Evocative Content that Helped Entrepreneurship Flourish: Our Non-Profit Marketing Strategy for Lunar Startups
⭐️ Introduction
Founded in 2020 by Camille Galles, Quintet Creative (formerly c.e.galles digital) is a full-service digital marketing agency serving mission-driven and impact-focused brands. The Quintet team offers boutique marketing production from strategy and ideation to content creation and reporting.
Quintet has been supporting Lunar Startups’ marketing through its evolution since 2020.
Lunar Startups is a non-profit that creates equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems and builds community wealth by providing education, support, and connectivity to leaders who identify as BIPOC, women, and LGBTQ+, and are founding high-impact ventures.
When Quintet began partnering with Lunar, they were a program of American Public Media. Over the years, Lunar transitioned into a nonprofit organization and was acquired by ConnectUP! Institute in 2023.
“Within the first couple of months, [...] we saw a dramatic impact on our business, both from a comms perspective as well as an internal capacity perspective. [...] Their team had superior processes that enabled them to take a massive lift off our shoulders.”
💌 A Non-Profit Marketing Plan That Made an Impact
Quintet’s work with Lunar began in its infancy. As the marketing and communications lead, Camille’s team at Quintet optimized content on social media, web, and email channels to serve Lunar’s community of entrepreneurs and potential funders.
Lunar needed a marketing partner who could step in to produce content and assets for various audiences, including prospective entrepreneurs, investors, donors, and the general public through public relations channels.
Lunar’s goals were straightforward: Expand their digital audience to reach more founders and build trust and thought leadership with philanthropic institutions and funders.
Quintet responded by strategically tapping into social media outlets to help Lunar connect with more founders and develop best practices to help those entrepreneurs connect with their own communities.
📈 Comprehensive Marketing Strategies Implemented
Nonprofit Marketing
Nonprofit marketing is a delicate balance of reaching donors and program participants. Quintet’s marketing strategy held Lunar’s voice, priorities, and perspective to communicate consistent value to audiences.
Fundraising Strategy + Communications
Donors play two roles at Lunar: funding for Lunar and funding Lunar founders’ businesses. Quintet has been on the front line of all fundraising marketing, helping founders find the funds they need to reach their potential. Quintet has planned, drafted, and designed Annual Impact Report Publications for Lunar in 2020, 2021, 2022, and 2023.
Social Media Marketing
A significant element of Quintet’s presence in Lunar’s marketing came from social media. Quintet’s social media team worked together to drive strategy, creative direction, and execution of social media content on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and TikTok. Later in this report, the effectiveness and outcomes of social media campaigns will be discussed in more detail.
Email Marketing
Quintet’s team of strategists and copywriters boosted Lunar’s internal capacity by taking over drafting and editing email newsletters. Email marketing has been an essential part of Lunar’s ability to connect with founders in a manner that makes them feel seen, heard, and understood.
Video Production
Quintet guided Lunar in following founders to TikTok. In 2021, Quintet launched a TikTok channel for Lunar to respond to current trends and reach new audiences. Quintet’s team of video strategists and production experts coached the leadership team to create confident, high-quality videos that boosted engagement and connection.
Event Marketing
Quintet led the promotional strategies for annual Lunar Summit events, including digital event management and execution.
Executive Consulting + Ghostwriting
Thought leadership is a growing necessity for executives, particularly on LinkedIn. Quintet’s team established trust and authority for Lunar by writing and publishing thought leadership posts on behalf of Lunar executives on LinkedIn.
Public Relations
Public Relations opportunities helped Lunar spread beyond the limits of their existing social channels and referral networks by gaining new audiences. Quintet actively sought ways to share the existing platforms and position the Lunar community members as experts to share lessons learned, leading to new founders joining Lunar.
Quintet pitched Lunar executives across various platforms, earning local press coverage in the Minneapolis St. Paul Business Journal and Twin Cities Business Magazine. Quintet’s PR arm pitched Founder Danielle Steer for podcast appearances, including We Are for Good.
💻 Execution and Tactics
Launching New Initiatives
Quintet helped Lunar launch a TikTok channel and grow its reach tremendously. Quintet supported the Lunar team in developing, promoting, and hosting live Instagram events that gave historically underserved founders access to insider information.
In 2022, Quintet supported Lunar’s Gift Guide series, which strategically supported its community of founders by promoting their products and services.
