Social Strategy Manager

Responsibilities

• Social Media Strategy, Audience Growth, and Innovation (35%) - Develop, lead, and continuously evolve KUOW's social media and audience growth strategy across established and emerging platforms. - Identify opportunities to expand audience reach, deepen engagement, strengthen audience loyalty, and increase visibility of KUOW journalism. - Serve as KUOW's subject matter expert on social media trends, platform developments, audience behavior, and emerging content formats. - Recommend and test new approaches, tools, channels, and storytelling methods that support audience growth and engagement goals. - Use audience insights, industry trends, and performance data to inform strategic direction and resource allocation. - Foster a culture of innovation, experimentation, accountability, and continuous improvement within the social media function.
• Content Strategy, Publishing, and Creative Execution (35%) - Lead KUOW's social publishing strategy, including content prioritization, scheduling, cadence, platform selection, and distribution plans. - Monitor and maintain KUOW’s continuous presence across all active channels, including managing post automations and a publishing calendar of original content. - Define platform-specific best practices for content packaging, including captions, headlines, graphics, videos, accessibility, calls to action, and audience engagement tactics. - Determine the most effective content formats and storytelling approaches for individual stories and broader editorial initiatives. - Collaborate with editors, reporters, web producers, video producers, and graphic designers to create compelling social-first content that advances audience and editorial goals. - Create and publish social media content, including writing captions, creating thumbnails, developing graphics within established templates, and performing light video editing for platform-specific distribution. - Review content and creative assets, providing feedback and direction to ensure they meet strategic objectives and brand expectations. - Support social media coverage of breaking news, major events, fundraising campaigns, and enterprise journalism as needed.
• Audience Engagement, Analytics, and Performance (25%) - Develop strategies that foster meaningful audience engagement, conversation, and community connection across social platforms. - Monitor audience feedback, sentiment, and engagement trends to identify opportunities and inform content decisions. - Establish and track performance metrics aligned with KUOW's mission, audience goals, and growth objectives. - Monitor messages and comments and maintain a system for responding to audience questions and feedback (including assigning tasks to appropriate colleagues). - Analyze content and platform performance, translating data into actionable recommendations for improving audience outcomes. - Communicate results, insights, and emerging opportunities to newsroom leadership and key stakeholders.
• Other Duties as Assigned (5%)

Preferred

• Experience working in news, media, publishing, or mission-driven content organizations.
• Knowledge of and passion for the Puget Sound region and its communities.
• Experience leading, mentoring, or managing content creators, producers, or digital media professionals.
• Understanding of marketing principles, brand strategy, and digital audience acquisition.
• Knowledge of accessibility best practices for digital and social media content.

Benefits

• Benefits Other Compensation: For information about benefits for this position, visit https://www.washington.edu/jobs/benefits-for-uw-staff/