We were lucky to catch up with Kat Smith recently and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Kat thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. Let’s start with important influences in our lives. Is there a historical figure you look up to?

The Marquis de Lafayette is one of my favorite historical figures. He was a key figure in the American Revolution when he paid for his own ship and defied the King of France to join the war in 1777. He believed in the ideals of a free America and became like an adopted son to George Washington. He was an ardent abolitionist, believed in women’s rights, was a friend to the Native Americans, and believed in Universal Human Rights. During his lifetime, his opinions were considered to be radical and he was definitely ahead of his time. History is full of perfect and imperfect moments. When reflecting on the past, we often forget how far we’ve come from the ideas and ways of life the people lived during that time period. Lafayette did not believe in slavery and even was quoted in saying, “I would never have drawn my sword in the cause of America if I could have conceived that thereby I was founding a land of slavery!” He returned back to America, nearly 50 years since American Independence was won as the “Guest of the Nation” by President James Monroe. Monroe wanted to remind the younger generation of the foundation and ideals from the Founding Fathers and those who fought for those freedoms, as to most of that generation was gone. Lafayette arrived to a huge welcome of over 80,000 people in New York City in August 1824. He was truly a rockstar of the Revolution. He toured the 24 states for 13 months and traveled over 6,000 miles in horse-drawn carriages, steamships, riverboats, and by foot. His arrival to large and small towns and cities inspired the communities to come together again as Americans. He embraced his old comrade James Armistead Lafayette, a freed Black man, when he saw him after so many years following the victory at Yorktown, Virginia. He shared drinks with the former enslaved, embraced and celebrated his Native American friends, and challenged many of the remaining Founding Fathers to abolish slavery during his visits with them on his Farewell Tour. He truly was a friend to all. He is an inspiration to me with his unwavering commitment to his belief that ALL MEN and WOMEN are created equal.

Kat , love having you share your insights with us. Before we ask you more questions, maybe you can take a moment to introduce yourself to our readers who might have missed our earlier conversations?

I have always been a community builder, since the MySpace days. I started a small online group that would help promote and amplify local art and music events with a calendar and interviews. It evolved over the years to two events, ” Joan of Art: An All Female Art Show” & “Pigment of Your Imagination” that I created and hosted with local artists to raise money for local charities. What I did never had an official title because I was creating something unique to the area, my interests, and the community. From that initial project on MySpace, I started working with nonprofits to help with their social media content and outreach on other social media platforms. I would go to events and take photos, do interviews, write-ups, and amplify messaging. I had great success in organic reach and bringing a genuine and honest voice to the nonprofits.

Fast forward to the last 5 years, where I have worked for the nonprofit, The Lafayette Trail, The American Friends of Lafayette, The Norfolk Tour Company, and VA250. For the Lafayette Trail, I rebranded their look and feel for their page and was doing heavy research for the Farewell Tour of Lafayette’s tour; on this day posts with primary sources from 1820’s newspapers. I tried to make the history more engaging and fun instead of a blurb of historical facts. For the audience, I wanted them to want to learn more and connect with the people, city, town, state, food, place, or even the clothing from that time period. I also assisted with writing scripts and editing for a Youtube series for the Trail called ” Follow the Frenchmen.” Using creative tools, I created reels, memes, and graphics to reach more people.

I transitioned from working with The Lafayette Trail, after 2 years of being an unpaid volunteer, to working with The American Friends of Lafayette. I applied the same strategy to their social media channels but wanted to make a bigger impact. I am fortunate to have friends at the French Embassy in the US, historical societies, historical sites, authors, writers, influencers, performers, interpreters, and historians so I used those connections to make the American Friends of Lafayette’s Bicentennial efforts bigger and better! Starting in 2024, AFL has organized over 150 events recreating Lafayette’s actual Farewell Tour from 1824-1825. We filmed a video with Journey 7 Media in late summer 2024 to preview the tour for the public. I helped advise, edit, and film the promotional video in Yorktown with the amazing Mark Schneider from Colonial Williamsburg. The promotional video has been shared by the French Embassy, newspapers & magazines, historical sites, and historical societies. Following the video release, I was in New York City to cover the kickoff event in August 2024 on a boat with Mark Schneider as Lafayette, Lafayette’s descendants from France, floating by the State of Liberty, a small plane flying over with a banner welcoming Lafayette, and celebrating with French and American dignitaries. My photo of Mark Schneider as Lafayette holding a French flag on the boat with the Statue of Liberty behind him as been shared by Colonial Williamsburg, the French Embassy to the US and their consulates, featured in magazines, and even placed on the Jumbotron in Times Square. My photos, reels, and meme reels have been seen by millions of people and I have been lucky to have some posts go “viral” organically.

