Blog, Customer News

Grabbing a bargain: Dirt Cheap strikes gold with its User-generated Content strategy


From humble beginnings in 1997 as a pop-up “dirt cheap” reseller of Treasure Hunt inventory, to the standalone company with over 100 outlets across eight states in the USA it is today – the Dirt Cheap story is a testament to the awesome power of value for money.

So when it came to outfitting their Instagram profile with compelling content showcasing the wonders of a Dirt Cheap shopping spree, the team found a natural ally in StoryStream’s User-generated Content (UGC) curation platform.

Now publishing an average of eight pieces of UGC to their Instagram channel each month – and netting a performance uptick of 12% per post as a result – the Dirt Cheap team uses StoryStream to curate and gain usage rights for a cost-efficient pipeline of engaging, authentic customer-generated content. Through StoryStream’s integration with Brandwatch, the team can then push rights-approved content directly into their social media content pool, making scheduling, publishing and analysing that content a breeze.

 

Dirt Cheap utilise UGC on Instagram

(Dirt Cheap, Instagram)

Inviting shoppers to “share your deals with #ilovedirtcheap”, the Dirt Cheap team uses the StoryStream platform to sift through an average of 50 tagged posts each week – achieving an 87% rights approval rate on selected UGC.

The StoryStream connector for Brandwatch opens up many efficiencies for the team too: Dirt Cheap are saving time by automating the fiddly, previously manual, process of managing usage rights, all while adding a key new content stream to their social calendar.

With StoryStream, the Dirt Cheap team can go from ‘seen it, loved it’ to ‘published it’ seamlessly – and then analyse the impact of that User-generated Content on their social media strategy. Dirt Cheap is celebrating the diversity of its customers, all while giving them a platform to showcase their eagle-eyed shopping skills – a real “win-win” for the brand behind “cheap-cheap”.