Solo Stove, the favorite portable stove and fire pit brand, has only been using Gigg for six months, but the return has been exponential already.
“Since we began using Gigg, our engagement has skyrocketed,” said Cristy Hatter, Vice President of Brand at Solo Stove. “I believe this is because Gigg is such a time saver by making it fast and easy to find engaging content that people enjoy. Now we are able to aggregate and curate really good UGC daily which was so hard before we partnered with Gigg. When you can see every tagged post, one right after another, you become much more cognizant of which photo your eye is immediately drawn to, and how it stands out compared to other photos. With Gigg, it’s easy to see what makes something special as soon as you first lay eyes on it.”
Solo Stove has been able to capitalize on that user engagement by using the Gigg platform, honing in on how the brand is actually perceived by customers.
“UGC can be a core component to helping your audience identify with your brand,” Hatter said. “We talk a lot about what we feel our brand is, and how we want to come across to people, but the internal work we do on our brand can only stretch so far. When our product leaves our hands and enters those of a customer, their idea of us is left up to their experience with the product.”
The user-generated content featured on their website and social media pages help to build a sense of engagement and community with other Solo Stove users, each sharing how they’re enjoying their Solo Stove purchase, from backyard fire pits to grills and stoves.
“UGC is a great way to not only show off members of that community, but show that our community drives the things we believe in, the image we work hard to create. Our brand image is maintained when it then becomes the customer’s job to create our content,” Hatter said. “Plus, it’s exciting to be featured on our social pages, people love it!”
Understanding the importance of utilizing valuable user-generated content, Solo Stove has been able to implement customer posts, pictures, and reviews into their marketing strategy.
“UGC gives a different credibility to our brand than written reviews, internally produced content, and sponsored content. It’s just different,” Hatter said. “It’s completely authentic. When you step back and think about the fact that a customer’s journey can lead them from a UGC photo on our Instagram page, to our site, to purchasing their own, and then posting their own photo talking about how much fun they’re having, you gain perspective on how powerful your audience is.”
For the Solo Stove team, consolidating its user-generated content into one convenient inbox has streamlined its process and maximized its time, allowing the team to focus on sharing UGC instead of finding it.
“It’s stellar that, no matter the platform, all tagged posts can arrive in the same inbox, and you can see the collective perception of your brand,” Hatter said. “Gigg is the only tool that allows you to get a read on a huge scale about how people currently feel about your brand. It’s difficult to do this on the actual platforms themselves. Facebook has millions of people, pages, photos, statuses and opinions to sift through. Instagram and Twitter can easily lead you down rabbit holes of hashtags and profiles that often offer only one perspective. But how do they all feel about us, as a collective community? What does everyone have in common, currently, when it comes to knowing our brand? What are the most popular opinions and conversations going on right now? How are the people posting about Solo Stove influencing their friends and family? Gigg makes it possible for all of these questions to be answered simply by scrolling down your inbox. It gives you a window into those opinions and posts, so you can focus on taking action instead of searching for content in the first place.”
