By Sarah Hibbard
Abigail Gilbert has been working for the Missoula Children’s Theatre home office since 2019. Originally from Duluth, Minnesota, she received her undergraduate degree from North Dakota State University (NDSU) in Fargo, ND. She double majored and received her BFA in Musical Theatre and Public Relations & Advertising. While she has spent much of her life as a performer, director, and teacher in the arts, professionally, she has worked in the marketing and advertising space in several capacities.
University of Montana student Sarah Hibbard recently interviewed Gilbert about her social media work. What follows is a transcript of their conversation, edited slightly for clarity and brevity.
Q: What was the process of finding this job? How did you hear about it? Did you have experience in social media before taking the job? How long have you been in the position?
A: Before taking this job, in college, I worked as the Publicity & Recruitment Student Assistant for NDSU’s Theatre Department. This involved meeting with prospective students, working on the marketing team for the theatre department, and running our social media channels, along with other duties. This job, in conjunction with my Public Relations & Advertising degree, helped me prepare for the professional world of marketing and social media. Before I found my current position at MCT, I worked for MCT as a Tour Actor/Director, so I was already familiar with the company and the mission. When I saw this job announced, I thought I would be a good fit due to my social media, graphic design, and marketing experience. I got the job and relocated to Missoula. I just celebrated my five-year anniversary with Missoula Children’s Theatre!
Q: How is running the company Instagram different from running a personal Instagram?
A: Running a company Instagram is very different than running a personal Instagram. Of course, when running a company Instagram, you’re representing an entity bigger than yourself, and you’re responsible for the content that comes out of that entity. It’s important to consider company voice on our company Instagram, whereas on your personal Instagram, one only needs to be concerned about their own voice. Our brand is very whimsical, fun, heart-warming, and impactful, so I always keep those aspects in mind when representing our company voice on social media.
Q: You have a pretty wide-ranging audience on social media, from children and parents to young working actors/artists, how does that impact what you post?
A: This is one of the trickiest parts of my job. We have a large local audience through our community series and youth series here in Missoula, but we also have an International audience through our Red Truck Tour – so what that means for me is that a lot of different people are interested in keeping up with a lot of different programs that Missoula Children’s Theatre has to offer. We have so much programming here that serves so many different audiences, so that means that I spend a lot of time differentiating between programs through posts. One way that I navigate this is by tailoring each post with proper branding so that folks know which program we’re referring to in each post. For example, if I’m posting about our upcoming kids show, I make sure to use our “youth series” banner somewhere in the photo or post so that it’s clear that it’s a kids show.
Q: Is there any story-telling involved in posting?
A: Yes, so much storytelling! One of the special parts of Missoula Children’s Theatre is the impact that we have on our local community and beyond. We often hear about how people’s lives have been changed by this organization (which is so cool!), and we love to share that on social media. Social media is all about connecting and hearing stories from others, and we have an abundance of stories to share. Whether it’s a story about how someone has been impacted by our Red Truck Tour, a volunteer who has spent 280 hours this past season (a story that we just shared!), or a family who is involved in one of our shows, we love to share stories on social media. Of course, we are a business trying to sell a season and get people to register for our programming, but most importantly, we are a mission-based organization full of impactful stories!
Q: What would you say is the most important thing to consider when you are putting a post together?
A: A call to action. I always, always, always, have a call to action in my posts – whether it’s to buy tickets, book a tour week, register a student for an upcoming program, or join us for an upcoming event. On occasion, there’s no call to action involved, and I’m just sharing a fun experience that we had, but I try to make those posts few and far between. Even if it’s a heartwarming story that I’m sharing, I like to make a call to action part of the story as well.
Q: What is the most difficult part of your job as Social Media Manager?
A: THE COMMENTS! You can control what you post, put you can’t control how people perceive it or react to it. Of course, that happens in real life, but on social media, there’s a clear place to comment if you don’t agree. It can be frustrating if people don’t understand a post or ask questions that we wish they would just email us directly, but it’s part of the job!
This Q&A is part of a series created by students in Courtney Cowgill’s Social Media and Audience Engagement course at the University of Montana School of Journalism. Students sought out creatives who are doing using media for good to offer tips and insights into the ever-evolving landscape of social media.
Montana Journalism 