[Hiring] Social Media and Engagement Content Strategy Analyst @USA TODAY Co.

Role Description

USA TODAY Co. is looking for a high-energy, audience-focused content strategist with journalism experience (required) to monitor and advise on the performance of USA TODAY Co.’s social media and community engagement portfolio. The ideal candidate is passionate about preserving the future of local news through unique storytelling and engagement experiences.

This role is right for you if you’re constantly monitoring the latest trends in social media, video and emerging platforms and love to experiment and innovate. As a key member of our dynamic Content Strategy/Analytics team, you will utilize your expertise in data analytics, reporting tools and platform insights alongside your social media expertise to enhance the audience growth, engagement and revenue generation for USA TODAY and local USA TODAY Network news sites.

In addition to being a leading voice on our social media strategy, this role will also give you the opportunity to make an impact on newsrooms across the country, coaching journalists on how to best build trust with their audience through community conversation both on platform and through tools like AMA sessions on Reddit.

You will be expected to be an expert on the trends in the creator space outside of the news industry, and be required to find ways to translate those tactics into strategies for our newsrooms.

Help us ensure the future of journalism is strong and that our newsrooms continue to evolve to meet the needs of a growing digital audience, especially on social media, where we can drive a personal connection between our newsrooms and their communities.

Responsibilities

• Shape audience engagement growth strategies and share best practices with newsrooms on how to use social media to deepen relationships with both new audiences and existing subscribers.
• Help newsrooms develop a cohesive brand identity/style and pair content to meet user needs.
• Develop strategies that encompass the entire audience journey, thinking about every action we want a user to take with us and how we are best serving their motivating user needs.
• Work with newsrooms on tactics to enhance community conversation both on and off-platform and IRL.
• Provide regular trainings on best practices to elevate our content, ensuring we are poised to be an industry leader in the social media space.
• Translate data points into actionable insights. The right candidate deeply understands data tools and knows how to apply their analytical mindset to content.
• Create and monitor reporting and KPI progress, including metrics for loyalty, engagement, and relevance.
• Assist newsrooms in troubleshooting social media issues, including leading partnership communications with social media platforms and related vendors.
• Develop and manage relevant reporting for new social media experiments and initiatives.
• Partner with the content monetization team on new efforts to monetize our journalism and grow audience on social media and distributed platform channels.

Qualifications

• Bachelor's or master's degree in communications, journalism, marketing or related field or equivalent combination of education and experience.
• Experience as a digital leader in a news operation. Prior experience in a digital, print or television news operation is required. Journalism experience is mandatory.
• 5+ years of journalism digital or leadership experience and understanding of the modern digital media landscape.
• 3-5 years of experience in analytics, with a preference for content analytics.
• A proven passion and experience with storytelling via social media, with expertise in platforms such as Reddit, Discord, WhatsApp, Instagram, TikTok, X, Facebook, Threads and more.
• Passion for helping news organizations distribute indispensable journalism and building trusted relationships with readers.
• Aptitude for and experience validating, collecting and interpreting data.
• Proactive leader that can manage their time and prioritization of tasks independently.

Requirements

• Experience using and building reports with Google Analytics and Parse.ly or similar tools.
• Advanced skill in Microsoft Excel, including creating pivot tables from complex datasets and understanding of basic Excel formulas.
• Big Query, SQL, Tableau, Google Ad Manager and other analytic and data tools are a bonus. As is experience with using AI to analyze data.
• Expertise in platform-specific data tools such as Meta, TikTok, Reddit, and X is required.
• Experience with third-party distribution tools like Hootsuite, True Anthem and Echobox is preferred.
• Excellent communication skills, both written and verbal, to effectively convey findings and recommendations to diverse stakeholders.
• Familiarity with news products and journalism and understanding of media analytics and ethics.

Application Instructions

We are eager to learn more about you and how you fit this role. When you apply, don’t limit your upload to a resume; show us what you’ve done. To do so, put together a single document file that includes the following, in this order:

• A cover letter that outlines how you would approach the job
• Your resume – one to two pages
• An example or two of a project or strategy that you’re proud of and had a key hand in leading. Please include a brief description of the work, your role and any relevant results.

It is important that these items be assembled into a single document and uploaded in PDF format. Completing these steps will ensure that your application receives the highest consideration.

Salary Information

The annualized base salary for this role will range between $45,000 and $92,000. Base compensation is reflective of many factors, including, but not limited to, the market in which one lives/works, individual education level, skills, certifications and experience. Note: variable compensation is not reflected in these figures and based on the role, may be applicable.

Equal Opportunity Employer

USA TODAY Co., Inc. is a proud equal opportunity employer committed to building and maintaining a diverse workforce. As such, we will consider all qualified applicants for employment and do not discriminate in connection with employment decisions on the basis of an applicant or employee’s race, color, national origin, ethnicity, ancestry, citizenship status, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, religion, age, marital status, personal appearance (including height and weight), sexual orientation, family responsibilities, physical or mental disability, medical condition, pregnancy status (including childbirth, breastfeeding or related medical conditions), education, genetic characteristics or information, political affiliation, military or veteran status or other classifications protected by applicable federal, state and local laws in the jurisdictions where USA TODAY Co. employs employees.

In addition, USA TODAY Co., Inc. will provide applicants who require a reasonable accommodation, as a result of an applicant’s disability or religion, to complete this employment application and/or any other process in connection with an individual's application for employment with USA TODAY Co., Inc. Applicants who require such accommodation should contact USA TODAY Co., Inc.’s Recruitment Department at [email protected] .

Applicants must be authorized to work in the applicable location. Applications from outside these regions will be removed from our system after submission.