Lea Black Beauty


Overview

For more than 20 years, TV personality Lea Black has been developing and selling Lea Black Beauty products, some of which are made with ethically sourced Cannabidiol (CBD). The brand sells products such as eye cream, face wash and masks, oils, exfoliants, sunscreen, lip balms, and lotions, among other things. The client had a slow WordPress website and needed a modern website. They contacted us, a Shopify Plus partner, to build a new website and migrate their existing WordPress website over. They also engaged us for their digital marketing needs.

Read on about how we built and launched a new Shopify Plus website for Lea Black Beauty and how our marketing efforts helped grow their organic revenue by 335.8% and overall revenue by 408.3%. Within the first 90 days after launch, Lea Black Beauty saw a 41.9% increase in Instagram impressions and 189.4% growth in Instagram engagements.

Problem

Leablack.com faced several issues. First, they had a problematic WordPress navigation layout. When users selected a subsection from the shop dropdown menu, other options unrelated to the shop section appeared. Second, the brand had a fairly large YouTube audience but lacked a video SEO strategy. Third, some pages were missing relevant copy, and some only had Lorem Ipsum text. Lastly, a number of pages, internal links, and backlinks returned 404 errors.

In our SEO audit, we discovered duplicate Google Analytics codes, missing alt texts, and calls to action (CTAs) that were not linked to their proper pages. There were multiple ADA and user interface issues, including white fonts on gray or light backgrounds. Several product pages needed to be updated as the price was not in the correct place. Copy on some pages was not properly aligned on mobile view, causing word breaks. Zoom view on mobile remained open due to a missing close button. Users were unable to select multiple filters at the same time. Shoppers were unable to choose the subscribe-and-save option from the cart page and some pages were also missing the buy now pay later option as well.

Solution

Web Development

Our design team created mockups of the home, category, and product pages. Our developers implemented correct text, alignment, font, color, and spacing for all pages. Our team included an Accessibility page and updated image, font, and color issues.

To enable the fast and easy shipping process, we integrated the ShipStation for Shopify app so that Lea Black Beauty can ship more orders in less time. The app integration syncs orders from all the brand’s ecommerce stores and sales channels. With access to discounted shipping from multiple carriers, domestic and international shoppers can enjoy fast shipping and tracking of their orders. Its automation also speeds up the brand’s fulfillment process from its multiple inventory locations.

DataFeedWatch Integration

We integrated the DataFeedWatch app, allowing the brand to create and optimize product feeds across multiple shopping channels and marketplaces. Our developers mapped each of Lea Black Beauty’s shopping channels with product feed templates. This improved the visibility of the brand’s products in their marketing campaigns, leading to increasing return on investment and sales.

Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL)

The client selected to expand their payment options to include a BNPL financing app, so our team installed Sezzle. Sezzle allows approved customers to complete their payments in installments. Each product page was updated to include Sezzle as a payment option for shoppers.

Other Web Enhancements

Our team successfully migrated blogs, videos, products, customers’ data, coupons, policies and FAQ pages, and products from the WordPress platform to the new Shopify store. We updated the checkout to reflect a branded and natively styled experience. Our team linked all of the brand’s social media channels. We also added product thumbnail galleries and zoom features on product pages.

Mega Menu

The client wanted the mega menu to be triggered by hovering rather than clicking. As the Shopify Plus theme did not offer this functionality, our team added code to the mega menu to allow users to view the sections and subsections as they hover over the fields. We adjusted the width of the menu change to enable full-width view on mobile and tablet devices, and corrected any image codes returning liquid errors.

ADA Compliance

We integrated the Americans with Disabilities Act Standards for Accessible Design (ADA) compliance plugin accessiBe on the new website. The accessiBe plugin is one of the most trusted, industry-leading plugins to make websites more ADA compliant. With this plugin, users can navigate the website using their keyboards. All content can be navigable via keyboard without specific keystroke timing, such as requiring the user to input specific keystrokes within a short time.

Live Chat Feature Installation

Our developers installed the customer support app Gorgias. With this app, all of the brand’s customer service channels can be connected and managed from the app’s dashboard. Additionally, the app allows the client to automatically process returns, generate discount codes, provide tracking information, and update subscriptions quickly from the dashboard.

Pay Per Click (PPC)

Among the client’s key performance indicators for their PPC campaigns were a 20 – 30% engagement rate, increased revenue, and a positive return on ad spend (ROAS). Our team created and linked Google Ads and Google Analytics, installed Remarketing tags and lists, and verified that the installed conversion pixel was tracking.

