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If you haven’t heard of them already, Downtown Evanston is a nonprofit organization committed to creating a thriving, inclusive downtown district right here in our backyard of Evanston, Illinois. Organizing community events, managing beautification efforts, and supporting local businesses, Downtown Evanston plays a pivotal role in keeping the city vibrant and engaged.

Unfortunately, like many nonprofit organizations and business districts, Downtown Evanston faces a familiar challenge: a small internal team managing big responsibilities on a limited budget.

When we connected, their goal was clear: amplify their digital presence without breaking the bank.

The Challenge

Downtown Evanston’s team was balancing event planning, merchant engagement, and community outreach, all while trying to maintain a consistent and engaging digital footprint. 

With only a few staff members and a modest marketing budget, they needed support that was:

• Affordable and efficient
• Easy to implement and manage
• Custom-tailored to the unique voice of their community
  

The Downtown Evanston team wasn’t looking for a major brand overhaul or a costly long-term strategy. They needed nimble, plug-and-play tools that would help them meet their marketing goals quickly and effectively.

Our Solution: The Small Business Marketing Package

To meet Downtown Evanston’s needs, we introduced them to our Small Business Package, a custom-curated collection of low-cost, high-impact services designed specifically for lean (but mean) teams. 

Here’s what we put together for our Evanston-based neighbors:

Custom Social Media & Email Templates

We took Downtown Evanston’s brand guidelines and created a suite of easily edible social and email templates they could use to promote everything from weekly events to small business spotlights. These templates ensure consistent branding without requiring in-house design or marketing expertise.

Monthly Video Shoots

Each month, our talented team (shoutout to you, Paige and Tawny) visited the sights around to shoot short-form content and high-quality pictures that highlight events, local businesses, and the unrivaled downtown Evanston atmosphere. Not only will this content live on the Downtown Evanston social profiles, it’s being shared with the businesses featured for their use as well.

Budget-Friendly SEO Enhancements

Without needing a full-scale website redesign, we identified and implemented high-impact SEO updates across key pages of Downtown Evanston’s website. Our approach focused on improving metadata, optimizing page content, and enhancing technical performance.

The Results (They Speak for Themselves)

Together, these service areas made an immediate—and may we say significant—impact on Downtown Evanston’s digital performance. And we did it without exhausting their team’s bandwidth or budget.

SEO-Driven Results

One of the most measurable wins came from our SEO work. By optimizing title tags, improving internal linking, and making small but strategic content edits, Downtown Evanston saw a significant boost in both website traffic and user engagement:

• Organic sessions increased by 27.8% 
• Engaged sessions rose by 20.9% 

In July alone, the site recorded 12,410 organic search sessions, with 7,165 of them classified as engaged! For a nonprofit district website, these are substantial gains. And they came without investing in paid ads or a full site overhaul!

High-Performance Social Templates & Reels

While the templates we created only accounted for 5 out of 29 social media posts in July, the impact of our templates was undeniable:

• Our posts made up 50% of the top 10 performing posts
• Those 5 posts accounted for:
  
  • 40% of the month’s total saves
  • 46% of the month’s total saves (from one post alone!)
  • 27% of total reach
  • 32% of total views
  • 100% of follows from post engagement

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From our monthly video shoot, one particular reel outperformed every other post on Downtown Evanston’s feed in July:

• It had the most views, reach, likes, and shares of the entire month
• It earned ~50% more views than the second-most-viewed video
• It generated ~50% more reach than the next-best post
• It saw 170%+ more saves than all other reels from that month combined

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With short-form video continuing to dominate social media algorithms, returns like this on a single piece of content shows the importance of investing in professional video (do it with us, it won’t break the bank). 

Why It Worked

Downtown Evanston didn’t need a massive marketing overhaul. They needed a partner who could deliver smart, scalable tools that fit into their already busy workflows.

Here’s why our approach worked so well:

• We respected their budget. Every service we offered was designed with affordability in mind. No long retainers, no bloated deliverables.
• We respected their time. Our templates were simple to use. Our video shoots were fast and collaborative. Our SEO updates were handled behind the scenes, with little lift required from their internal team.
• We respected their community. We didn’t come in with a one-size-fits-all approach. We listened to their goals and worked with them to elevate their existing brand voice and tone.
  

But more than anything else, our services helped Downtown Evanston do more with less. We gave their team the tools they need to look like a full-scale marketing department without needing to become one.

What’s Next?

As our partnership with Downtown Evanston continues, we’re exploring new ways to support the district’s mission. Whether that’s additional short-form content or community-driven campaigns, we’re going to help celebrate the stories that make downtown Evanston unique. 

Our work together is a perfect example of how powerful results don’t always require massive budgets. You just need smart tools, thoughtful design, and a little bit of monthly momentum.

Want to bring this kind of energy to your organization?

Let’s chat about how 1744’s Small Business Package can work for you.

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