montanajournalism Best Practices for Journalists on Social Media

Social Media Best Practices: Q&A with University of Montana’s Hannah Fellows

By Melissa Dickson

Hannah Fellows, a senior marketing student at the University of Montana, has been the social media coordinator for UM campus dining for almost three years. Her roles include creating content for Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn and the campus dining website. She says she fell in love with the creation process, running campaigns and creating content for anything digital marketing.

UM Journalism student Melissa Dickson recently interviewed Fellows about her work on social media and below is a transcript of their conversation, edited for clarity and accuracy.

Q: How do you build trust with your audience in terms of keeping their attention and engagement?

A: I would say, I think the best way to build trust with your audience is to keep it real which sounds cheesy but is so true. A lot of the projects I work on are very student focused and Gen-Z focused, and I have found in my years of doing this role that people respond to content that relates to them and is more relaxed, content that is real.

For me personally, I make sure that when I’m photographing a campaign or a project that I’m photographing the real food, the real packaging, having real students included and the real atmosphere. The more you try to change, alter and manipulate a campaign, the less your audience is going to engage and look for it. At least in my opinion, I have had great success with campaigns that were more relaxed and chill, and definitely Gen-Z focused rather than the ones I have where it is a big production with a lot of alterations and changes.

To keep my audience engaged, I have a few go to’s. My first is probably using a variety of students, because the more people you feature with your products the more people engage because they know them, they see a friendly face, they get excited to be a part of a UM branded campaign, etc. I also like to follow social media trends, if there’s a trending sound, I’ll try to put it with one of my projects or it will inspire a project. I also definitely love to use features specifically through meta, so on Facebook and Instagram that allow your audience to engage immediately like surveys, polls questions, etc.

Q: What are some strategies that you have used in order to tell a story about what you are marketing? Do you think they are working?

A: I have experimented and tried so many different strategies in my years while working here some things I’ve definitely seen come out positively are tying current trends to what we are trying to market. For example, one of my recent campaigns was to promote our “to go box “ system for The Lodge Dining center, and we decided to tie that to a trend that’s going around on the Internet, called “this and yap” so by combining that trend with what I needed to promote in a 30-second video we were able to have extreme engagement along with around 15k views of our video. It would be hard to say that marketing is the reason why our to-go boxes actually sold out, but I would say that that video definitely helped promote our program and now we are very successful in that department.

Q: How do you gauge what content is most appealing for your audience, making it relevant?

A: would say that I gauge what content is going to be most appealing to my audience because my audience is myself. I am looking at my target market as 18 to 21-year-olds that go to the University of Montana just like myself , because I am so up-to-date on trends and what is happening within my generation what people are liking to see, what people are not liking to see, I feel like I am able to use my own capabilities and my own likes and interest and really put them into my work.

Q: What would you describe is the “product” that you are trying to sell your audience through posts or ads online?

A: We are selling amazing on-campus food, whether it’s retail and found in the University Center or at the Market or its dining plans through the Lodge Dining Center. we are promoting our Montana made products, locally grown products and amazing recipes for everyone to enjoy.

Q: What techniques do you use to foster a strong community around the brand?

A: I would say my techniques for fostering a strong community around the brand is kind of like I said before by keeping it real, keeping it authentic and relating it to my target audience.

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.

montanajournalism Best Practices for Journalists on Social Media

Social Media Best Practices: Q&A with Missoula Children’s Theatre’s Abigail Gilbert

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.

montanajournalism Best Practices for Journalists on Social Media

Social Media Best Practices: Q&A with Mallory Ottariano of Shop Youer

By Kelsie Ring

Mallory Ottariano, Founder and Owner of Shop Youer in Missoula, MT has a social media presence that has made an impact, both in her business and community. Mallory bought a sewing machine in 2012 and began making clothes and designs in her parents basement. By using thrifted materials to create, she carried this on until finding a space finally to create her clothes.