Starting in January 2025, I was hired by the Virginia 250 Commission as a senior advisor for social media. Refining their social presence has been a great challenge going into the 250th birthday of America. Being a native Virginian, I am beyond passionate about the rich history that Virginia has to offer and love learning new things in the process of this new job. In the short time that I have been part of the amazing team, I have been a part of the “Two Lights For Tomorrow” social media project which had the impact in the Billions. Participants were asked on April 19th, to put two lights out to honor the 250th anniversary of the Midnight Riders in Massachusetts (Paul Revere, William Dawes, and Samuel Prescott) and tag us. The response was like a tidal wave with thousands of tags and posts. The biggest participants were The White House, the Secretary of Defense, The Secretary of Agriculture, The Governor of Virginia, NASA, C-Span, many state houses across the United States, Mount Vernon, Yorktown, Monticello, the tall ship Luna, and children. Following the success of that initiative, we hosted a live event with Ken Burns in attendance for the reenactment of Patrick Henry’s “Give me liberty or give me death” speech – on the day and at the place that it happened, 250 years later. The program was live streamed and was a huge success with educators using the recorded video to teach their students.

What I am most proud of is when my six year old daughter, Victoria can see photos, videos, or events that her Mommy has been a part of and know that all the long hours and hard work is for her future. All of our collective futures. She has seen the Lafayette promotional video with her mommy in it while riding the trolley in Yorktown, Virginia. She knows who George Washington, Lafayette, James Madison, James Armistead Lafayette, and Benjamin Franklin are. She laughs and says “The redcoats are coming, the redcoats are coming,” while riding around in a children’s colonial patriots hat holding a battery operated lantern on April 19th, in honor of Paul Revere and her ancestor Francis Nurse who served on that day in 1775. She likes to whisper, “America, Made In Virginia” randomly because she knows that her mommy is making history fun again for the millions of those who have seen her work.

When thinking about brand and voice, also ask yourself your “Why?” That is what people connect with. They want authentic and genuine. They want to enjoy the ride and learn something new. I think that’s part of why I enjoy being a community builder… the connecting of people to one another. To step back, reflect and connect one another again.

What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?

I think what I find most rewarding as an artist or creative is connecting with others who are creative. This could be writers, painters, historians, photographers, event planners, musicians, or actors. I like seeing the world from their point of view and perspective. I like to ask questions and opinions on their area of expertise to better understand it. Artists seem to speak the same language and bonds us deeply.

We’d love to hear the story of how you built up your social media audience?

For the brands and companies that I have worked with I always look at what worked before I started creating for them and how we can improve on it. Usually the brand has a clear guideline on what their voice is but they have not been genuine enough or bold enough to sound real. In order for you to build a following and get the community excited about what you are offering to them ( products, entertainment, experiences), you need to find your tone and voice.

Don’t be afraid to try new things and pivot if it’s not serving your brand. It’s ok to delete content that isn’t performing well or that isn’t resonating with your audience. Also, keep it simple. Everyone is trying so hard to look polished and perfect but when you look at the creators content, it’s not as polished as the multi-million dollar brands. (and do you really want it to be?) Show that you’re not perfect, show that you’re a real person or people behind the brand. Engagement is huge for me. Responding to shares, comments, questions! A simple thank you goes a long way.

Building a strong following takes a lot of time and consistency but it pays off.

Contact Info:

• Instagram: @katmarshsmith @americanfriendsoflafayette @varevolution250
• Facebook: American Friends of Lafayette , VA250
• Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/kat-marsh-smith
• Twitter: @varevolution250 @lafayettefriend

Image Credits

Kat Smith