By: Cady Tucker
I learned so much working as a Social Media Intern for the Barber County Extension office in Medicine Lodge Kansas this past summer. I applied for the job because I am always interested in photography, video production and how it intersects with marketing.
The main job I was given was to post once a day on office activities and upcoming events for Facebook. Working remotely I needed to be in touch with the office to learn what was relevant and timely for the office. We had two main events this summer, STEM activities at the library and advertising and documenting the county fair. I was able to attend both activities to photograph and video for social media.
In order to produce social media posts I needed to improve my Photoshop and Premier Pro skills. This was an interesting process, where I took the photos into LIghtroom for editing and culling. I shot over 1200 pictures and videos in the 3 days I spent at the fair. I had this reduced to just 500 shots in the first twenty-four hours, and then spent time cropping and adjusting to get finished materials. I learned so much in Premier Pro, the first video I produced. It took a lot of trial runs, and I finished with a 12 minute instructional video for the office to use. I was then able to use some of the same footage to produce a couple of shorter videos. Then I switched to Canva and figured out quickly it was so much easier to use. I then produced 5 or more videos to showcase different activities at the fair. I am waiting for office approval to cross post these on Instagram and Youtube.
Two of my early goals for the summer were to increase followers and engagement with the county social media pages and to meet new people in the area through the extension activities. During the fair our Facebook postings had a 500% increase in views and comments. This was sustained for a 10 day period following the fair, and has slowly tapered down to a lower level of engagement. And being at the fair for 3 full days, I met so many of the local producers, judges, and volunteers that all help to make our county fair a success year after year. I love to put a name with a face, and was able to meet some of the top responders to the Facebook posts. It was an interesting experience.
