Category: Case Studies

SaaS Case Studies for perspective companies.

  • SaaS Case Study: Transforming Andrews Wharton’s Twitter Presence (2019–2023)

    SaaS Case Study: Transforming Andrews Wharton’s Twitter Presence (2019–2023)

    Editor’s Note:

    The SaaS Company, AWI (Andrews Wharton) was a long time client of mine — and it all came because I replied to one of their tweets. The NDA has since expired.

    They ended up buttoning down expenses and ending their engagement with me in 2023 for what I now know was an acquisition (January 2025) by San Antonio’s, Stirista — a company recognized by Deloitte as a “top 500 fastest growing tech company in North America” for the last four years according to CEO Ajay Gutpa’s LinkedIn post.

    Twitter (X) used to have amazing analytics and I tracked data (not just followers) in Google Sheets. So I asked ChatGPT to do a quick analysis.

    ~ Bridget Willard

    Overview

    In August 2019, Andrews Wharton, a long-standing data company specializing in consumer and audience data—and now part of Stirista—reached out after discovering my work on Twitter. What began with a single underperforming account grew into a multi-year collaboration including Twitter/X and LinkedIn account management, product launch support, article writing, content strategy, and cross-channel execution.

    Between 2019 and 2023, their Twitter presence evolved from sporadic posting to a streamlined, high-efficiency communication channel that consistently attracted the right audience, reflecting the brand’s authority and expertise in the data industry.

    How It Started

    Andrews Wharton’s former AVP of Marketing and Brand Strategy, Tracy Lee discovered me on Twitter and initiated the relationship that defined the next several years of the company’s digital presence.

    My article about it describes how an everyday interaction on social media turned into a strategic partnership that supported Andrews Wharton’s growth, new product rollouts, and ongoing visibility.

    Objectives

    When I began managing the account on August 5, 2019, the goals included:

    • Re-activate and stabilize a mostly inactive Twitter account
    • Establish consistent, on-brand communication
    • Increase visibility within the data, marketing, and advertising ecosystem
    • Improve engagement quality and conversation depth
    • Expand social efforts across multiple Andrews Wharton product and brand initiatives
    • Maintain results through changes in staffing, schedules, and platform shifts

    Performance Summary (2019–2023)

    Across five years of management:

    • 1,668 tweets published
    • 257,400 impressions
    • 20,535 profile visits — the most underrated metric of Twitter/X
    • 449 mentions
    • Net follower growth of +70 overall, with +167 followers gained from 2021–2023

    The most meaningful improvement: 22x Profile Visits Per Tweet

    Profile visits per tweet increased from 1.2 in 2019 to 27.6 in 2023, demonstrating a significant rise in qualified interest from a more aligned, data-focused audience.

    Year-by-Year Snapshot

    2019: Reactivation Period

    163 tweets, 53,324 impressions, 198 profile visits

    The account was revived and reintroduced to the industry. Early activity focused on consistent posting, audience warming, and algorithm re-engagement.

    2020: Visibility Breakthrough

    318 tweets, 112,634 impressions, 3,239 profile visits

    This was the highest-impression year. Engagement conversations increased dramatically, with 207 mentions. Profile visits per tweet rose to 10.2, showing meaningful lift in audience curiosity.

    2021: Audience Alignment

    430 tweets, 52,953 impressions, 3,343 profile visits

    Follower growth became consistently positive. Content moved toward higher relevance for the data and marketing audience, resulting in stronger alignment and interaction quality.

    2022: Strongest Follower Growth

    534 tweets, 23,300 impressions, 7,605 profile visits

    Despite industry-wide shifts, Andrews Wharton saw its strongest follower increase at +92. Profile visits rose significantly, indicating deeper engagement.

    2023: High-Efficiency Engagement

    223 tweets, 15,189 impressions, 6,150 profile visits

    With less than half the volume of the previous year, the account still earned strong engagement. Profile visits per tweet reached 27.6, the highest of any year, reflecting a fully mature, efficient strategy.

    Key Outcomes

    • Increased relevance within the data and marketing ecosystem
    • Higher-quality audience interactions and more meaningful engagement
    • Steady follower growth after early cleanup periods
    • Recognition and mentions from peers and industry accounts
    • Strong performance even with reduced posting frequency
    • Consistent, professional representation of the Andrews Wharton brand leading into its acquisition by Stirista

    Client Testimonial

    “Bridget and I met on Twitter and I thanked my lucky stars for the next four years working very closely with her.

