Case Study: Preservation Pause
Sector: Nonprofit, Conservation
Project: Social Media Management, Audience Personas and Message, Google Analytics Setup and Dashboard, How to Grow Facebook Page
Preservation Pause, a collective of Indigenous environmental activists, approached Sarah Best Strategy prior to launch. As they prepared to go public, they sought our media and messaging skills to build awareness of their mission.
We helped Preservation Pause by first defining its audiences and key messages. With a strong foundation set, we then carried our insights into ongoing social media management.
We have earned more than 18,000 followers, 8.4 million impressions and 70,000 link clicks in just two years.
We helped Preservation Pause by first defining its audiences and key messages. With a strong foundation set, we then carried our insights into ongoing social media management.
We have earned more than 18,000 followers, 8.4 million impressions and 70,000 link clicks in just two years.
The Challenge
A collective of Indigenous environmental activists established Preservation Pause in 2022. They organized around a clear goal: To demand that the modern model of environmental conservation respect the rights of Indigenous peoples. In these efforts, Preservation Pause has advocated for Indigenous peoples in Tanzania, India, the United States, and elsewhere.
The Preservation Pause team saw their core audience as attentive, socially conscious individuals who could support their mission. However, as a newly formed coalition, they lacked messaging and visual identity. They sought a digital marketing partner that could translate their goals into a tangible digital strategy.
Preservation Pause sought Sarah Best Strategy's experience in helping nonprofits dedicated to social and political advocacy. We offered the coalition a suite of services centered on social media management and messaging.
Preservation Pause sought Sarah Best Strategy's experience in helping nonprofits dedicated to social and political advocacy. We offered the coalition a suite of services centered on social media management and messaging.
Let's Launch Your Digital Presence
Ready to get the most out of your social media channels? We make it easy by taking on the work of planning, writing and publishing quality content each month.
Our team knows how to both define and execute effective social media marketing strategies. We will understand your business goals, ideal customers, and success measures from day one. This way, we can make a real impact with our very first post.
And the best part? With social media off your plate, you can focus on the tasks for which you are truly passionate.
Our team knows how to both define and execute effective social media marketing strategies. We will understand your business goals, ideal customers, and success measures from day one. This way, we can make a real impact with our very first post.
And the best part? With social media off your plate, you can focus on the tasks for which you are truly passionate.
The Idea: Defining Audiences and Reaching Them Through Social Media
Our ongoing engagement with Preservation Pause centers on four key projects:
The services we have executed for Preservation Pause have spanned across platforms and have included both strategic consulting and implementation work. However, all have served the coalition’s main goals of building awareness and engagement with its mission.
- User Personas and Messaging Workshop
- Social Media Management (Facebook + Instagram)
- Audience Growth Ads (Facebook)
- Google Analytics Dashboard Setup
The services we have executed for Preservation Pause have spanned across platforms and have included both strategic consulting and implementation work. However, all have served the coalition’s main goals of building awareness and engagement with its mission.
User Personas and Messaging Workshop
The goal of our collaborative User Personas workshop is twofold – we help organizations and businesses:
We define these individuals and their motivations by creating “personas,” fictional characters we develop based on an organization’s best guesses to represent a distinct target audience.
Below is a workshop example for a fictional gardening store, which provides a snapshot of three personas – residential gardeners, commercial landscapers, and gifters.
- Identify the audiences who are most receptive to the organization’s offerings or messages;
- Develop the goal-aligned messages most likely to resonate with those audiences
We define these individuals and their motivations by creating “personas,” fictional characters we develop based on an organization’s best guesses to represent a distinct target audience.
Below is a workshop example for a fictional gardening store, which provides a snapshot of three personas – residential gardeners, commercial landscapers, and gifters.
During the workshop, we lead the client through a discussion guided by questions including:
Preservation Pause articulated two key audience types during our User Personas & Messaging Workshop:
Based on our discussions of who these personas were and what they needed, we then created five key messages for each. These messages would form the core of the organization’s social media content as we moved toward launch.
Kicking off our ongoing partnership with a workshop focused on identifying audiences and developing key messages proved crucial, as it empowered us to:
In short, understanding Preservation Pause’s audiences and key messages at the outset meant that our social media content fit the organization’s goals from the first post onward.
- What is the biggest pain or issue your customer faces or deals with?
- What does your customer care about relative to your offering?
- Where does your customer get information, help, or answers?
- What do you want your customer to feel, think, or do after their interaction with you?
