The CPG Playbook for TikTok & Instagram

Mikayla Barker Dishes on Influencer Strategies from Beyond Meat to Bachan's

How do you get UGC that meets your goals AND sparks community creativity?

Mikayla Barker has been exploring this question for some time. From managing all social media channels at Beyond Meat to now leading Social and Influencer Marketing at Bachan's , we caught up with her to get the scoop on her strategies and her take on the dynamic world of TikTok.

So Mikayla, can you describe your role at Bachan's?        

I handle everything from social media to influencer marketing at Bachan's. There's a bunch of other stuff in the mix, but that's the simplest way to put it!

You've used Kale at two companies now. How's it going at Bachan's?Are you using Kale any different from your time at Beyond Meat?        

I use Kale similarly but with some tweaks! At Beyond Meat, we leveraged Kale to curate the type of UGC WE wanted, like retail content, recipes, etc. We also partnered with micro and nano influencers to create content that we could actually repost on our socials.

At Bachan's, I've continued to use Kale in the same way, but I've also started using it more as a micro-influencer management tool. Whenever influencers want to collaborate, we direct them to Kale and manage all our interactions there. This has streamlined our process significantly.

Additionally, I've been ramping up our presence on TikTok. We've always had a strong fanbase on Instagram, but we wanted to increase our visibility on TikTok. We're now seeing more of our content coming from there, which is exciting. It's cool to see how Kale has adapted to our evolving social media strategies.

Speaking of TikTok, what's your current strategy there?        

Lots of things are going through my mind! It's so funny because I'm about to do a big strategy refresh for our entire social strategy.?

When I first started, we didn't have a solid TikTok strategy, which totally makes sense. TikTok is a beast to handle, especially when your team isn't big. It's really tough trying to keep fresh content coming constantly (but now we can with Kale!). My biggest goal with TikTok is to tap into a completely different and younger audience than we usually do. It is a whole new group of people and a unique opportunity for us, especially as a premium brand.

Okay, so the new buzz is all about TikTok Shops. What's your take on that?        

Oh, TikTok Shops…. It's super interesting, but honestly, we're all still figuring it out—me and every social media manager out there. That little orange icon that pops up to say “TikTok Shop” and “Commissions Earned” is intriguing, but challenging.? How do you get people to stick around and engage with the content, not just see it as a sales pitch? We're definitely in the learning phase!?

What is your favorite social media brand at the moment?        

I'm really into BéIS , the luggage brand—I absolutely love them. Since I am in the Food and Beverage space, I have to give a shout out to Liquid Death for killing it with their social media and marketing strategies! They both excellently merge social engagement with real-life experiences, which is the best way to build brand affinity IMO!

Also, luxury brands like Jimmy Choo and Loewe are having a HUGE moment. They're trending big time on social media right now, which is super exciting. I'm keeping a close eye on them.?

Overall, the reason why I love these brands is because they're taking risks, thinking about what sets them apart from competitors, and even poking fun at themselves. Like that recent Loewe campaign with Dan Levy. Insane.?