Find the people
Research the groups most affected by the problem, including age, need and online behaviour.
A sharper position for the market that matters.
Keto Lifestyle began as one person’s idea to help. Research showed Pace Projects where that idea could become a community.
Community-led growth
45k+community members
Hendrik Marais / Founder and CEO
Client-supplied quote
“Working with Sean has always been productive. His marketing knowledge and research skills have led to results in surprising ways. Not every business needs to be on every platform to succeed.”
01 / The question
Where should this business connect with the people it can help?
Hendrik did not begin with a media plan. He began with lived experience, deep interest in the ketogenic diet and a belief that clear guidance could help people struggling with weight and health.
The first problem was not how to be everywhere. It was how to find the right people, understand what they needed and earn the right to help them.
Pace Projects treated the channel as a research question. Which people were actively looking for support? Where were they talking? What language felt useful enough to invite a response?
The evidence identified a clear target demographic and age group already gathering in Facebook groups to ask, learn and share. Facebook was chosen because this community was already there, not because every business needed the platform.
02 / The process
Research before reach.
The process narrowed the market, message and place before any attempt to scale.
Find the place
Follow the strongest observed signal. At that time, the target group was already asking questions in Facebook communities.
Use their language
Centre the message on practical help, shared experience and progress rather than broad diet theory.
Build the connection
Create the group, answer questions and let useful conversation earn trust over time.
The channel choice
Start where trust can travel between people.
Pace Projects created the Facebook group because the research said it was the clearest place to begin. The value came from the process inside it: Hendrik and the team answering questions, guiding members and staying present.
As members made progress, they shared the group with friends. That recommendation was a consequence of feeling helped, not a campaign device.
The community and its organic referrals carried much of the early growth. Paid media and a wider platform mix came later.
Useful answer→Trust→Recommendation→Growth
03 / What changed
Paid acquisition began with organic trust already in place.
The 45,000+ member community and word of mouth carried much of the early growth. Later paid campaigns could build on recognition and trust instead of starting from zero.
45,000+community membersCurrent figure published by Keto Lifestyle 500%+average reported return on ad spendAcross intermittent Meta and Google Ads campaign sprints over the past three years
The community figure is published by Keto Lifestyle. The return-on-ad-spend figure was supplied by Keto Lifestyle from its Meta Ads Manager and Google Ads records. The campaigns ran in focused sprints, not continuously. Pace Projects advised on the recent work but did not create or directly manage the campaigns. The data shows the paid result, but does not isolate community trust as its sole cause.
04 / Built over time
From one useful idea to a national online business.
Idea
A personal struggle became a useful ambition
Hendrik saw how practical guidance could help other people and chose to build something around that experience.
2017
Keto Lifestyle was founded
The business began in South Africa with a simple aim: make healthier habits easier to understand and follow.
Early growth
The Facebook group became the centre
The community grew through direct support and member recommendations, with little paid media used to establish the channel.
Today
The platform mix has widened
Keto Lifestyle now combines its core community with a national website, online programmes, products and a broader channel mix.
05 / What lasted
The right market. The right words. The right place.
The lesson is not ‘use Facebook groups’. Platforms change. The lasting method is to research where the people who matter are already trying to solve the problem, then show up there in a way that earns trust.
Find the needChoose the momentHelp in publicLet trust compound
Pace Projects / Health & wellness
Where should your business be connecting with its clients?
We start with the question, learn the market and choose the next step most likely to matter.
Start a conversation See all case studies