Growing a literary community through strategic social media

Services: Social Media Management · Content Creation · Photography & Video

The Challenge

The Chicago Literary Hall of Fame had years of stories, literary history, and meaningful work to share, but much of that content hadn't received the attention it deserved on social media. They wanted to expand their audience, increase reach, and connect more people with their mission of celebrating Chicago's literary legacy.

The Strategy

KMW Creative has helped bring the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame's mission to life through consistent, community-focused social media management.

Rather than simply promoting the organization's own work, I took a proactive approach to building connections throughout Chicago's literary community. I researched local events, highlighted authors and literary figures, engaged with other organizations, and shared relevant stories that introduced the Hall of Fame to new audiences.

We also found opportunities in the content the organization already had. By revisiting archival materials, past events, author features, and existing website content, we helped give meaningful stories a new life on social media.

Behind the scenes, we worked with the team to identify useful photo and video opportunities, provided guidance on the content to capture, and developed content calendars to keep social media organized, intentional, and aligned with the organization's mission.

From community collaborations to event promotion, every post was an opportunity to celebrate Chicago's literary history and help more people discover the organization.

The Results

Since beginning work with KMW Creative, the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame has experienced significant audience growth across its social media platforms.

• Instagram: Grew from 552 to 2,204 followers — nearly 4x its original audience.

• Instagram reach: Average reach over a 90-day period grew from 567 accounts to 36,338.

• Facebook: Grew from 1,957 to 2,515 followers.

• TikTok: Built a new presence, growing from 4 to 59 followers.

Beyond the numbers, the organization's founder has shared that social media efforts have helped increase event attendance and ticket sales, while supporting continued community growth.

The Impact

For a nonprofit rooted in storytelling, social media offers an opportunity to celebrate more than what's happening today. It can bring past work back into the conversation, spotlight the people shaping a community, and help meaningful stories reach entirely new audiences.

By combining consistent content creation with proactive community engagement, KMW Creative has helped the Chicago Literary Hall of Fame expand its digital presence while keeping its mission at the center of the story.

The takeaway: A strong social media strategy doesn't always require starting from scratch. Sometimes, it's about recognizing the value in what already exists, finding new ways to share it, and connecting it with the right people.