STREETLIFE USED MAIL AS THE MAIN MEDIUM TO EXPONENTIALLY GROW THEIR SOCIAL USER BASE

STREETLIFE USED MAIL AS THE MAIN MEDIUM TO EXPONENTIALLY GROW THEIR SOCIAL USER BASE

BACKGROUND Streetlife is a British social network for neighbours. It s a simple platform for people to share practical local information and advice, to make real-world connections and build stronger communities. Growing their user base was crucial to Streetlife s survival and success: without users posting regularly the site would fail to take off. It was crucial for them to acquire new users as quickly as possible in a way that was scalable and replicable in each new launch area. They set themselves the ambitious target of growing the number of users on the site by 525% (120k users to over 750k) in one year. This was no mean feat for a pre-revenue start up with very little brand awareness and a focused budget. As a pre-revenue start up focused purely on audience growth, it was crucial for us to acquire the highest number of quality users possible with our budget, and to develop a robust, scalable marketing model to replicate in each new launch area. Nina Whittaker, Head of Marketing, Streetlife 2

SOLUTION Over a 12 month period from May 2014 to April 2015 Streetlife put in place a robust strategy that not only allowed them to reach their ambitious targets, but also delivered a refined marketing model which they could replicate in each new target area. Mail was the bedrock of their growth strategy, supported by online, advertising, email campaigns and local and regional PR. Using mail to drive sign up to an unknown online platform was a bold and unusual strategy, and one that flew in the face of conventional wisdom. Mail allowed Streetlife to reach their target audience in a way that was precise, personal and impactful. And it also enabled them to hothouse each specific area, achieve growth in that area and then move on to the next. This would not have been possible using just email and/or advertising. To start, they clearly defined their user profile as 30+, affluent males and females in urban and suburban areas. By overlaying ACORN classification to this profile they were able to identify areas with the highest penetration of this audience. From here they could identify their addresses and target them through their letterbox with little wastage. Streetlife s focus on neighbourhood communities required accuracy. Targeting neighbourhood boundaries by postcode delivered extra accuracy. Once they knew exactly who they wanted to target and how to reach them individually, Streetlife set about trying to develop the ideal way to communicate their brand, launch the concept and ultimately stimulate sign ups. They put in place a testing plan that allowed them to understand the optimal mix of variables that would drive potential users online and encourage them to join the site. Mail enabled them to test the key variables that maximised the real success of campaigns. They tested dozens of variants including audience, demographic targeting, design, copy, call-to-action, messaging, brand positioning, letter personalisation, size, format and landing page messaging. 3

In all versions, the primary call-to-action was to sign up at www.streetlife.co.uk, and by encouraging respondents to enter a specific code during the sign up process they were able to track conversions and establish the effectiveness of split-test variants to high certainty. As well as providing robust and actionable learnings through testing, mail gave Streetlife the space to explain the proposition, sell the unique benefits of this new online concept and ensure that potential users were fully engaged when they signed up. The nature of mail also meant that the mailing could remain in the user s home for days, weeks and even months so even if they didn t sign up straight away, they could sign up later. 4

RESULTS Being brave and different worked. Streetlife an unknown brand and new concept achieved spectacular acquisition and growth, beating their target by over 130K new users in just one year, with a communications strategy that had mail as its primary channel. In the past year we ve grown our user numbers six-fold, doubled engagement rates, and radically increased our footprint by successfully launching a Streetlife community in almost every major town and suburb across the country. We attribute two thirds of this growth to direct mail, which is quite extraordinary given that we trialled DM for the first time in February 2014. The value added services offered by Royal Mail MarketReach, and the exceptional commitment of the Royal Mail team involved, helped us to optimise our mail pieces, deliver successful campaigns and gave us the confidence to keep testing new initiatives for growth. Nina Whittaker, Head of Marketing, Streetlife User Growth Streetlife grew the number of active users by 630% (120k to 880k users), beating their target by 130k. 65% of this growth can be attributed solely to mail. 5

Community Growth They grew their active communities by 850% and expanded into new regions. Content Growth User-generated content grew exponentially over the 12 month period Streetlife saw 1,200% increase in daily content posted. While mail was their most expensive acquisition channel, through a well thought out testing and optimisation strategy they were able to double the conversion rate and more than halve the cost of the campaign. To acquire new customers through a cold mailing from an unknown brand at a rate of 5% 6.5% is almost unheard of. And this is probably a conservative figure: The true acquisition rate is almost certainly higher as we re only counting those respondents who entered a code when they signed up (we estimate a further 5% 10% of new joiners disregard this field or enter an incorrect value). Nina Whittaker, Head of Marketing, Streetlife 6

Direct mail also bought other unique benefits: The ability to reach the widest possible audience in a targeted way. If budget permitted Streetlife could reach all residential addresses in the UK. This was important because neighbourhoods are precisely defined and this could be accommodated. Unrivalled accuracy of geographical targeting. Streetlife knew exactly which households they had mailed (and to a large extent, converted), which made re-targeting more cost-effective. The ability to target those who are harder to reach online (30% of Streetlife users acquired within the past 12 months don t use any other social media). This enabled them to grow a unique and diverse community, and to deliver the practical and social benefits of Streetlife to older and more isolated groups. More engaged (and therefore more valuable) users recruited. Those acquired via mail arrived with a greater understanding of the site and a greater commitment to using it, having been exposed to more detailed information than those clicking directly from online ads. This was demonstrated through their propensity to contribute content more rapidly on joining, a trend still visible six months after joining. Multiple sign ups per individual letter. Since mail is passed around between household members, Streetlife saw multiple occupants signing up from a single mail piece. A long-tail for sign ups: the enduring nature of mail meant that they were still acquiring users from letters sent over four months earlier. Predictable response rates, enabling Streetlife accurately to forecast activity spikes based on mailing volume and day. This knowledge was crucial for planning and managing resources when achieving up to 20k sign ups on peak days. Finally mail generated some unexpected and welcome PR through debate and conversations. Conversations were started on Twitter, radio (they were invited onto a local station after the presenter received a letter) and on Streetlife itself. The letter tended to generate a very positive emotional response and provided a great ice-breaker for new joiners. Sources: Nina Whittaker, Head of Marketing, Streetlife 2015 7