” by Brene Brown.

Ernesto: Interesting read. Next, what is one single thing that your company is focused on the most at the moment?

Maria: Building the best platform for ecommerce brands and serving both the influencer side and the brand side to make the customer experience the best it can be.

Ernesto: If there were no boundaries in technology, what would be that one thing you want to have fixed for your role as a marketer today?

Maria: I’ve been asking for predictive CRM or predictive marketing automation for years. I’d love to see it delivered well for marketers at scale, presenting companies that are in the moment of search and ready to buy.

Ernesto: If there’s one repetitive task that you could automate, what would that be?

Maria: Reporting elements and the repetitive elements within reporting. ChatGPT and similar tools are helping, but that’s where I would look for efficiencies.

Ernesto: Lastly, with all your experience in marketing, what is one piece of advice you would give yourself if you were to restart your journey as a marketer today?

Maria: In every challenge, there is always an opportunity. Rather than being upset or stressed, find the opportunity in challenges. Any of my best career moves came out of challenges. So, look for the opportunities and get excited about them.

Ernesto: Great advice. Maria, it’s been a pleasure to have you on today’s episode. Before we end, I want to give you the last word. If someone forgets everything about the interview today, what is the one thing they should remember about your company?

Maria: Amazing experience on social.

Ernesto: There you have it. To our listeners, you can always check them out at trnd.io, greater storefronts made for social. Maria, thank you so much for being on. To our listeners, thank you for tuning in. I’m looking forward to our next episode at Pathmonk Presents. Thanks a lot.

Maria: Thank you for an awesome conversation. Fantastic.