Digital and Social Media Emphasis
Hey everyone! Thank you so much for taking the time to read this and learn more about the project I have been working on the last 10 weeks. I have learned so much throughout this process and am grateful for the experience. There are so many lessons that I have learned as I have put in my best effort to create this brand and I look forward to sharing more about it with you below.
“Cowboy wife life” began when a city girl (me) married a dreamy cowboy (my husband). Though I knew that moving out to the country was going to put me through complete culture shock, I had no idea what my life was going to look like! Agriculture? Hardly knew what that entailed. Now, here I am 1.5 years later and I have adjusted quite well. I have had so many people blown away at this change that I made and they wonder what my life looks like now that I live in a tiny town with not even a stop light, have a backyard of over 1,000 acres, have adjusted to life with a cowboy, and have gotten used to the smell of cow manure constantly outside my door. These changes are things that I wanted to share with others because of their curiosity and interest in my “new” life. Though I have been living the “cowboy wife life” for a bit, it was time I make that my official brand and share that with others. This project was the push I needed to put this brand into action, and that is when this social media brand was born.
The goal of “Cowboy wife life” was to entertain and inform my audience on Instagram about ranch life! Working on the ranch isn’t just my Husband’s job, but it is our lifestyle. It’s an easy lifestyle for him to live, but it has been a roller coaster for me as you can imagine. Because of this, I was given a new perspective that I have been craving to share with others through this brand. I wanted to push myself to be creative, connect with others through community engagement, build a bigger audience (I started with zero followers), have a better understanding of the role of hashtags, and reach as many people as I could! I determined that success isn’t defined by numbers (how many followers or likes my brand got), but by the lessons I learn and the growth that occurs. And let me tell you, there was a lot of learning and growth that have taken place these last 10 weeks. Building this brand from scratch gave me great experiences and taught me many things that I can take with me throughout my future career(s) and life in general.
Time Accounting:
January 9th – 15th (3.5hrs)
- 1hr – Researching past senior projects, getting ideas on projects I could potentially do, and finalizing my idea for creating this brand
- 1.5hrs – Put all my thoughts in writing: project summary, goals, how I plan to accomplish those goals, etc.
- 30min – Got advice from 2 friends who are BYU-I Comm graduates about my plans for the project
- 30min – Sharing brand idea with mentor and fellow classmates to bounce ideas off each other and get advice
January 16th – 22nd (5.5hrs)
- 1hr – Created a content calendar for the next week of posts. This included captions, hashtags, and plans for the actual content (images/reels)
- 2.5hrs – Batched some of my content! Went out on the ranch and followed the Cowboy (my husband) around
- 1.5hrs – Did research on Instagram brands that have a similar audience as I do. Checked what hashtags they used, saved trending songs/sounds for reels, followed them, etc.
- 30min – Created 2 reels that could be posted
January 23rd – 29th (5hrs)
- 45min – Created a content calendar for the next week of posts. This included captions, hashtags, and plans for the actual content (images/reels)
- 1hr – Interacted with followers, interacted with those in my potential audience
- 1.5hrs – Editing images, putting together potential reels to post
- 1hr45min – Batched some more content. This included images, video snippets, etc. The more the merrier!
January 30th – February 5th (3.5hrs)
- 30min – Reached out to some followers to invite them and give them more details about a gathering on the ranch next week
- 1hr – Studied questions that are a part of the Hootsuite Social Media Marketing Certification course. This knowledge greatly strengthened me and gave me ideas to better build my brand
- 1.5hrs – Posting and interacting with others through likes, comments, and DMs. I did this multiple days this week.
- 30min – Created a content calendar for the next week of posts. This included captions, hashtags, and plans for the actual content (images/reels)
February 6th – 12th (10.5hrs)
- 3hrs – Preparation for gathering: getting dinner supplies and prepping the food, making sure the horses are ready to be ridden, etc.
