Content Creator - Freelance

Job Description

The team's end-to-end creator. Concepts, produces, captures, and edits content across Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, X, and YouTube. Brings a creator's mindset and a creator's hands: ideas to publish in days, not weeks. Equally comfortable shooting on a phone for fastest-turn trend-driven and behind-the-scenes pieces, and running a DSLR (or mirrorless) plus audio production for higher-polish branded, original, and tentpole content. Cross-team role — collaborates with the Senior Social Media Manager on social-side content needs and with the Director of Video Content on video-pipeline coordination. Partners daily with the Social Media Specialist on trending and UGC executions, the Social Graphics Content Specialist on graphics packaging, the Short-Form Video Producer Lead on short-form video, and the on-shift coordinator on publish-window timing.

This freelance role is expected to be approximately 40 hours per week, with schedules aligned to tournament coverage needs. Flexibility to work weekends may be required during key tournaments and high-volume event periods. This freelance engagement is anticipated to run through December 2026, with the potential to be extended through the end of 2027 based on business needs and performance.

This is a freelance position and onsite in Santa Monica, CA.

In this freelance role, you will...

Lead Content & Creative Direction (primary lane — concept, produce, capture, edit)

• Concept content end-to-end across the five social platforms — trend-driven pieces, branded content, recurring serialized formats, tentpole moments, original creator concepts, and one-off campaign creative.

• Produce shoots from concept to set — define the shot list, coordinate talent, locations, props, and timing; manage logistics on the day.

• Capture content using both production modes:
• • Phone-first capture — vertical video, BTS moments, court-side reactions, trend executions, fast-turn pieces.
• • DSLR / mirrorless + audio capture — interviews, branded content, original series segments, higher-polish tentpole pieces. Comfortable running camera, lenses, lavalier and shotgun microphones, basic lighting.

• Edit captured content end-to-end — phone or CapCut for fastest-turn pieces, Premiere Pro for polished and longer-form work.

• Bring on-camera presence and voice-over capability where the piece calls for it.

• Operate under the Tennis Channel brand voice and visual standard set by the Senior Social Media Manager and the Director of Video Content; flag content-quality concerns up before publish.

Bring Production Expertise (what this role brings to the team)

• Phone-first production: fluent shooting vertical content directly on phone, with on-the-go lighting and audio when needed.

• DSLR / mirrorless production: owns end-to-end setup — camera body and lenses, monitor, lighting basics, lavalier and shotgun mics, on-camera and ambient audio.

• Audio capture: comfortable running lavs, shotguns, and USB mic setups for podcast-style or interview-style content.

• Self-editing in CapCut Pro (fast-turn vertical) and Premiere Pro (polished horizontal and vertical).

• Color and audio finishing competence for finished pieces; comfort handing off to a specialist editor when the piece warrants deeper finishing.

Lead Campaign Execution

• Lead end-to-end content creation for assigned tournament tentpoles, brand campaigns, sponsor activations, and serialized formats — concept, produce, capture, edit, and publish.

• Coordinate with the Senior Social Media Manager and Director of Video Content on which campaigns the Content Creator owns end-to-end vs. supports.

• Contribute the Content Creator's owned content slots to the Master Cross-Platform Content Calendar and the video team's 90-day pipeline view.

• Travel to select tournaments and shoots to capture on-the-ground content — typically 8-15 weeks per year on the road.

Stay Ahead of Platform Expertise & Trends

• Live inside platform trend cycles on TikTok, Reels, Shorts, Instagram, and YouTube — sound choices, edit timing, format awareness, creator-economy moves.

• Bring concepts to the Weekly Trending Content Meeting (chaired by the Senior Social Media Manager) — daily and tournament concepts built on emerging trends — and own follow-through on what gets approved.

• Run a tight reactive-content loop: when a trend or moment breaks between meetings, ship a creator response fast under brand-voice guardrails.

• Run platform-feature tests on creator output (new format, new placement, new edit style); document what works and surface to the Senior Social Media Manager and Director of Video Content.

Drive Strategy & Planning

• Maintain a 90-day forward view of creator-content opportunities aligned with the team's tournament tentpoles, brand campaigns, and serialized programming.

• Identify creator-content growth opportunities (new format, new on-camera concept, new platform-native execution) and bring them to the Senior Social Media Manager and Director of Video Content with a recommended action and a resource ask.

Analyze Performance & Report Insights

• Surface content performance insights — which pieces performed, which formats are tired, what to test next — to the Senior Social Media Manager and Director of Video Content.

• Provide qualitative content read-back weekly to feed the cross-platform executive narrative.

• Track personal output volume and cycle time against targets set by the Senior Social Media Manager.

Partner Cross-Functionally

• Partner with the Senior Social Media Manager on social-side content concepting, brand voice, and the Master Cross-Platform Content Calendar.

• Partner with the Director of Video Content on video-pipeline coordination — when a creator piece needs production support, an editor pairing, or longer-form finish.

• Partner with the Social Media Specialist on UGC, trending executions, and on-the-ground tournament capture.

• Partner with the Social Graphics Content Specialist when a creator piece needs custom graphics (titles, lower-thirds, end cards).

• Partner with the Short-Form Video Producer Lead, Video Editor (short-form), and YouTube Editor when a piece needs polished editing beyond fast-turn self-edit.

• Coordinate with the on-shift coordinator on publish-window timing for creator-owned content.

Key Performance Indicators

• Creator content output volume per tournament week and per non-tournament week.

• Engagement and reach on creator-owned content across the five platforms.

• Trend response time: trend identified to published content (target: under 24 hours, often under 6 hours during active tournaments).

• New creator format pilots launched per year — and percent that get repeated as serialized programming.

• Contribution to YoY platform growth: IG (+50%), FB (+50%), TikTok (+100%), and YouTube (+100% via Shorts and creator-led long-form).

• On-camera content performance vs. brand baseline (where on-camera is the format).

• Quality bar across creator output (qualitative review by Senior Social Media Manager and Director of Video Content).

• Production reliability: shoots executed on plan, deliverables hit on time, on-set issues resolved without surfacing