PRECISION STRATEGIES

Introduce your business and what you do there.

I’m the digital director at a national nonprofit that supports local news outlets reporting on state policies across the nation. I manage our web properties, apps, and digital tools, along with audio and data visualization tools that our reporters use.

What challenge were you trying to address with PRECISION STRATEGIES?

We received a grant to help us increase our audience reach to let people know about our outlets and read our news. It was a pilot program, so we only focused on four news outlets in four states. 

What was the scope of their involvement?

PRECISION helped us deliver and implement our pilot program. They were also involved in strategic planning, while most of their work was via social media platforms and Google Ads. They set everything up, helping us with the vision of how we’d use our grant money to achieve more awareness and views. The primary social media channels we targeted were Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. We also used website banner ads. 

What is the team composition?

We worked with a four-person team. I was the main point person for our company, while PRECISION had a project lead. We also worked with people from their copywriting and graphic design departments. A couple of other people rotated in as well; there was a turnover on that part. 

How did you come to work with PRECISION STRATEGIES?

We found PRECISION through the referral of our supporters. At that time, we were working closely with nonprofit organizations that helped us start our nonprofit. 

We didn’t scope out multiple teams, though we were simultaneously working with another group that used a different strategy to help us grow. We compared this company's work with PRECISION's services. Eventually, our team decided to work with PRECISION, following our supporters' advice. 

How much have you invested with them?

We invested between $10,000–$50,000 on PRECISION’s services, though our overall spend was around $200,000, and most of that was for the ads themselves. 

What is the status of this engagement?

Our engagement lasted from December 2019–July 2020.

What evidence can you share that demonstrates the impact of the engagement? 

Our success metrics focused on numbers that showed recurring growth; we paid a lot of attention to our Facebook followers and not just on clicks and engagement. The number of our newsletter subscribers was also an important metric. 

Overall, we did okay in terms of Facebook likes, while the number of our newsletter subscribers was better. Simply put, PRECISION did a good job of signing up subscribers, and the majority of them stayed on our list even a year later.

How did PRECISION STRATEGIES perform from a project management standpoint?

PRECISION was thorough. They were conscientious and responsive, delivering data with beautiful presentations edited based on our needs. They also always asked us first what we wanted to see.

What did you find most impressive about them?

The PRECISION team’s thoroughness was impressive. To a large extent, all the t’s were crossed and i’s were dotted. They would share information via a call, and then they’d also share it in writing and on a Google Spreadsheet. Overall, we gained a lot of information through them.

Are there any areas they could improve?

We thought there would be more creative campaigns to sell our brand. We did receive copywriting and graphic design services, but they were basic if compared to the ideas we already had. They didn’t dig down and analyze what would make readers want to read the news. The team simply provided a description of our service and some pictures. Simply put, they provided a well-written copy, but it didn’t have the creativity that would’ve been more exciting to see. 

Apart from that, there was also an oversupply of information, which sometimes made it hard to dig through and communicate. There was a disconnect between the information that PRECISION shared and what our leaders wanted to understand. It would’ve been better if they focused on big takeaways instead of providing data to the granular level.

To be fair, telling such takeaways was difficult to do at the moment of having all fresh data. It was hard to see how things would pan out down the road to know their long-term impacts. 

Do you have any advice for potential customers?

If you’ve already done the creative aspects of the project and have a solid understanding of your audience goals, then PRECISION can do an amazing job of implementing your big-picture plans. That’s a better starting point than asking them to handle the creative work. They’re also highly organized in terms of feedback and information sharing around the effectiveness of your campaigns.