Introduction
Representing over 300 members in one of Montreal’s most vibrant neighborhoods, the SDC Rue Saint-Denis set out to enhance the street’s visibility and attract more visitors.
In recent years, Rue Saint-Denis has faced its share of challenges, from the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic to the transformations brought about by the Réseau Express Vélo (REV). The SDC’s new leadership sought to breathe fresh life into its strategy, strengthen its presence among residents, visitors, and stakeholders, and promote Rue Saint-Denis as a premier commercial and cultural destination.
To achieve this, the SDC enlisted Franchir to develop an ambitious communication strategy tailored to its unique needs and goals. This partnership aimed to position Rue Saint-Denis as a must-visit locale while fostering a deeper connection with its community.
Objectives
Position Rue Saint-Denis as a key ally in enhancing the urban, commercial, and public experience for diverse populations.
Demonstrate the added value of the SDC Rue Saint-Denis by adopting a systematic approach, fostering dialogue, and building strong relationships.
Showcase recent successes to provide concrete examples of the organization’s positive impact and influence.
Encourage target audiences to talk about Rue Saint-Denis, particularly within communities of interest, the media, and the business ecosystem.
Enhance the overall appeal of Rue Saint-Denis while supporting sustainable growth and long-term viability.
- Increase engagement on social media with tangible results, such as achieving an average of 5 likes per post, within one year.
- Positively contribute to increasing traffic to the Rue Saint-Denis website.
- Increase the number of followers.
- Boost overall engagement rate to 1% (currently 0.22%) within one year.
Website
- Improve visitor retention by increasing average article reading time by 20%, from 4 to 5 minutes, within one year.
Newsletter
- Double the number of subscribers from 460 to 920 within one year.
- Maintain the current open rate of 48% over the next year.
Strategy
01 – Content Creation:
Produce and schedule engaging content, including professional photos that highlight the merchants and businesses along Rue Saint-Denis.
02 – Blog:
Write one lifestyle blog post per month featuring Rue Saint-Denis’ offerings, merchants, initiatives, projects, and events.
03 – Monthly Newsletter:
Create and schedule a monthly newsletter to inform subscribers about new developments, special offers, and upcoming events.
Results (January to August 2024)
- Followers: 12,071
- Organic Impressions: 75,838 (January to August)
- Interactions: 2,995
- Average Engagement Rate: 3.95%
- Followers: 3,531
- Organic Impressions: 54,514 (January to August)
- Interactions: 3,271
- Average Engagement Rate: 6% (exceeding the 1% target)
Website
- Average Session Duration: 4 minutes 43 seconds (up from 3 minutes 53 seconds at the start of the mandate)
Newsletter
- Subscribers: 1,080 (up from 460 in January)
- Average Click Rate: 5%
- Average Open Rate: 43.71%
These results are outstanding, especially considering Mailchimp’s industry averages: a 34.2% open rate and a 2.66% click rate across all industries.
Highlights
In just eight months of managing and planning content on social media, we generated a total of 136,686 organic impressions. This success is due to an effective content strategy on Instagram and Facebook, as well as the sending of a newsletter and the writing of a monthly blog post.
The result? A more engaged community and a significant increase in the visibility of SDC Rue Saint-Denis.
The importance of storytelling in a content strategy
Storytelling is a powerful tool for creating authentic and emotional connections with the audience, and nothing illustrates this connection better than highlighting the faces behind local businesses. By showcasing portraits of merchants or bringing projects like Les Bourses Saint-Denis sur son 31 to life, we humanize the street, give its stories a face, and resonate with personal experiences. This not only strengthens the sense of belonging to the community but also highlights the commitment of merchants while generating enthusiasm and support from residents and visitors.
This approach has greatly contributed to the visibility and awareness of SDC Rue Saint-Denis across its ecosystem, allowing us to reach a wider audience and attract new customers, thereby demonstrating the effectiveness of a well-planned and executed content strategy.