- 3hrs – Hosted the gathering on the ranch with some followers/supporters of my brand! Great opportunity to connect and strengthen relationships
- 3hrs – Batched some of my content! Went out on the ranch and followed the Cowboy (my husband) around
- 30min – Created a content calendar for the next week of posts. This included captions, hashtags, and plans for the actual content (images/reels)
- 30min – Interacted with audience
- 30min – Went through reels to find sounds and songs that I could potentially use
February 13th – 19th (3.5hrs)
- 30min – Created a content calendar for the next week of posts. This included captions, hashtags, and plans for the actual content (images/reels)
- 30 min – Discussed with a personal mentor (BYUI Comm grad) about the brand and got advice about changes I can make to improve
- 1.5hrs – Engaging with the community (both my current audience and potential audience). I did this multiple days this week.
- 1hr – Responding to messages, tracking KPIs, looking at overall performance, etc.
February 20th – 26th (3.5hrs)
- 2hrs – Focused one day on posting a series on stories! This was a fun way to connect with my audience outside of my normal feed posts. This included going out and getting the content, editing, adding all the captions, replying to those that messaged me from these stories, etc.
- 1hr – Focused on community engagement and my interactions with others. Did this twice this week.
- 30min – Created a content calendar for the next week of posts. This included captions, hashtags, and plans for the actual content (images/reels)
February 27th – March 5th (4hrs)
- 30min – Putting posts together and creating a reel
- 2.5hrs – Batched some of my content! Went out on the ranch and followed the Cowboy (my husband) around
- 30min – Focused on community engagement and my interactions with others
- 30min – Created a content calendar for the next week of posts. This included captions, hashtags, and plans for the actual content (images/reels)
March 6th – 12th (7hrs)
- 45min – Finished drafting up my plans for my showcase booth setup
- 45min – Ordered images from print shop and picked those up
- 2.5hrs – Built backdrop for senior showcase presentation. This was a process of trial and error!
- 30min – Created a content calendar for the next week of posts. This included captions, hashtags, and plans for the actual content (images/reels)
- 1hr – Practiced my 2-3 min speech and made plans as to what I will say at senior showcase to those that visit my table
- 1.5hrs – Focused one day to posting on stories. This involved creating the content, editing, etc.
March 13th – 19th (4.5hrs)
- 2.5hrs – Compiled all the analytics from the brand throughout the past 10 weeks
- 1hr – Posting and interacting with my audience. I did my best to interact each day
- 1hr – Spent time on the ranch shooting content with my DSLR for future use
Total Hours Spent: 50.5hrs
Examples of my work:
You will find examples of some posts that I have created for my brand below. Some are photos, and some are reels. Feel free to click the links that will take you directly to those specific Instagram posts.
And here are some behind the scenes images that were taken while I was out creating content for the brand and pushing myself out of my comfort zone.
There are not enough words to describe the learning and growth that took place over the course of this project. I would not trade this experience for the world! I want to work in the Social Media Marketing world post-graduation, and I feel as if the creation and execution of this brand has helped me feel more confident moving forward in the work force. I have come to understand the importance and value of consistency, creativity, and connection. Consistency with your posts and interactions with others. Creativity when it comes to the content you make and captions you write. And lastly, connection with those that follow you and even those that don’t! I was able to do this through commenting and liking posts created by others, having conversations through DMs, following brands that have a similar audience, etc. I was also able to do this face-to-face with 5 people that are a part of the brand’s audience that came out to the ranch to ride horses, see what goes on at the ranch, and enjoy some delicious burgers. This was huge in the process of creating more loyal followers. I also learned the importance of planning ahead through content calendars as well as the process of batch creating content. These two things specifically have helped my brand run much smoother and have made the load on my plate feel much smaller. Preparation and planning is key. Discussion with others about “Cowboy Wife Life” strengthened and provided me fresh ideas that played a big role in the brand. I learned to never be afraid to reach out and ask for advice!
Overall, I was able to reach the goals I had set for myself and this brand! The brand received 1,083+ engagements, had a reach of 18,359+, and gained 173 new followers. Though I am happy with these results, I am even happier about what I have learned that I will take with me into the workforce and beyond. As I move forward with this brand, I will be incorporating getting in front of the camera more myself in videos, interacting even more with my audience, and bringing the brand to other platforms as well. I am forever grateful for the learning experiences this project brought into my life and I look forward to continuing my learning and growth.