Clickable Product Used: Clickable Solutions
Industry: Non-Profit Organization
Problem Solved:
The Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at Harvard Kennedy School is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of knowledge about leadership and to broadening and deepening the pool of men and women who will become leaders for the common good. CPL was founded nearly 10 years ago, and, over the past two years, has digitized its vast library of materials and products accrued over the past decade, including over 100 videos. The challenge today is to make that library available to as wide an audience as possible. "Our current audience consists mostly of folks who know us because they're either students, faculty, or other members of academia," said Patrick McKiernan, CPL's Communications Coordinator. "What we're trying to build is an audience outside of our already strong academic and local niche." To help reach that goal, CPL applied for, and was awarded a Google Grant, which provides free advertising through Google AdWords. To help get the most out of that account, CPL has turned to Clickable Solutions.
The Business
The Center for Public Leadership (CPL) at Harvard Kennedy School
is dedicated to advancing the frontiers of knowledge about
leadership and to broadening and deepening the pool of men and
women who will become leaders for the common good. At the heart of
CPL's mission is the enhancement of leadership teaching and
research. As vital as this work is, CPL realizes that equipping
people to handle the complexities of modern leadership requires
more than traditional academic coursework. That's why CPL has
committed itself to providing cutting-edge training in leadership
development.
CPL was founded nearly 10 years ago, and, over the past two years,
has digitized its vast library of materials and products accrued
over the past decade, including over 100 videos. As Patrick
McKiernan, CPL's Communications Coordinator put it, "Now that it's
all online it's about finding the right audience for this bevy of
material." The challenge is to make that library available to as
wide an audience as possible. "Our current audience consists mostly
of folks who know us because they're either students, faculty, or
other members of academia," said Patrick. "What we're trying to
build is an audience outside of our already strong academic and
local niche."
To build that audience, CPL applied for, and was awarded a Google
Grant, which provides free advertising through Google
AdWords.
Google Grants
With their Google Grants program, Google AdWords has made it much
easier for non-profit organizations to jump into search marketing.
Eligible nonprofit organizations can apply for a Google Grant
account, and advertise on AdWords for free, with a fixed monthly
budget. However, there's a catch: CPC (Cost Per Click) bids are
capped at $1.
The Complexity of Search Marketing
When CPL was first awarded a Google Grant, Patrick was thrilled.
"I thought, 'Free Advertising? Great!" However, it quickly became
apparent that the path from a free AdWords account to free - and
effective - advertising was a long one. Even without being limited
to $1 bids, search marketing experts often have difficulty reaching
the right audience and maximizing the return on their ad spend. A
previous organization Patrick worked with attempted to manage a
Google Grant account in-house. "It was very difficult to do. It was
difficult to maintain, difficult to get clicks-far more complicated
than we'd anticipated." However, at that time Patrick did not have
any other options: his non-profit couldn't spend the money it saved
with a free AdWords account to engage an agency. But, today, CPL
did have an option: free support from Clickable Solutions.
The Simplicity of Clickable Assist
To ensure that CPL's Google Grant account doesn't go to waste,
Patrick turned to Clickable Solutions. Today, their account is
managed by Clickable Assist Associate Jordan Franklin, who selects
keywords, writes ad copy, and manages CPL's bids and budgets. "The
level of service and thoughtfulness that goes into our account has
been second to none," Patrick said. With a grant from Google and
assistance from Clickable, the Center for Public Leadership is
finally reaching the audience it wants: one that isn't limited to
Boston or academia. And the $1 bids? "That has been something that
we've not only been able to work around but to take advantage of,"
Patrick said. "It has meant more accuracy and higher click-through
rates."