Case study:

Strategy + Website + Content for Manta Ray Advocates

The project at a glance:

Client: Manta conservation + sustainable snorkel tours in Hawaii
Services: Social media, messaging, website, SEO, content marketing
Timeline: 2017–ongoing (as per 2025)
Goal: Transform a scattered online presence into a streamlined, actionable platform focused on manta ray conservation.
Team (over the years): Sandrine (strategy, messaging), Mellissa (SEO, WordPress), Flavia (content, social, general support), Nancy (social), Nora, Eleanor, (content creation), Olga (graphic design)

Mockup of the Manta Ray Advocates marine life website, set against a background of ocean water and waves. WordPress Storybrand website built on Divi by SmartAlpaca Marketing.

Through the years…

2017: Social media
2018: Website restructure
2019: Content marketing
2020: SEO
2021: Storybrand messaging
2022: WordPress website
2023: Manta tourism campaign
2024: Customer journey
2025: Podcast launch

How it started: back in 2017

Martina and Sandrine go way back. She first approached us in 2016-2017, when she needed social media strategy and management; back then, social media was our core offering.

For a couple of years, we managed Manta Ray Advocates' different social media platforms – Instagram, a Facebook page, a Facebook group, and even a Pinterest account (for just a little bit).

As the website was getting more traffic from our social media efforts, we realised those visitors weren’t converting into signups and sales. Even the best Facebook strategy goes nowhere when the website isn't properly set up for it!

Screen capture of the Manta Ray Advocates Instagram account featuring underwater photos of manta rays, ebooks, quotes, and text emphasizing the importance of protecting manta rays and ocean ecosystems.

2018: website reorganisation

Between 2016 and 2018, we expanded our team (and our services) to solve this problem for our clients - Martina wasn't the only one experiencing it.

For Manta Ray Advocates, we felt the website needed a full rebuild and restructure. It was (and still is) a content-heavy website with several dozen blog posts at that time, a manta database, digital and physical products, services, half a dozen downloadable resources, and I'm sure I'm forgetting a couple of things.

We needed to reorganise the site, so that visitors would be able to enjoy all this content.The navigation wasn't straightforward, and there was considerable content overlap and repetition across pages. In short, it was difficult for users to find their way, and individual pages often contained several completely different storylines without clear pathways.

Working within budget constraints at the time, we couldn’t do a full rebuilt - so we simply restructured the website instead. We made sure there was a single page for every major campaign, lead generator, or product, with one main, compelling call to action on each page.

We also drastically simplified the navigation, so visitors had a clear pathway - whether they were looking for specific information, or browsing.

These tweaks significantly increased engagement: visitors stayed on the website longer, and started signing up for the free resources.

2019: Content marketing strategy

As we were working on the website, we identified opportunities with lead generation. Now the website was easier to navigate, and each page had a single purpose – but not much happened once people signed up.

We reviewed the lead magnets first to make sure they were valuable and very clear. We then set up email automations, and reviewed existing ones, so subscribers could get to know the team, the mantas, and the mission.

We analysed the emails Manta Ray Advocates were sending out. Until then, Martina had been sending out emails very consistently, but not always with a clear purpose. Each newsletter got uploaded to the website after sending, but despite the fun stories, anecdotes, and food for thought, new website visitors didn't seem very interested in them.

Instead, we started publishing content to the website that was different from the newsletter, and more informational in nature – leaving the conversations for emails, and the education for the website.

Manta Ray Advocates blog index with articles about manta rays, including their behavior, interaction with humans, conservation, and related marine life topics.

Screenshot of our keyword research spreadsheet with search terms related to Hawaii, ocean conservation, manta rays, and dolphins, including search volume, competition, and audience metrics.

2020: SEO and content marketing

Throughout this process, we were fully aware that while social media used to be Martina’s initial priority, SEO presented more opportunities - this was how MRA could reach more new people. In 2020, we shifted some of the budget away from social media and towards SEO.

Mellissa conducted extensive keyword research to find out what people actually wanted to know about manta rays, about swimming with the gentle giants, and about ocean recreation and conservation. This allowed us to craft a strategic content marketing plan, and start creating that content.

Once we put the plan into motion, started seeing results surprisingly fast. Normally, you'd wait at least six months for SEO to gain traction; in this case, the website shot up in Google rankings and we were getting significantly more visitors after just a couple of months. That traffic also translated into new signups for the newsletter and bookings for the manta ray tours: after COVID restrictions lifted, they went from being available for walk-ins to being booked weeks in advance.

The content we wrote mostly aimed to educate the public about manta rays and the threats to their survival. And that type of content attracted more of the ideal guests for Manta Ray Advocates: people who wanted to learn more about the gentle giants and understand what Martina & co were doing - and who respected the guidelines for sustainable ocean recreation.

