MindCrowd Case Study

Description of organization: MindCrowd is a completely online, crowd-sourced memory test that studies reaction time and short term memory with the goal of better understanding brain-related diseases like Alzheimer’s. It is a project of the Translational Genomics Research Institute, a nonprofit organization which aims to translate genomic discoveries into advances in human health.

Problem: The MindCrowd team was looking for digital marketing efforts that would double the amount of tests taken on their site. They struggled with conversions because the project is approved by an institutional review board (IRB) and has firm restrictions on marketing efforts and messaging to participants. Additionally, the test can only be taken on a desktop or tablet device with keyboard, meaning mobile traffic cannot convert.

Results Highlights:

  • Doubled conversions in 3 months, as promised
  • Quadrupled site visitors in 1 month
  • Increased social media reach and engagement across Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest

Case Study Insights

Strategy

Our strategy for MindCrowd involved a robust digital marketing plan including social media marketing, graphic design, email marketing and paid campaign management.

After determining that Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and Pinterest were the platforms most applicable to MindCrowd’s audience, we formed a content strategy that prioritized a variety of high-quality content including industry news, original graphics (branded consistently with existing MindCrowd materials), calls to action, data and more.  

The social media presence that MindCrowd had prior to becoming a client was well established, so we first capitalized on that by strengthening engagement with a series of Facebook ads. We built an ongoing ad for the site drawing approximately  1,500 new visitors per month for just ten cents per click. In addition to running site promotion ads, we created a variety of landing pages, which were featured across platforms to gather new leads. Our top performing landing page converted at a rate of 54.2 percent, gaining 300 email subscribers.  We leveraged their desktop-only software by targeting users who were able to convert immediately throughout our paid campaigns.

We began targeting celebrity influencers and Alzheimer’s advocates on Twitter whose engagement with our content greatly increased MindCrowd’s reach and brand awareness. That, in addition to a steep increase in posting frequency,  resulted in over 50,000 impressions on Twitter in the first month of posting.

Email marketing was an important tool in spreading awareness and gathering test-takers. Utilizing strategic email blasts, we were able to retarget both those who had previously shown interest in MindCrowd and new leads gathered from landing pages.

Results

The primary metric for measuring success throughout our campaign for MindCrowd was tests taken. We were able to double tests on the site in three months. During the six months prior to becoming a client, MindCrowd (April 1st to September 30th) the average tests per month were approximately 442. In our third month managing MindCrowd’s marketing efforts, we achieved 990 new tests taken, an increase of 124% overall.

In addition to reaching our client’s goal for tests taken during this period, we achieved further substantial results. Our landing pages gathered nearly 350 new leads, which had an average conversion rate of 30%. During one email campaign, we gained 484 new test-takers over a period of four days. Finally, our top performing month on social media saw a total of 367,000 impressions across platforms.

Testimonial

Buzzly Media shaped an engaging social media presence for our MindCrowd memory quiz for our Alzheimer’s research. They created compelling content that attracted people to our site and converted them into test-takers. Buzzly Media created a virtual community of caregivers, advocates, researchers and science geeks with their thoughtful posts and comment interactions. Plus, they gave us a comprehensive review each month with recommendations to maximize our impact and make necessary changes to keep up with current trends. Buzzly Media’s professionalism meant I could focus on the big picture of marketing our organization without having to worry about the day-to-day management of social media. They were an integral and important part of our team.

Stacy Bertinelli , Director of Marketing at the Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen)

Sample Graphics