Solly Baby has a Wrap around Customer Engagement

Four years ago, pregnant with my first son, I was bombarded with things I needed, things that will help me be a better mom, keep my baby healthy and happy and the list goes on. On the list was  babywearing. I scoured the internet, researching the best practices, the best wraps… and I always came back to one company, Solly Baby. So, I ordered one.

Fast forward a few months, and there I sat on my bed postpartum, with a fussy baby and a lack of sleep… and a Solly Baby. Essentially this long sheet of beautiful fabric that just a few months earlier I was so keen that I would tie this said fabric around myself and my baby… hmm

So what did I do? I went back to Solly Baby’s social media. Quickly, I found tutorials of real moms wrapping their babies. I learned along with these videos and with each wrap my babywearing confidence grew. I loved reading and seeing other moms babywearing their babies and hearing the benefits I was giving my baby by wearing him. Sure enough, when my second son was born, I went back to get another Solly Baby Wrap.

I’m sharing this personal story because the way that Solly Baby made me feel as their customer, at such a critical time as being a new mom, stands above and beyond. The way a company makes you feel is just as important as the product itself. According to Harris Interactive Study, 88% of customers prefer doing business with a company that offers quality customer service over a company that has the latest and most innovative products.

Solly Baby and Social Media

Owner, Elle Rowley started Solly Baby when she found a need after the birth of her second child, Solomon. She was already blogging about her journey in motherhood which gave her an immediate audience to get the word out.

In an interview with Lauren Conrad, Elle Rowley says, “Solly Baby wouldn’t exist without it [social media]. For a business like ours, there’s been no better way to reach more people and connect with mothers.”

Catering primarily to moms, Solly Baby is utilizing Facebook, Instagram and Pinterest as tools to reach and engage. They currently have 65,614 people liking them on Facebook, 284K on their Instagram account and 43,270 followers on Pinterest.

So How is Solly Baby creating such great customer engagement? 

First off, Solly Baby knows their audience. They are very active where their customers are (Facebook and Instagram) and posting multiply times daily. They are posting a variety of visual content that not only grabs attention but also is adding value. A balanced mix of videos, beautiful photos and simply designed quotes/information about their products, motherhood, baby-wearing and business. Owner, Elle Rowley, also shares her own family photos as well as her struggles and wins (both business and motherhood) which makes the brand very personable.

Not only beautiful and attention-grabbing visuals, Solly Baby is creating valuable content for customers. From videos featuring a babywearing expert to #sollybookclub, even customers whose babies are too old for babywearing can still stay involved in the company.

Solly Baby also runs effective contests to engage customers. According to Sprout Social, contests continue to be a great way of earning engagement. After owner Elle Rowley and her family took a babywearing vacation around Europe, to inspire others they put on a #sollycation to win $2500 in airfare, $1500 in lodging, and 5 Solly Baby Wraps. Most recently there is a #sollyween contest, a fun way to get babywearing moms dressed for Halloween by posting a photo of a costume including the Solly Baby Wrap for a chance to win $3000 cash prize. Solly Baby also does collaboration contests with other like minded brands which is not only adding value to her customers to learn about new companies but a means to get new potential leads.

Solly Baby is great at creating a dialogue with their customers. They are asking for their customers to use hashtags such as #sollybaby #sollybabylove, #sollystories to share their images and thoughts not only the company itself but in regards with babywearing and motherhood. They then often repost using real customers to promote their products. In they past they did a flip through on Friday featuring all the photos tagged that week. This not only is engaging their customers but is also providing social proof for potential customers.

Solly Baby not only invites its customers to engage but is found engaging back and creating a dialogue. Consumers now expect responses quickly and whether it’s responding to a product question or simply saying congratulations to a mom who just announced a second pregnant, Solly Baby is responding.

It is especially important to note that Solly Baby is responding quickly when things are going wrong as well. In September, they launched a new discount code for their new 2018 fall/winter line. The discount code was only working for some and not for others. Customers took to their social media pages, commenting that it wasn’t working. Instead of just creating a new post with a new code, Solly Baby made sure everyone received a response with a new code or an email to reach a customer service representative was provided. According to Kayla Matthews, handled correctly and personally to complaints can actually improve your image.

By using the above methods of customer engagement on their social media pages, Solly Baby is strengthening their brand. They have a great following on all the platforms they are using. By interacting with their customers both the company and their customers are benefiting and enjoying the online communities.

Lessons for Others

“The customer experience is the next competitive battleground.” – Jerry Gregoire, Chief Information Officer at Dell.

The way a company makes you feel is as important as the product itself.  Solly Baby not only has an excellent product, they have excellent customer engagement through their social media pages by:

• Being relatable
• Knowing your customers and being active on the platforms they are on
• Providing engaging visuals (variety of photo, video and simple design)
• Provide value in content published
• Hold contests
• Creating a dialogue with their customers, asking for engagement
• Featuring their customers with their product: social proof
• Being responsive and replying to comments.
• Handle complaints quickly

If you have concerns as to the accuracy of anything posted on this site, please send your concerns to Peter Carr, Program Director, Social Media for Business Performance.

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