Of course then 2020 came along, which inspired her to rebrand and rebuild after the chaos of the pandemic. With a new name, and a new factory, Shop Youer became a team of individuals making all designs and pieces right in the U.S; something more and more difficult to find. Mallory uses her social media to share what it’s really like being a female business owner doing all operations in the U.S., while still marketing her brand in an authentic way.

University of Montana student Kelsie Ring recently interviewed Ottariano about social media and what follows in a transcript of their conversation, edited lightly for brevity and clarity.

Q: We know that social media marketing is huge on our platforms today, but how do you approach social media to tell a story about your brand rather than just selling something?

A: I really believe that people buy from people, so for my strategy it’s all about building trust. Nobody really NEEDS our clothes. They want them. So we don’t need to sell the product to them, we just have to create a great relationship with people so that they choose to buy from us. At the end of the day, I’m still selling – I’m just selling a closeness that’s created through educational content and bringing the customer into the journey.

Q: When it comes to social media, what is one practice that you do that always seems to find the right engagement? (IE- videos of you talking, interesting graphics, fun photography?)

A: 90% of the content I put on social is video, and the videos that always engage the most are my series called Slow Fashion Math – it’s a once a month video where I break down every cost that goes into making a specific item of clothing at our factory here in Montana – a different one every month. They’re insightful, thought provoking and often kind of shocking!

Q: Our society can get caught up in the likes and stats of social media, but how do you receive feedback about the power of your social media outside of that?

A: I totally get wrapped up in the stats too, but I think the most important measurements for me are 1) awareness outside of social. When someone recognizes our clothes or people who work for the brand outside in the wild that’s super cool and validates that our reach is powerful. 2) when people comment about how much they’ve learned about how to be a mindful consumer! I love when we get to see the impact our content has on people.

Q: What is the most challenging part of telling a story through social media? What parts are the hardest to convey and which parts do your audience struggle to resonate with?

A: A challenging part of storytelling is when your content ends up getting in front of people it wasn’t made for. When a video goes viral, inevitably there are lots of people with lots of judgy comments. Often, our Slow Fashion Math videos get in front of lots of people who have a lot of opinions about why we shouldn’t make clothes in the US. But honestly, every bad comment means greater reach for us! The hardest part is knowing that you’re vulnerable to criticism. As the ‘face’ of the brand on social, I’m an actual person who people can attack which has been hard to deal with sometimes. But I’m learning to disconnect the comments from the emotions.

Q :If you could give one piece of advice to someone who wants to truly showcase the story behind their brand on social media, what would you say?

Mallory: Consumers are thirsty for content that doesn’t waste their time – give people something tangible and interesting to sink their teeth into. And give your marketing a face. Put someone in front of the camera and start establishing relationships with your community – it will totally pay off. Don’t worry about being perfect, imperfection and ‘realness’ is what forms connection.

Q: When starting your social media journey, did you want to lean into story telling or did that just come naturally?

Mallory: It just came naturally! It felt really silly to try and write canned captions for photos that fell flat and didn’t engage. I love writing, and there’s so much that goes into our work so I wanted to share that with people because I’m a consumer who likes learning too.

Q: How would you say the engagement of your “paid ads” vs your non paid content play out?

Mallory: Until last month, we had actually never run paid ads – it’s a really new thing for us! And the ads we run are actually pieces of high performing organic content that we then turn into ads. So really, the relationship is synergistic – we wouldn’t have high converting paid content without strong organic content.

Q: Finally, what is one social media “practice” that you think would bring much more positivity to the social media world?

A: I think social media can be a really positive place! Of course, every platform has its dark corners, but when people voluntarily hit a button to follow you, they’re signing up to see what you’re doing because they like it. It’s easy to take negativity personally, I’ve certainly done it, but when you stop and reframe ‘troll’ comments as just ‘algorithm boosting’ actions, then the whole thing becomes much more lighthearted. We’ve taken troll comments, rolled with them to make new content and gotten soooo much more reach and attention with them than we ever expected to.

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 social media for good to offer tips and insights into the ever-evolving landscape of social media.