How I'd grow Givr

Givr sells monthly care package subscriptions that you can give to homeless people you meet in your neighborhood.

The packages contain things like food and hygiene items and, according to Givr, they’re also a tool to get to know people’s names and start conversations.

It’s a non-profit, but this isn’t stated on the homepage. That’s a missed opportunity - emphasizing it would increase visitors' trust.

Speaking of trust, I definitely like how they put the origin story and the faces of the people behind the project on their About page.

But there’s some work to be done on the website. A visitor would have a hard time understanding what the product is without scrolling down.

I’d change the header to a more descriptive one like “Help your homeless neighbors with monthly care packages.”

But the most confusing part are the CTAs. There are 4 buttons on the homepage but none let me subscribe.

I can make a donation, log into my profile, scroll the page or gift the package to someone else, but I can’t buy them for myself.

High-converting landing pages eliminate complexity and push people towards one specific action. 

I’d remove the donate and the scroll buttons. I’d only keep the login and the main descriptive CTA: “See the packages” (that lets visitors buy the subscription).

The gift idea could also be positioned as a way for families to teach children/teenagers kindness and values.

But I’d add the option to buy a package with a one-off purchase. There’s too much friction in committing to a subscription without trying it first.

Given the nature of the product, I think it has good odds of turning customers into brand ambassadors and getting word of mouth.

But since the target audience isn’t motivated by money, I wouldn’t do any affiliates or referral programs.

I’d create a community (a free public Facebook group) and encourage customers to share their stories with photos and videos.

If the user-generated content gets engagement, FB will give it more free organic reach, pushing discovery.

This works when there’s enough customers. To get the first ones and kickstart the community, Givr can leverage influencers.

I’d prioritize the ones creating video content on YouTube - they could use storytelling which aligns perfectly with Givr’s mission.

Pro tip: there’s a basic framework I like to use to see what to prioritize in a marketing strategy:

- Pre-existing demand? Search

- No pre-existing demand? Social

- More time than money? Content

- More money than time? Ads

People don’t go looking for a product like Givr on Google.

This doesn’t mean that long-term search couldn’t play an important role; there’s a ton of informational keywords Givr could target.

However, it’s not something that I’d focus on immediately.

As time passes and their authority increases, I’d start producing top of the funnel content to create a homeless resource content hub.

Articles related to homelessness and potential questions to attract them, and then subtly make them aware of Givr’s mission.

They need to push harder on social media; create content that resonates and use their advertising budget to expand their reach.

They need to pick the right channels for distribution strategically. I wouldn’t post on FB (bad organic reach), I’d use IG and TikTok.

Their current IG game is not great and they don’t have a TikTok account.

I think a content strategy based on short, 30-second videos could work well:

- They could use the same content on both platforms

- It’s what’s working right now for maximizing organic reach

I’d also use IG ads, testing different creatives until one resonates; not just in terms of content, but different angles. Each should have a dedicated landing page (e.g. the initial idea of Givr being a gift for loved ones).