2021: StoryBrand messaging

Martina is a fan of Donald Miller's book, Building a StoryBrand; this framework involves tools for brands to clarify their message and increase conversions by making the customer the protagonist of the brand’s story.

Martina was one of the clients who convinced Sandrine to get certified as a StoryBrand guide in February 2021, as she wanted to apply Storybrand methodology to refocus the message behind Manta Ray Advocates.

We shifted the messaging from “just" education to calling people to action. And based on the insights we gained through the process, we made changes on the website, to some of the content, and to outgoing emails.

As we reviewed the email marketing strategy, we cleaned up the email list, and the number of engaged subscribers (people who love hearing from Martina and read every email) went up significantly. Email open rate went from around 40% to the 50s and 60s, and by the end of 2024, it consistently exceeded 70% - which is much higher than most other organisations out there.

This is a combination of clear messaging, consistently cleaning up the email list (removing inactive subscribers), and having something interesting to write about (information about mantas and inspiring ocean stories).

Screen capture of the Manta Ray Advocates about page featuring images of people, manta rays, and information about their manta ray conservation efforts.

iMac computer screen displaying the MRA homepage, with the headline "Experience the magic of manta rays"

2022: WordPress website rebuild

While we were seeing good results from content and messaging work, the technical foundation of the website was holding us back. The (too) many plugins were causing constant conflicts, and the CMS didn’t make it easy for us to conduct maintenance or optimise the website’s backend - let alone update the design or update it with accessibility features.

As we now had budget for a proper rebuild, we focused on three main areas: sorting out the backend with Divi on WordPress, refreshing the design and visuals, and properly optimising the whole site for search engines.

Platform and technical stuff: We rebuilt everything on Divi, which is much easier to work with and lets us do proper SEO optimisation. We also cut down on plugins to avoid the constant conflicts and stuck to premium ones that actually have decent support.

Design refresh: We tried to stay true to the visual brand Martina loves, but slightly updated it by streamlining colours and fonts. The biggest change was swapping out some of the dark nighttime photos (from evening manta swims) for brighter images that didn't make the site feel so heavy.

SEO improvements: The new setup meant we could finally optimise everything properly – site speed, meta data, all the technical bits we couldn't fix before. The impact on search rankings was pretty immediate.

We also completely overhauled the manta ray library by building a custom post type and creating individual entries for each ray, complete with photos of their markings and scarring, stories, sightings, blog references, and more. It’s now a useful resource for guests and manta enthusiasts, and is even being used as a tool by researchers.

We had decided ahead of time to not launch everything at once, but instead adopted a staged approach: the main site went live early 2022, and we added the new webshop soon after. Over the next years, we also moved the digital products (e.g. manta meditations videos and the underwater photography course) from other platforms onto the WordPress website.

2023: Ocean tourism campaign

By 2023, the marketing foundations we'd built were running smoothly.

This freed up time to launch a dedicated campaign highlighting issues with manta ray tourism in Hawaii, something we hadn't addressed before. Our goal with this campaign was (and still is, as of January 2025) to educate visitors about responsible tourism and push for better industry regulations for manta tour operators in Hawaii.

We also worked with a non-profit Martina is involved in, Hawaii Ocean Watch - rebuilding their website on Squarespace... but that's a story for another time.

Screenshot of an article titled "The Dark Side of Manta Ray Tourism: the impact of ecotourism on people, mantas, and the environment", with an image featuring dozens of snorkelers in the water at a manta viewing site, surrounded by tour boats.

Webpage for the Manta Ray Night Snorkel Adventure in Kona, Hawaii, featuring a section with prerequisites.

2024: Customer journey

In 2024, we shifted our focus to better educating guests before their manta ray swims. We created resources and improved our communication before and after booking, so guests knew exactly what to expect. Martina also had the opportunity to record a series of videos explaining why this matters.

With this information, (almost) every guest arrives prepared for an educational and truly transformational evening, ensuring a positive experience aligned with the Manta Ray Advocates mission.

What’s next? 2025 and beyond

As a result of our ongoing collaboration, not only did Manta Ray Advocates’ moonlight snorkel become a sought-after activity in Hawaii - but more importantly, these tours now fully support the true mission of the Manta Ray Advocates in Hawaii: raising awareness about the plight of the gentle giants of the ocean, and inspiring people to take action for our planet.

With strong foundations in place, Martina doesn't have to spend as much time on everyday operations anymore. This allows her to explore new projects, like launching a podcast where she will share stories of people transformed by manta ray encounters, and link these experiences to the need for humans to connect with nature, the importance of policy for conservation, and other big topics.