Driving Community Impact with USI
A Multi-Channel Marketing Approach with Urban Strategies, Inc.
THE CHALLENGE
Urban Strategies, Inc. (USI), a national nonprofit, plays a critical role in advancing economic mobility, housing stability, education, health, and policy change within under-resourced communities across the United States. Despite a meaningful mission and an active field presence, their digital marketing efforts lacked structure, consistency, and alignment across platforms. Content was created in silos, tracking was inconsistent, and opportunities to connect with audiences through storytelling and strategic campaigns were being missed.
USI needed a marketing strategy that would not only reflect their impact but also help streamline content execution, drive audience growth, and ensure that every effort was measurable and aligned with organizational goals.
THE OPPORTUNITY
USI brought us on board for Marketing Strategy and Consultancy to align their digital presence with their mission-driven work. Key areas of focus included:
Marketing Consultancy & Strategy: Providing high-level strategic direction across social media, email marketing, blog content, and YouTube, with ongoing consultancy sessions to review performance, identify growth areas, and align initiatives with USI’s organizational goals.
Content Strategy & Direction: Developing a content strategy grounded in USI’s five core pillars to ensure consistency, relevance, and clarity across all channels.
Podcast Strategy & Integration: Recommending a custom format as the anchor content, designed to establish thought leadership and community voice. I outlined how content could be repurposed to create a cohesive and scalable content ecosystem.
Optimizing Campaign Tracking: Guidelines for UTM tracking and standardized campaign naming conventions to allow for accurate performance attribution, audience insights, and campaign-level reporting.
Building Multi-Channel Workflows: Creating aligned strategies for Facebook, Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, Blogs, and Email, with a focus on community storytelling, educational content, and mission amplification.
Introducing Project Management & Tools: Streamlining internal processes using third-party tools and tagging protocols to reduce friction and improve consistency.
Establishing KPIs & Performance Benchmarks: Defining measurable goals and reviewing data monthly to identify wins and opportunities across all channels.
Providing AI & Video Strategy Guidance: Offering creative directions, while advising on the integration of AI tools to speed up content ideation and scripting.
THE IMPACT
With the recommended, data-backed strategy in place, USI made a clear shift from sporadic, reactive posting to a more intentional and consistent digital presence. While full implementation is still in progress, the improvements already seen underscore the value of having a structured, scalable marketing system.
After integrating my recommendations across content planning and strategy, we began seeing early wins. Facebook’s engagement rate more than doubled, and the page crossed the 1K follower milestone. LinkedIn became one of USI’s strongest-performing platforms, delivering a 40% average boost in engagement rate and over 220 new followers in a single month. The website also saw a 77% increase in new users and nearly 70% growth in active users, driven by a more cohesive approach to blog, email, and long-form video strategy.
The real success lies in the foundation now in place: a cross-channel marketing strategy rooted in mission-led storytelling, backed by clear performance benchmarks, and designed to be manageable for a lean internal team. Proof that with the right structure and support, even partial implementation can create measurable impact and build real momentum toward long-term growth.
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- Lois Sarfo-Mensah, Principal | Chief Strategist at 3 Pillars