    Bridget is organized, quick-witted, and understands Twitter from a user and a back-end perspective which makes her bulletproof.

    It began with a single Twitter account and transformed into multiple accounts, new product launches, copywriting projects, and none of this would have been possible without Bridget.

    I cannot recommend her highly enough. Bridget is a five star Yelp review. Full stop.”
    — Tracy Lee

    Conclusion

    Managing Twitter for Andrews Wharton during a period of industry change, platform instability, and company acquisition required consistency, adaptability, and a steady focus on audience alignment. Over four years, the account became a reliable channel for visibility, brand awareness, and professional reputation.

    The collaboration demonstrates how long-term social media management—done well—compounds over time. A single direct message turned into years of measurable impact and brand growth.

    Want to Build a Stronger Social Presence?

    If your company needs long-term, strategic, relationship-driven social media management, I can help you:

    • Build consistent visibility
    • Strengthen your position within your industry
    • Grow an aligned and active audience
    • Improve engagement and profile traffic
    • Support product launches and ongoing brand initiatives

    We can book a sales call and you can see the SaaS Marketing Plan that I modeled after working with AWI.

  • SaaS Case Study — GiveWP

    SaaS Case Study — GiveWP

    Challenge

    When Jason Knill from ThoughtHouse (GiveWP was our client) hired me as a freelancer to manage their new WordPress Plugin’s Twitter Account in June 2015, the GiveWP Twitter account had only 165 followers.

    They had been trying to tweet on their own but that didn’t take priority as they were building their plugin and dealing with support tickets.

    GiveWP was launched in April of that year and, at the time, had little brand recognition within the WordPress ecosystem.

    The goal was to establish GiveWP as the leading donation-plugin brand through consistent, human-centered social media engagement—without relying on paid promotion or buying followers.

    Competitors already existed both in WordPress and on platforms like Classy.org (now owned by GoFundMe).

    Approach

    I developed and executed a comprehensive organic growth strategy on Twitter (now X) for @GiveWP that focused on:

    • Community engagement: Replying to tweets (other people’s content) was the power move! (This one is huge.) Later, we participated in Twitter chats like #DigiBlogChat, creating a Twitter chat just for nonprofits (#NPChat), and sharing good content from our superfans.
    • Educational storytelling: Sharing helpful tips, nonprofit success stories, and original blog content that built trust and authority. (We also spent the bulk of 2016 publishing articles 4x/week. That was my responsibility.)
    • Relationship marketing: Prioritizing authentic conversations over automation, fostering real connections with customers and peers. This included attending Meetups and WordCamps.
    • Consistency: Maintaining a clear brand voice and reliable posting cadence to boost recognition and follower loyalty. We had a calendar.
    • Secret Sauce: I used my insights from attending WordCamps to come up with the “Saturday Morning Cartoon” Strategy. Ask me more about that.

    Results

    DateFollowersSource
    June 2015165Verified start
    July 2015601Verified
    August 20151,012Verified
    May 20174,700Verified
    July 20175,063Verified screenshot
    Estimated October 2017~5,800–6,000Projected end-of-tenure

    Growth: From 165 to ~6,000 followers in just over two years — a 36× organic increase.

    Impact

    • Positioned GiveWP as a trusted and recognizable brand in the WordPress nonprofit space. It was later purchased by Liquid Web and became part of StellarWP brands.
    • Established a repeatable, values-driven content strategy that continued to perform after hand-off.
    • Demonstrated that authenticity and consistency can scale a SaaS brand organically.

    “How do you lead when you have no leaders? How do you decide when there is no boss? Well, that’s a big challenge in the open source WP community when ‘no one is the boss’ and ‘everyone has value in contributing’ bc we are all volunteers.

    Challenging to implement as these concepts are, Bridget, with her grace, patience and occasional assertiveness was able to be the post in the ground that got the collectivism spirit to actually work. Leaders don’t talk. They do. Bridget does.Jason Knill, formerly of ThoughtHouse (GiveWP)

    Verification note: A screenshot from July 2017 confirms 5,063 followers, supporting a data-based estimate of roughly 5.8–6.0K followers by October 2017, when my employment at ThoughtHouse as Director of Marketing ended.

    Ready to Break Through the Noise on Twitter / X ?

    Want to build your SaaS or plugin brand the same way? Let’s chat.