How we generated 322 new members in 10 months for the Australian Computer Society
We partnered with the Australian Computer Society (ACS), an association representing over 47,000 members in Australia’s burgeoning technology sector, on an ambitious campaign. Our mission was to amplify ACS’s membership drive through an advertising campaign targeting tech professionals across industry, government, and education. By utilising a diverse array of placements including Meta (Facebook & Instagram), Google (Search, Discovery, GDN), and LinkedIn, we cast a wide net to attract potential members.
At the heart of our approach to this campaign is a Landing Page Conversion (LCP) strategy that’s optimised for conversions. Once leads are generated, they’re nurtured through a carefully calibrated series of emails and SMS, and then further refined by our LeadConvert call centre team. This process ensures that only the most qualified leads are handed off to ACS for membership conversion.
Our strategy here was not only about generating high-quality leads, but also about saving valuable time for ACS by providing a categorised list of hot and warm leads that are ready for conversion.
Driving membership commitments
We implemented a robust strategy with a broad channel mix for performance marketing and lead generation for ACS. Our advertising focused on emphasising the explicit benefits of ACS membership by employing persuasive ad creatives to captivate tech professionals — our primary target audience. Meanwhile, our call centre team played a pivotal role in swiftly qualifying hot leads and transferring them to branch managers. This strategy enhanced the likelihood of leads committing to membership through a seamless, omni-channel experience.
For our primary audience of tech professionals, our campaign spotlighted full-fee memberships, leveraging both prospecting and retargeting tactics, from database emails to social media and display ads. For our secondary audience of students and recent graduates, we crafted dedicated journeys and nurturing strategies through targeted emails and calls. Our nuanced approach ensured that ACS branch managers could focus their efforts on engaging potential full-paying members, while other enquiries were efficiently managed at the top of the funnel. This strategic segmentation and targeted channel utilisation fostered an effective path from prospect to full-fledged ACS member.
Optimisations galore
Throughout the Australian Computer Society campaign, we made strategic optimisations that were key in enhancing conversions and enriching the customer journey:
- Landing page innovation: We emphasised key membership benefits above the fold, added testimonials for social proof, and condensed the page layout, which catapulted the conversion rate from an average of 9.13% to a remarkable 11.45% — marking a 25% uplift.
- Ad placement refinement: Updating ad placements across Google, GDN, Discovery, and Meta focused more acutely on our primary audience. We adopted a rapid testing approach, contrasting various creative styles simultaneously, which accelerated our learning and optimisation processes.
- CTA split testing: The transition from a “Learn More” to a “Sign Up” CTA led to a 60% surge in lead volume, proving the power of direct call-to-actions.
- Lead management overhaul: Rather than just compiling a list of warm leads, we took a proactive stance and segmented leads into ‘hot’ and ‘warm’ categories — and by creating systems for timely follow-ups, we maximised the potential of each lead.
- Collaborative refinement: A comprehensive session with ACS branch managers helped to fine-tune our understanding of lead temperature and optimised the follow-up process, ensuring a streamlined lead-to-member conversion journey.
"Student Garden has a unique offering that allows ACS to scale what we do from a media and advertising standpoint through to lead management and closing new business for us. Their services are professional and their use of cutting-edge technology and digital marketing best practice is combined with market-leading account management and client services. I have nothing but good things to say about Student Garden, and anyone considering using an agency to augment their marketing would benefit from working with the SG team."
— Erik WangDigital Marketing Manager, Australian Computer Society
Results to write home about
In the first 10 months for ACS...
322
new members were generated from all leads
68
new members signed up directly on the phone with our call centre
606
additional ‘hot’ or ‘warm’ qualified leads were sent to ACS sales agents
“Executing a highly targeted strategy for the ACS team has been an awesome journey. Approaching the acquisition strategy with a performance marketing lens has allowed the Student Garden team to convert high-intent leads for ACS — and the conversion journey is now more efficient through the use of our in-house call centre and re-engagement nurtures, which both aim to ensure no lead is left behind. The strong performance of the campaign at an attribution level is testament to the long-term benefits which clients stand to gain from deploying a full-funnel advertising strategy that seeks to understand their ideal customer.”
— Sarah Kelland
Senior Account Manager
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