Samantha Passa recently completed an internship with the Barnesville Economic Development Authority. This is what they had to say about the experience.
It is crazy how quickly three months can fly by! It feels like just yesterday I was starting my first day in this internship for Karen Lauer at the Barnesville Economic Development office and Bailey Thompson at the Main Street office. Coming into this opportunity I had somewhat of an idea of what to expect because of my short time with Traill County Economic Development Commission in the spring. However, this opportunity gave me the chance to dip my toes in so many different aspects of the Economic Development and marketing worlds.
One area I spent a lot of time on was social media marketing. I was able to reactivate the City of Barnesville Instagram account and grow its following to 217+. As for our City Facebook page, I was able to grow its following from 3,426 to 3,548+. These were to reach goals of mine that I had set with Karen at the beginning of the internship, to get a 10% and 5% follower increase. Some of the campaigns I ran on social media to try to reach those goals were Job Opportunity Spotlights, Text My Gov instructional and awareness posts, We Love Barnesville testimonials, Barnesville Event Center promotions, MRES Value of Public Power posts, Business Spotlight Interview videos and many more. I also was able to do a few giveaways which taught me to perform these legally on Facebook and tips for working with potential scams and other obstructions that come with that. Social media posting also increased my knowledge and understanding of the Meta Business suite and all its functions.
Mailings were another large component of my internship. I was able to work on designing flyers, letters, and brochures that were eye-catching and informational to go in the mailings. I was then able to solidify my mail merge skills. As for event planning and community outreach, I was able to attend and help with organization of the Main Street golf tournament, Crazy Daze, and the community picnic. At the community picnic especially, I was able to network and inform residents sitting at tables about the TextMyGov service and how they can use it and get alerts. This was a great way to meet people as well as gather feedback.
Brochures have been a strong design and creative aspect of my internship. I have been able to work on proper language as well as strong design techniques to promote professionalism and attention-grabbing graphics. I have worked to redesign the Willow Creek Golf Course, Business Opportunities Open House, and EDA & Main Street Services brochures. As for advertising, I have been able to use the materials I have created to market in the newspaper in town as well as Meta Advertising suite for Facebook and Instagram.I have learned to use the analytics from the advertisements to improve the marketing materials.
I have also been able to attend numerous meetings such as the ones held by the EDA directors, builders committee, childcare committee, Barnesville Area Community Fund, city utilities marketing, city department heads, and more. I was able to really increase my knowledge of economic development, city marketing, and all of the behind-the-scenes steps and conversations that go along with what makes our city a great place just by listening.
All in all, this experience has given me wonderful opportunities to grow my professional skills, expand my knowledge of economic development and has given me real world applicable experiences. From managing social media accounts and designing marketing flyers to assisting with community events and meetings, I felt like I was able to get a taste of everything in the economic development world and see what I like! I am grateful to Karen and Bailey for being so supportive, patient and kind to me as I took time to grow and learn in this role. I am leaving with greater appreciation and understanding of and for the work the city does and how they help the community thrive.