Graphic Design + Visual Communication
Camille’s team at Quintet managed every part of content creation, including strategy, ideation, copywriting, and graphic design. Quintet’s designers have been responsible for creating compelling social media graphics, high-impact reports, and strong brand graphics. Quintet’s video production team provided scripts for video content, edited footage, and worked with the copywriting team to include text in videos.
Content Production
The bulk of Quintet’s impact for Lunar comes from content production. Quintet’s team of social media managers, content strategists, and creatives rolled out social media posts on a regular cadence, creating compelling social media content, including audiograms, Reels and TikToks, LinkedIn content, Instagram collaborations and takeovers, and storytelling on Instagram stories.
Quintet strategically developed 3 content pillars to ensure content was varied and strategically met goals set out by the client:
1. Uplift
Celebrate your community
every chance you get.
2. Insider Info
Share bite-sized info that
they can only get from you.
3. Realness
Be open about the hard
parts of entrepreneurship.
Strategic Consulting
Camille from Quintet has been leaned on as a strategic partner throughout Lunar’s phases of growth from start-up to acquisition. Quintet has acted as an advisor for Lunar’s marketing services, both for their own company and the larger cohorts of founders. Amid breaking news updates from the 2020 campaign trail, Quintet’s announcement of Cohort 3 entrepreneurs earned record-high engagement.
⚖️ Measuring Success
Each weekly #LunarBrags series post correlated with an increase in Instagram followers.
Lunar saw the most “Saves” from practical, no-fluff startup advice from the Insider Info content pillar.
One TikTok sharing “insider info” increased Lunar’s following by 75%.
70% of the most-interacted Instagram Reels over a 2-year period featured Insider Info.
“Camille and her team were incredibly prepared for every conversation, check-in, presentation, and planning process. She asked the right questions to ensure they had everything they needed to execute effectively and it made it easy to be her client.”
11%
Engagement Rate on Instagram
during a time when average engagement rate was 1%
4%
Engagement Rate on LinkedIn
2x the average LinkedIn brand page engagement rate
130,000
Reach on Instagram in 2022
a 56% increase year-over-year
20,000
Reach on TikTok in 2022
94%
Increase in Program Leads
🌱 Results and Growth by Content Pillar
Uplift:
The #LunarBrags social media shout-out series helped Lunar alumni win grants and awards powered by votes and audience participation.
They positioned Lunar alumni as leaders within the community, opening doors to increased recognition, visibility, and relationships.
Celebrating Lunar alumni's accomplishments created clear pathways to success for the founders who came after them.
Our weekly #LunarBrags generates a full inbox of community interaction – every week!
Insider Info:
Sharing the unspoken rules of entrepreneurship gave historically underestimated entrepreneurs access to the key moments they may not have expected.
Templates and tips gave founders the tools they needed to build relationships with the press, investors, and mentors.
Content positioned alumni as thought leaders by leaning into the wisdom of lessons learned.
Realness:
“10/10 would recommend working with Camille and her team. They deliver on their promises and are a huge asset to mission driven organizations. They are reflective, considerate, professional, and overall a delight as partners. I cannot recommend this agency enough.”
Content built trust among the founder community by supporting them through the ups and downs.
Lunar recognized and called in founders whose identities have not been historically welcomed in startup communities, building relationships in the comments sections.
The team built trust because they did not sugarcoat anything, which led to more qualified referrals.
⭐️ Conclusion
Quintet’s collaboration with Lunar Startups epitomizes a transformative journey in nonprofit marketing and strategic growth. Since its inception in 2020, Quintet, under the guidance of Camille Galles, has amplified Lunar’s mission and acted as a tentpole throughout its evolution from a program within American Public Media to a thriving, independent non-profit poised for acquisition.
Quintet’s multifaceted marketing approach, encompassing social media, fundraising, content production, and public relationships, has been instrumental in expanding Lunar’s reach and impact. From the substantial growth in digital audience and engagement rates to the increased visibility and recognition of Lunar alumni, Quintet is proud of the tangible outcomes of its strategies.
As Lunar embarks on its next chapter, the foundation laid by Quintet’s comprehensive marketing efforts ensures a future brimming with potential, growth, and continued success in creating equitable entrepreneurial ecosystems.
This case study of Lunar Startups is a testament to how innovative, targeted marketing strategies can significantly uplift a non-profit’s trajectory in today’s digital-first world.