Preservation Pause articulated two key audience types during our User Personas & Messaging Workshop:
- The Environmental Justice-Focused Audience
- The Social Justice-Focused Audience
Based on our discussions of who these personas were and what they needed, we then created five key messages for each. These messages would form the core of the organization’s social media content as we moved toward launch.
Kicking off our ongoing partnership with a workshop focused on identifying audiences and developing key messages proved crucial, as it empowered us to:
- Define social media voice: Knowing Preservation Pause’s audiences led us to quickly understand how to best speak to them.
- Define social media audiences: Our team quickly translated Preservation Pause’s user personas into well-defined social media advertising audiences.
- Define visual identity: Preservation Pause’s audiences and core messages deeply influenced our vision for the new organization’s social media visual identity.
In short, understanding Preservation Pause’s audiences and key messages at the outset meant that our social media content fit the organization’s goals from the first post onward.
Social Media Management
Beginning at launch in November 2022, Sarah Best Strategy led monthly social media content creation efforts for Preservation Pause.
At the outset, we determined that Facebook and Instagram represented the two strongest platforms to drive the organization’s goals – namely, to build awareness and generate engagement – and reach its audiences. To maximize results and maintain a regular drumbeat of communication, we defined a regular cadence of two boosted posts per week on each platform.
We recognized early in our partnership that, as a coalition focused heavily on current events, our social media efforts must balance key messages and reactions to breaking news. Each month, we split our content calendar between evergreen (i.e. lasting key messages) and timely (i.e. urgent news) content.
At the outset, we determined that Facebook and Instagram represented the two strongest platforms to drive the organization’s goals – namely, to build awareness and generate engagement – and reach its audiences. To maximize results and maintain a regular drumbeat of communication, we defined a regular cadence of two boosted posts per week on each platform.
We recognized early in our partnership that, as a coalition focused heavily on current events, our social media efforts must balance key messages and reactions to breaking news. Each month, we split our content calendar between evergreen (i.e. lasting key messages) and timely (i.e. urgent news) content.
Our team also designed a visual identity to fit Preservation Pause’s goals and social media users. By taking inspiration from the organization’s messages, we created a series of visual templates that brought visual consistency and urgency to its content.
We also worked with Preservation Pause to establish their own unique hashtags, such as #Pause30by30, and to incorporate existing hashtags like #FightClimateChange into their posts.
We also worked with Preservation Pause to establish their own unique hashtags, such as #Pause30by30, and to incorporate existing hashtags like #FightClimateChange into their posts.
Audience Growth Advertising
When Preservation Pause first approached us, they identified building awareness and driving content engagement as core to their mission. We quickly determined that building a large, engaged audience could support both of these goals.
To do so, we set up a monthly Facebook advertising campaign designed to encourage Preservation Pause’s target audiences to follow its page. We centered our ad copy on the core messages identified in the User Personas and Messaging Workshop, as these are the ones most closely aligned with the audiences’ interests.
Each month, we report on and optimize our marketing campaigns to ensure that we are attracting followers as efficiently as possible.
To do so, we set up a monthly Facebook advertising campaign designed to encourage Preservation Pause’s target audiences to follow its page. We centered our ad copy on the core messages identified in the User Personas and Messaging Workshop, as these are the ones most closely aligned with the audiences’ interests.
Each month, we report on and optimize our marketing campaigns to ensure that we are attracting followers as efficiently as possible.
Google Analytics Setup & Dashboard
Preservation Pause approached Sarah Best Strategy to set up Google Analytics for their website in May 2023.
With more than six months of strong social media results under our belt, Preservation Pause viewed Google Analytics as the next step in activating its audiences. The client sought a way to easily understand how its audiences were interacting with its website.
We began by setting up Google Analytics 4 for Preservation Pause’s website. To make the most of this process, we set up three custom conversions based on the client’s core goals.
Once we had fully set up Google Analytics, our team created a live, easy-to-use results dashboard. The Google Analytics Dashboard includes key general metrics (e.g. total sessions, total users, etc.), results by source (e.g. organic social media, organic search, etc.) and conversion counters. Our Dashboard updates automatically so that the Preservation Pause team can access it at any time and quickly see how their website – and all of the digital marketing platforms that feed into it – is performing.
We concluded our Google Analytics Dashboard Setup with a training session. This meeting ensured that Preservation Pause’s team can confidently leverage all of the insights offered by their dashboard.
With more than six months of strong social media results under our belt, Preservation Pause viewed Google Analytics as the next step in activating its audiences. The client sought a way to easily understand how its audiences were interacting with its website.
We began by setting up Google Analytics 4 for Preservation Pause’s website. To make the most of this process, we set up three custom conversions based on the client’s core goals.
