Chicago Dancing Festival Blogger Outreach & Foursquare Program Case Study

www.astekweb.com © 2011 Astek Consulting LLC

2011 Chicago Dancing Festival Blogger Outreach & Foursquare

Program Case Study

Rachel Yeomans Marketing Director | Social Media Astek, LLC


Overview !   The Chicago Dancing Festival (CDF) hired Astek

to launch a Blogger Outreach Program and Foursquare Initiative during its 2011 Festival in August.

!   GOAL: Attract a wider audience to the Festival and increase word-of-mouth and attendance.


Blogger Outreach Program !   Astek performed the following services:

•  Created the goals and expectations of each blogger throughout the Festival (see the following page) with final CDF approval

•  Researched a list of multiple potential bloggers filling the following specialties: Dance, Music, Health/Fitness, Photography, Men’s Lifestyle

•  Worked with CDF in selecting the final 5 •  Composed the Letter of Intent (with CDF final approval) and reached

out to the bloggers and confirmed negotiations and commitment •  Wrote a blog that was published on the CDF website announcing the

program and introducing the bloggers to the public •  Designed and developed a partner blog badge to be placed on each

blogger’s site that would lead to the CDF blog post explaining the program

•  Coordinated with each blogger and CDF on a routine basis both on- and off-site throughout the Festival to ensure deliverables were brought forward and expectations reached

!   Analytics were presented each week and at the conclusion of the Festival showcasing click-through rates and engagement


Foursquare !   Astek performed the following services:

•  Worked with the CDF on creating a Foursquare program dubbed “CinqUp”

•  Created and managed a CDF Foursquare Page •  Created specific venues for each CDF event and tied them with a

check-in special for Foursquare users •  As the CDF Foursquare Page, left tips about the Festival on the

Festival-created venues and the original venues of where the Festival was taking place; so those following the Foursquare page would see all the tips

•  Developed the verbiage for a program insert at all the Festival events

•  Created the hashtag #CDF11 to be used as part of the Foursquare program and overall Twitter outreach

!   Analytics were presented each week and at the conclusion of the Festival showcasing check-ins and engagement


The Bloggers !   Rogue Ballerina

•  Vicki Crain (the voice behind this Chicago-based dance blog) brought forward of Chicago-based dancers, choreographers, directors and “all-around artsy performance folk”. Vicki provided those familiar with dance an ‘insider’s look’ into the Festival.

!   Contrapuntist •  Dance isn’t just about the dancers - it’s also about the music.

Miguel Cano is a classically trained guitarist and an all-round music lover. During the Festival, Miguel featured the sounds behind the Festival.


The Bloggers !   Traci D. Mitchell

•  Traci is a Chicago blogger who writes on fitness, food, family and fun! She is both a writer and speaker on fitness, nutrition and health. Before and during the Festival, she showcased the athletics of the Festival.

!   Straight from the Arts •  Written by Scott Silberstein - multi-Emmy-Award winning producer and

composer for HMS Media and a company member of the Tony Award-wining Lookingglass Theatre Company - is an avid fan of the arts. His blog is a collection of his thoughts from a ‘regular guy’s’ perspective. It’s his way of getting away from behind the stage and into the audience.

!   Chicago Photo Blog •  Araceli Arroyo has taken gorgeous photographs depicting Chicago and

its wonders. Here she captured the Chicago Dancing Festival purely through photographs. The dancers, the patrons, the venues...and you saw them all on her blog and her Flickr account.


!   Each blogger was required to cover at least 2 of the Festival events and coordinate scheduling with Astek to ensure even coverage throughout the Festival. They were also tasked with publishing at least three posts leading up to the event. All post scheduling included: •  1 post in early June following the official CDF announcement explaining the

event and their specific involvement and angle •  1 post in July featuring an interview or relevant content specific to the specialty/

angle of the blogger (arranged/provided by CDF and Astek as its agency) •  1 post in August recapping the previous two posts with focus on the Foursquare

initiative •  1 post covering each assigned Festival event as deemed by scheduling and

availability discussions at the beginning of the program •  1 wrap-up post including the Festival audience survey

Blogger Outreach Expectations


!   Total blog posts: 27 !   Mentions of #CDF11: 59 !   Online mentions during Festival: 259 !   Web Analytics: Normal average daily visits = 200 per day. The average

increased to 500 starting August 15th. The dates of the Festival included the following:

•  8/22 - 1,128 •  8/23 - 1,245 •  8/24 - 1,088 •  8/25 - 1,249 •  8/26 -1,155 •  8/27 - 1,354

!   1,082 web visits from Facebook (3rd highest behind direct traffic and Google) !   Rogue Ballerina (58 visits, 12 blog posts) !   Contrapuntist (4 visits, 5 blog posts) !   Straight from the Arts (2 visits, 7 blog posts) !   Traci D. Mitchell (1 visit, 4 blog posts) !   Chicago Photo Blog (14 views, 144 photos) !   Twitter (23 visits)

Blogger Outreach Results


Foursquare Results !   CDF Foursquare Page: 178 followers !   5 after 5: 4 check-ins & 3 tips !   Harris Theatre: 9 check-ins & 4 tips !   MCA Stage: 5 check-ins & 2 tips !   Auditorium: 10 check-ins & 1 tip !   Chicago Cultural Center: 1 check-in & 1 tip !   Last Dance Event: 1 check-in & 1 tip !   Total Check-Ins: 30 !   Total Tips: 12

Entertainment & Humor

Chicago Dancing Festival Blogger Outreach & Foursquare Program Case Study