Forest Park Chamber touts social‑media reach, billboard plans and video work to boost downtown businesses

The Forest Park Chamber of Commerce presented its marketing work to the Village Council on March 23, reporting large social media reach and outlining ongoing promotional plans funded in part by the village.

The presenter (identified in the record as Laurie) said a partnership with Explore Oak Park and Beyond produced roughly 2,200,000 Facebook impressions, about 145,000 interactions and 845,000 Instagram views over the last eight months, and noted the chamber published 11 blogs dedicated to Forest Park.

Laurie described assets the chamber is deploying: a dining video and a general Forest Park promotional video, individual business videos to be shot in April, event cards, targeted ads, and four billboard design concepts for an I‑290 billboard (one concept is called “feed your inner foodie,” another “become a regular”). "Social media is the biggest one," the presenter said when asked which tactics produced results.

Commissioner Melon Rogovin asked what specific data the chamber had collected to decide which activities to invest in; Laurie said the chamber combines its own metrics with data shared by Visit Oak Park and is testing targeted Google Ads with Explore Oak Park and Beyond to better target audiences. The presenter said the chamber is also reaching out to individual businesses for direct feedback about what drives foot traffic.

Council members thanked the chamber for the report; no budget vote or further action on the marketing program was recorded at the meeting.