Once we had fully set up Google Analytics, our team created a live, easy-to-use results dashboard. The Google Analytics Dashboard includes key general metrics (e.g. total sessions, total users, etc.), results by source (e.g. organic social media, organic search, etc.) and conversion counters. Our Dashboard updates automatically so that the Preservation Pause team can access it at any time and quickly see how their website – and all of the digital marketing platforms that feed into it – is performing.
We concluded our Google Analytics Dashboard Setup with a training session. This meeting ensured that Preservation Pause’s team can confidently leverage all of the insights offered by their dashboard.
The Secret to Social Media Success?
It’s hard work keeping your social media program moving every month. How do you not only keep content coming out every month, but also make sure that it aligns with your goals?
Our advice: Before you create content, plan it! Taking the time to choose content topics each month will help you make sure that you’re speaking to all of your top priorities. Doing so will also save you the time you would otherwise spend scrambling to pull content topics together throughout the month.
To help you get started, our team has put together a blog that outlines the monthly process we use to plan content for our clients.
Our advice: Before you create content, plan it! Taking the time to choose content topics each month will help you make sure that you’re speaking to all of your top priorities. Doing so will also save you the time you would otherwise spend scrambling to pull content topics together throughout the month.
To help you get started, our team has put together a blog that outlines the monthly process we use to plan content for our clients.
The Results
The depth and consistency of Sarah Best Strategy’s approach has proven effective in moving Preservation Pause toward its goals.
In November 2022, when our marketing efforts began, the organization had just launched its social media accounts – with zero followers, impressions or engagements. Today, through consistent messaging and advertising, we have attracted more than 18,000 followers, 8.4 million impressions, 279,000 engagements and 70,000 link clicks.
In November 2022, when our marketing efforts began, the organization had just launched its social media accounts – with zero followers, impressions or engagements. Today, through consistent messaging and advertising, we have attracted more than 18,000 followers, 8.4 million impressions, 279,000 engagements and 70,000 link clicks.
We have achieved our strong raw metrics efficiently. For instance, our paid social media ads have earned an average cost per thousand impressions of $4.52, much better than our platform benchmark ($8 to $12). We’ve also earned a cost per click of just $0.12, well below benchmark.
Our audience growth ad campaigns have been remarkably successful. These efforts have attracted more than 17,800 followers at a rate of just $0.70 per follow, well within our benchmark ($0.50 to $1 per follow).
We have also continued to improve our results throughout our partnership. In the last year (12/30/2023 to 12/30/2024), we have increased our impressions and engagements by 100.3% and 147.2% compared to the previous year (12/28/2022 to 12/29/2023). This indicates that the regular updates we have made to our approach have been successful.
This rapid growth in audience and engagement also underlines the urgency of Preservation Pause’s mission. The topics that the organization is raising for discussion represent a crisis for vulnerable populations throughout the world, and their social media now offers them a new channel for inspiring social change.
Our audience growth ad campaigns have been remarkably successful. These efforts have attracted more than 17,800 followers at a rate of just $0.70 per follow, well within our benchmark ($0.50 to $1 per follow).
We have also continued to improve our results throughout our partnership. In the last year (12/30/2023 to 12/30/2024), we have increased our impressions and engagements by 100.3% and 147.2% compared to the previous year (12/28/2022 to 12/29/2023). This indicates that the regular updates we have made to our approach have been successful.
This rapid growth in audience and engagement also underlines the urgency of Preservation Pause’s mission. The topics that the organization is raising for discussion represent a crisis for vulnerable populations throughout the world, and their social media now offers them a new channel for inspiring social change.
Our Client's Experience:
“As an organization with an urgent mission, we wanted to hit the ground running and swiftly grow a broad audience who could share our values and message while sparking important discussions.
Sarah Best Strategy combined a keen understanding of the social media landscape, strategic best practices, and a deep examination of our brand to develop an effective plan. The work we did in the initial stages of this project established a solid foundation that we could build on, and through the use of the analytics insights we’ve been able to adjust and strengthen the strategy over time.
We’re incredibly grateful for the expertise and commitment that the SBS team has offered!”
Sarah Best Strategy combined a keen understanding of the social media landscape, strategic best practices, and a deep examination of our brand to develop an effective plan. The work we did in the initial stages of this project established a solid foundation that we could build on, and through the use of the analytics insights we’ve been able to adjust and strengthen the strategy over time.
We’re incredibly grateful for the expertise and commitment that the SBS team has offered!”
- Brian Rolling, Director of Social Media, Preservation Pause
