How I Introduced Paid Digital and Grew Community Reach for O+ Festival's 12th Annual Event
Embedded as Co-Communications Director for 8 months — building organic social presence, launching the organization's first paid Meta ad campaigns, and supporting a Giving Tuesday healthcare fundraising effort for the Kingston, NY arts and wellness community.
50k+
People reached the Hudson Valley through the first-ever paid Meta campaign
Introduction:
O+ Festival is a nonprofit organization that unites art, music, and wellness — bringing together artists, musicians, and community members in Kingston, NY each October for a multi-day celebration that uplifts both creativity and community health. In its 12th year, the festival has become a cornerstone of the Hudson Valley arts ecosystem.
I joined the O+ team in May 2022 as Co-Communications Director — embedded directly into their operations to help grow their digital presence, strengthen their organic social media strategy, and introduce paid advertising for the first time on a trial basis ahead of the October festival.
Background:
O+ had existing social media channels but limited engagement and a relatively small following relative to the size and significance of the event. The festival was well-loved by those who knew it — but digital wasn't doing enough to expand that circle or build anticipation in the months leading up to October.
There was also an opportunity beyond the festival itself: a Giving Tuesday fundraising campaign to pilot a quarterly healthcare clinic — a direct extension of O+ Festival's mission to support artists' wellbeing, not just their performances. Both goals required a digital presence that could do more than post — it needed to move people to show up and give.
8 monTHS
embedded engagement — May through December 2022
3
distinct campaign phases — festival, fundraising, and post-event
Strategy & implementation
May–Jul
Foundation
Organic social strategy, content calendar, community building
Aug–Sep
Festival Push
Paid Meta campaign launch, artist spotlights, O+ Radio Hour
October
Festival Week
Live coverage, real-time content, 12th Annual O+ Festival
Nov–Dec
Post-Festival
Recap content + Giving Tuesday healthcare clinic campaign
ORGANIC SOCIAL MEDIA
Building the community before the curtain went up
The first priority was strengthening O+ Festival's organic social presence across Facebook and Instagram in the months leading up to the event. I developed a content strategy built around the people and stories at the heart of the festival — artist features, behind-the-scenes moments, community spotlights, and mission-driven content that reminded audiences why O+ existed beyond the music lineup.
The goal was to grow engagement gradually and authentically — building a community that would show up in October because they'd been part of the conversation since May. Consistent posting, community management, and content that felt human rather than promotional laid the foundation for everything that followed.
INTRODUCING PAID ADVERTISING
First-ever paid ads — 50,000+ people reached in the Hudson Valley
One of the most significant contributions of this engagement was introducing O+ Festival to paid digital advertising for the first time. On a trial basis, I planned and ran Meta Facebook ad campaigns promoting the festival website and driving awareness in the weeks leading up to the October event.
The targeting was local and intentional — focused on the Hudson Valley community that the festival was built to serve. The first round of ads reached over 50,000 people in the region, expanding O+'s visibility well beyond its existing follower base and bringing the festival to the attention of potential first-time attendees who hadn't heard of it before. The spike in community awareness and festival attendance that followed reflected the impact of reaching new audiences through paid channels for the first time.
Organic social strategy — content calendar, posting schedule, and community management across Facebook and Instagram
First-ever paid Meta ad campaigns — trial program reaching 50,000+ Hudson Valley residents
Festival promotion content — artist spotlights, event announcements, and countdown content
Live and post-festival content — real-time coverage during the October event and recap content afterward
Giving Tuesday campaign — fundraising campaign for quarterly healthcare clinic pilot
CAMPAIGN SPOTLIGHT
Giving Tuesday — Piloting a Quarterly Healthcare Clinic
After the October festival wrapped, the work wasn't over. O+ Festival's mission extends beyond the annual event — the organization is committed to supporting artists' health and wellbeing year-round. For Giving Tuesday, I developed and ran a fundraising campaign focused on raising donations to pilot a quarterly healthcare clinic — a direct extension of what O+ stands for.
The campaign used organic social content to reach O+'s community with a clear, mission-driven ask: help us make artist healthcare more than a once-a-year offering. The Giving Tuesday campaign represented a different kind of digital work — not event promotion, but community fundraising rooted in the organization's deeper purpose.
Organic social content — campaign storytelling across Facebook and Instagram
Mission framing — connecting the donation ask directly to O+'s artist wellness mission
Results & impact
Paid reach
50,000+
People reached in the Hudson Valley through the first-ever paid Meta ad campaign — a new audience O+ hadn't previously been able to access.
Festival attendance
Spike
The combination of stronger organic presence and first-time paid advertising contributed to a noticeable increase in community awareness and festival attendance.
Community growth
Growing
Organic social engagement and follower growth increased consistently throughout the engagement, building a more active community around the festival.
New capability
Paid ads
Introduced O+ Festival to paid digital advertising for the first time — establishing a channel and playbook the organization could build on in future years.
“Introducing paid advertising to an organization for the first time is its own kind of milestone — you’re not just running a campaign, you’re changing how they think about what’s possible digitally.”
Conclusion
O+ Festival is the kind of organization that digital strategy was made for — a mission-driven, community-rooted event that deserved a digital presence as vibrant as the festival itself. Over 8 months, I helped build that presence: stronger organic engagement, a first-ever paid advertising program that reached 50,000+ people locally, and a Giving Tuesday campaign that extended the mission beyond October.
This engagement was early in my career — and it's where I learned that introducing a new capability to an organization is as valuable as scaling an existing one. O+ didn't need a massive budget or a sophisticated tech stack. They needed someone to show up, understand the mission, and find digital ways to bring more people into the tent. That's exactly what we did.