Episode Summary
In this episode of “How Brands Could Podcast”, we’ll do an open strategy session for Fast.
We’ve been following Domm and the Fast team for a little while now, and since they’ve been front of mind - they make a great 2nd episode of “How Brands Could Podcast”.
And since we’re podcast nerds, we noticed the beautiful mics and adjustable arms they’re using, and figured they’ll be launching a show or two in the near future. Overall, they have a ton of momentum behind them, and are building a huge fanbase that’s rallied behind them.
The Brand
Fast was founded by Domm Holland in March, 2019. Stripe led the Series A, and they’ve got 25~ employees (at the time of this being written) and seem to be growing fast.
For those who don’t know, Fast is one click payment, returns & re-orders for the internet.
And while other companies are tackling 1-click payment options, Fast is unique in all the value propositions they offer:
- They’re 3rd party, not account or tool-specific (i.e. Facebook or Google)
- Agnostic with payment methods (vs Visa 1-click pay)
- Extra features like 1-click re-order and returns
- They prize privacy and protect your data (vs Google)
- And a raving fanbase. They are Tesla of online ordering.
The Goal
Their goal is to power 1-click purchasing, login, re-orders and returns for all online payments.
They have a simple message to get across. Shop owners will see a decrease in abandoned carts and an increase in purchases, and consumers will finally have the password-less, frictionless experience they’ve been longing for.
To date, the marketing channels they’ve used (from what we can tell) is Social (shoutout to Matt Kobach), and podcasts (Domm has been a guest on This Week In Startups and others).
The Strategy
Tour Strategy
Goal: get members of the Fast team booked as guests on shows their audience already listens to attract top talent, increase store adoption and grow user signups.
- E-commerce shows - raise awareness of Fast Checkout to more store owners
- Privy E-Commerce marketing show
- E-Commerce Fuel
- Ecommerce uncensored
- Ecommerce Momentum
- Developer shows: get developers excited about what Fast is doing and attract top talent.
- Lex Friedman podcast
- A16Z Podcast
- Ted Tech
- Recode Decode
- Startup shows: build their employer brand, talk to potential future investors, and again - potentially reach top talent.
- Y Combinator or Startup School Radio
- Mixergy
- Product Hunt Radio (haven’t recorded since April)
- The 20 minute VC
- How I Built This (not everyone can get here, but Domm was on TWIST)
- HR shows: discuss how they have prioritized building a diverse company, and the impact that Fast Flex has had on their team.
- Marketing shows: Matt and the team can discuss social strategy, and attract more followers to watch them build in public.
- The CMO Podcast
- The CMO Show
- B2B Marketing Leaders Podcast
- Social Media Marketing by SM Examiner
- The Science of Social Media by Buffer
- Social Media Church
- Social Media Marketing School
Branded Podcast Strategy
Goal: build an audience they can talk to every week.
- Life in the Fast Lane - talk to developers, attract top talent and build employer brand
- Audience: top talent
- Episodic but limited series
- Premise: pass the mic across departments to share what it’s like to build the future of the internet. Developers, marketers, and product managers can listen to peers share their excitement, why they joined, perks of culture, what it’s like to work there, and decide if it’s right for them. They already have a series of videos on their Careers page sharing this, but it might come across as more authentic and warm over voice.
- The internet we wanted - a show highlighting people building the future of the internet.
- Audience: developers and makers
- Episodic : one interview per episode
- Premise: Fast is building “the internet we all wanted” with 1 click payments, reorders, and no passwords. In each episode, they talk to other companies building “the internet we all wanted” - companies that are solving unique problems, solving for outdated solutions, and making the internet a better place for all of us.
Internal or Private Audience Podcast
Goal: launch an audio experience for employees or subscribers.
- Internal show for featured brands (keeping brands being sold on Huckberry up to date on what’s going on that month) / exclusive insights, etc.
- 5-10 minute message from Rich and Andy every month giving company updates, and keeping the team focused on the culture.
- Exclusive audio version of the newsletter for subscribers. So if I subscribe to The Journal, I get an “audio book” version of the email, where someone reads the latest articles to me. This would be nice for people on the go.
