Over the years, we have partnered with Wilson Barbecue on various projects to enhance their digital marketing efforts. Wilson Barbecue aimed to increase the visibility and demand for their sauces and rubs ahead of the holiday season (Father’s Day, Black Friday, Christmas). They were also about to be stocked by a major national retailer and wanted to ensure the success of this collaboration.
Previously, Wilson Barbecue had experimented with managing their own paid ads, but this was often sporadic and lacked an overarching strategy. That’s when we stepped in!
The Approach
After taking the time to understand the business, its challenges, and strengths, we leveraged our industry experience to review the Facebook and Instagram channels and corresponding metrics. We identified their competitors and analyzed their strategies in the paid media space.
We crafted a custom social media advertising strategy focused on growing their warm audience for retargeting and encouraging online sales of sauces and rubs. Our research informed this approach, drawing on humor and social proof to launch the first campaign in time for Father’s Day. We continued to repurpose well-performing organic content, leveraging it through paid ads to achieve results.
The Strategy + Results
Using user-generated content helped leverage social proof—showing the products in natural use encouraged prospective customers to imagine themselves using them.
After a month of running ads, we observed a high number of abandoned carts. We introduced a free shipping offer, which reduced the abandoned cart rate by 14.5%!
Before implementing a strategic ads plan, Wilson Barbecue had received 22 orders online over three months. In the first three months of working with Digital Cactus, they achieved 90 orders—a 309% increase.
Not only did Wilson Barbecue increase its sales, but it also boosted brand awareness. Over 224,000 potential customers aligned with their target market were exposed to the Wilson Barbecue brand. Website visitors also rose from 15,000 to 22,000—a 46% increase! This demonstrates a significant improvement in Wilson Barbecue’s brand awareness and recognition.