It's Good To Be Young In The Mountains (IG2BYITM), dubbed "the party where a conference breaks out," was a four-day event that brought together young people (of all ages) from Central Appalachia to celebrate art and culture and discuss their hopes for the future of the region.

In my role as Public Relations and Marketing Strategist, I launched a successful social media marketing campaign to increase visibility and drive registrations. Our goal was organic reach and authentic engagement, with no paid promotions or advertisements.

To achieve this, I led a multi-channel campaign strategy including:

Press releases

Social media

Community engagement

Print, TV and radio news

An example of my earliest work, I crafted and distributed press releases highlighting event details including dates, time, location, purpose and call to action.

These press releases were an essential tool in getting our event on the radar for local news journalists and expanding our outreach.

For the inaugural event, I had the incredibly rewarding task of launching our social media accounts and building a following from the ground up. Our social presence included Facebook, Instagram and X (formerly Twitter).

Our social media campaign was overwhelmingly based on user generated content and authentic engagement. We wanted to make our campaign interactive, which allowed us to build an entirely organic following through audience participation.

Artists working on the event team designed a 4" x 4" card which we distributed widely in person and by mail.

In the months leading up to the event, users took photos of their cards in various locations and posted them to social media using the hashtags #IG2BYITM and #AppalachianLoveStory.

This creative trend was wildly popular, allowing users to connect with each other and build community even before the event began.

IG2BYITM was intentionally inclusive, challenging stereotypes about Appalachian people being of any one particular demographic. From the earliest planning stages to the closing ceremony, the entire event was predicated on creating a sense of belonging for everyone regardless of race, gender, sexual identity or religion.