We created several campaigns, including branded, DSA, PMax, smart, and non-branded paid campaigns. Our team researched keywords, created multiple banners and landing pages for the client’s ads, and reviewed the brand’s Google Merchant Center (GMC) account. We periodically reviewed the ads’ performance and reviewed conversion tracking and performance for all campaigns. We monitored the client’s KPIs and revamped campaigns as needed.

Search Engine Optimization (SEO)

Our SEO team completed several batches of optimized content for the website. We identified several unique selling points, keywords, and CTAs for the brand.  We updated the XML sitemap, fixed internal links to redirecting pages, removed spammy links, and fixed core web vitals.

The client requested several blog categories, including a stream blog post page with an embedded video section. Website users now have the option to view long form content in a written or video format. Content with an embedded video can be viewed from the stream blog post. For the custom blog post, our team made both the blog post image and title clickable for easy access and view.

Social Media Marketing

The client sought to increase brand awareness, build a Lea Black Beauty community, and grow revenue. They wanted their social media messaging to communicate the quality of their products and the effectiveness of their formulas while also utilizing Lea’s tone of voice. Aside from growth in impressions, social media traffic, and engagement, we aimed to increase sales revenue, share exclusive tips from Lea, and nurture brand advocates.

Our social media team created platform-specific strategies and utilized best practices for organic efforts on Instagram and Facebook. We established a patterned daily posting cadence, balancing a content mix of Lea’s personal brand while weaving in product education and site promotions. To drive Lea Black Beauty brand awareness, we helped curate product-specific videos featuring Lea that detailed the ingredients, uses, and benefits of the product line. Our social media team used our in-house Creator Pool to create user-generated content (UGC) such as short-form videos and user photos. Posts were optimized for each platform, utilizing UTM links and tagging products with shoppable links.

Email Marketing

KPIs for email marketing included the expansion of the email list, as well as improved click-through rates, open rates, segmentation, and advanced targeting. The client wanted to move away from promoting discounts and to highlight the loyalty program instead. Our initial strategy included A/B testing the best times and days to send out newsletters. We identified the different customer segments for the brand and developed the best strategies to expand the customer segments. 

Our email marketing team designed and developed an email signup popup, email templates, an email marketing calendar, and copy for new email campaigns. The client selected Klaviyo as its email marketing platform, which our team integrated. 

We created the welcome series to nurture new email subscribers and establish credibility. We also generated the browse abandonment and abandoned cart series to reconnect with website visitors who left without making a purchase. Moreover, our team worked on the post-purchase series aimed at boosting brand trust and nurturing repeat purchases. Our email marketing team created monthly newsletters to promote brand information and build a community within the brand. Additionally, promotional emails were created to highlight sales and coupons, and to boost brand awareness and repeat purchases.

Get Radiant Skin in the New Year with Lea Black Beauty Skincare Products

Final Product

Browse through the images below to see some of the work our team did.

Client Testimonial

We hired Coalition Technologies to accomplish the following: create a new website on Shopify, advertise for CBD products, gain new customers and grow consumer base, and launch a streaming shopping channel. Coalition designed and developed our new websites and has broken the code to help us advertise CBD products online. They have been influential in assisting us with all third party integrations and applications for a supercharged website. We’re impressed by their industry reputation

James Brown, Brand Marketing & Website Executive, Lea Black Beauty®

Results

Within the first month after launch, the new website experienced a 28% increase in user engagement. Organic revenue grew by 335.5% and overall revenue by 408.3% compared to the month prior. Traffic from email marketing campaigns accounted for more than 20% of overall traffic within the first month.

The client saw impressive results with their first Black Friday Cyber Monday (BFCM) marketing campaigns with us. Lea Black Beauty saw excellent open, click, and placed order rates for its email campaigns. One of our BFCM email campaigns netted a 61% open rate, surpassing the industry average (21%). Another specialty BFCM email campaign netted a 64% open rate, and a 3.4% click rate—both exceeding the industry standards. Another BFCM email campaign had an open rate of 66.8%.

335.5%

Organic Revenue

408.3%

Overall Revenue

Since launching our social content strategy in October 2023, the brand has seen significant growth in key Meta metrics. Instagram followers increased by 4.9%, Instagram profile visits by 32.3%, impressions by 41.9%, and engagements by 189.4%. Facebook new page likes increased by 28% and visits by 12%. Additionally, our efforts have seen a 23.5% increase in followers reached on Instagram, and a 217% increase in non-followers within the first 90 days of our partnership. Lea Black Beauty has seen growth in revenue from their social media campaigns.