Social media has been a major part of my role throughout my career, starting with multiple internships during college and continuing into my current position at The Carolina Opry. Across these roles, I’ve been involved in every part of the process, from content planning and copywriting to creative production, publishing, and overall account management across platforms. Since stepping into my current role, my social media efforts have helped drive a 103.7% increase in Facebook followers compared to the two years prior, along with a 1,763.8% increase in link clicks across Facebook and Instagram. I create and manage a wide range of content, including static graphics, plain image posts, Stories, Reels, videos, Meta ads, boosted posts, and organic campaigns. I also partner with local tourism organizations like Visit Myrtle Beach and MyrtleBeach.com, supplying them with content that highlights our theater and expands our reach. Some posts are designed to be fun and trendy, others are informative or promotional, and some are simply about building awareness.
In order to build awareness, encourage interaction, and ultimately drive people to our website for ticket sales, I focus on promoting our shows and promotions in a variety of ways. One of the most effective strategies is using strong, stand-alone action images with no text. These perform well because they’re eye-catching, easy to understand at a glance, and appealing to both current followers and people who may be seeing our content for the first time. I also mix in posts with copy on the image, such as giveaways, upcoming event lists, and seasonal or trend-based content.
Our audience especially loves seeing what’s new since their last visit, so fresh images from our shows consistently perform well. I also incorporate quotes from major publications, customer testimonials, and features from outside media to build credibility and keep the content feeling varied.
When creating posts, I always start with the image. It needs to be vibrant, visually interesting, and able to stand on its own without much explanation. From there, I build the message around it. I pull inspiration from everywhere — content from completely unrelated industries, things I see on my own social feeds, song lyrics, pop culture, and sometimes just random ideas that spark something creative. This mix helps keep our content engaging, current, and true to the brand.
For each concert released at The Carolina Opry, I’m responsible for building a full Facebook ad set designed to reach potential customers across Facebook and Instagram. This includes creating multiple ad sizes and formats for Stories and Reels, carousel placements, Marketplace ads, general feed promotions, and more.
Across every concert campaign, the goal is the same: grab attention within the first two seconds and clearly communicate the most important information as quickly as possible. I focus on strong visuals, concise messaging, and layouts that are optimized for each placement, making sure the content feels native to the platform while still driving interest and ticket sales.
Ashlyn Howe 