St.Vincent de Paul’s Digital marketing Journey
SUMMARY
St. Vincent de Paul of Los Angeles is a Catholic volunteer organization that provides homelessness relief and prevention programs to those in need.
The facilities and services include a homeless shelter in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, a children’s summer camp in Santa Barbara, a rental/bill-paying assistance program and a free clothing and furniture distribution program for residents in the LA, Ventura, and Santa Barbara Counties.
SUMMARY
St. Vincent de Paul of Los Angeles is a Catholic volunteer organization that provides homelessness relief and prevention programs to those in need.
The facilities and services include a homeless shelter in Los Angeles’ Skid Row, a children’s summer camp in Santa Barbara, a rental/bill-paying assistance program and a free clothing and furniture distribution program for residents in the LA, Ventura, and Santa Barbara Counties.
OUR ROLES
CHALLENGE
This philanthropic organization needed its entire digital footprint improved, and in some areas, built from scratch. The venture required an all-encompassing digital marketing strategy with a year-long execution process.
Main Objectives
- • Increase donations
- • Grow their volunteer base
- • Expand awareness of organizational initiatives
- • Attract new customers to their thrift store
DISCOVERY
During the discovery process, we uncovered areas of improvement for social media, digital advertising, web development and internal training.
For social media, we needed to formulate a playbook to grow their following and process interactions.
Next, we knew a content marketing strategy could help provide valuable information around special events. This digital strategy would need the creation of a content communication calendar and the leveraging of email marketing.
St. Vincent de Paul of LA also needed to increase sales for their thrift store. We believed strategic partnerships and digital ad campaigns could achieve this goal.
The implementation of paid search, email and social media promos for high-selling and seasonal items would help improve foot traffic.
Finally, their staff needed training using digital technologies. We created simple protocols for employees.
SOLUTION
Building an Effective Digital Marketing Strategy
STRATEGY
Our overarching strategy included several digital marketing channels and tactics. Every task and decision made was to meet the organization’s primary objectives.
With the use of various social media channels, we reached a large number of potential customers, volunteers and advocates. Through our use of prominent influencers, St. Vincent de Paul of LA was able to gain more support and credibility.
Analyzing the data and optimizing campaigns garnered continuous improvement throughout the entire operation.
We partnered with many of the surrounding universities and organizations for mutually beneficial opportunities. In the end, we successfully engaged the majority of the 5 million Catholics living in LA.
SOLUTION
Developing a Brand Identity
STRATEGY
With heartfelt imagery and caring language in the copy, we were able to elicit the emotion of sympathy from the target audience.
Connecting with the audience on an emotional level drove a more profound connection, prompted action and created lasting relationships.
SOLUTION
Stay Consistent with Content Marketing
CONTENT MARKETING
After creating a content communication calendar, we designed a resources page for bloggers to easily download collateral to promote their articles and special events.
Each blogger was asked to share their content 3-5 times before each event. To increase reach and engagement, we also shared their content on St. Vincent De Paul of LA’s social media pages.
SOLUTION
A Website that Cares
WEB DESIGN
We created a dynamic interface with simple navigation. Social media profile links and a “DONATE” CTA button were strategically placed for visibility. We revamped their entire mobile site to shorten scroll time and improve user experience. Relevant and unique keywords with high search volumes were embedded throughout the entire website.
As their audience began to grow, they needed a CRM system built out on the backend. We created an efficient CRM system with clear metrics and key features to keep their customers engaged.
SOLUTION
Generating Leads with Email Marketing
EMAIL MARKETING
We used this digital channel for content marketing and promos. Creating lead magnets such as coupons proved useful in gathering emails. We were able to increase sign-ups for their newsletter and generate foot traffic to their thrift store.
SOLUTION
Formulating a Social Media Playbook
SOCIAL MEDIA
We developed a social media playbook used to create advocates and convert them into a customer/donor.
We created several campaigns surrounding holidays, special events and price comparisons to other boutiques.
With the use of geo-targeted ads, we were able to capitalize on local areas.
The use of hashtags and discounts increased sharing across social media and extended the reach of campaigns.
Part of the strategy involved gathering social handles for a list of conferences and tagging to make them aware of St. Vincent De Paul’s initiative.
SOLUTION
Using Paid Media to Increase Sales
PAID MEDIA
Using the previous year’s numbers as a benchmark, we defined the campaign’s objectives, developed a strategy, implemented the tactics and tracked the results.
The use of relevant keywords helped our ads reach an interested audience and drive conversion. We created promotions around their less profitable items to drive sales and expel inventory.
SOLUTION
Measuring the Effectiveness
DATA & ANALYTICS
We collected data to identify strengths and weaknesses in our various digital campaigns. Separating tracking pixels by department helped us understand where we needed to make improvements.
We implemented other unique tracking methods like strategically placed links to analyze consumer behavior.
For the backend CRM system, we designed analytics for the team at St. Vincent De Paul of LA to track website conversions.
The Results
Working with St. Vincent De Paul of LA was an honor. Thankfully, our digital marketing efforts were a success. We exceeded the sales goal of 5% by achieving an overall sales goal of 15%. Our social media efforts increased their followers to over 27,000. Finally, we increased In-Kind and donations by 14% from previous numbers.