Social Media Strategist

States Newsroom is seeking a creative and experienced audience expert to lead social media strategy, with a focus on short-form video production, for our national brand and state newsrooms.

States Newsroom is the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporting from every capital. Our work provides key insight on policy and politics at no cost to the reader — no pop-ups, paywalls or ads. States Newsroom employs more than 230 full-time editors, reporters, and support staff covering 39 states; in the remaining 11 states, we partner with and support already-established nonprofit newsrooms. As we turn our focus to the future and how to expand our impact and audience, we are seeking an experienced and effective Social Media Strategist to lead and implement a robust social media strategy that prioritizes the production of compelling short-form video content that showcases and amplifies our nonpartisan reporting from across the country. 

Reporting to the Communications Director, this position can be based anywhere in the United States, and will be responsible for designing and implementing a social media strategy for our 50-state news organization, directing the production of short-form news videos, and managing new partnerships and tools that help us tell important stories and demonstrate our impact to a broader audience. The Social Media Strategist will have strong experience with short-form video production and a deep understanding of how to attract and retain users across a variety of social media platforms, including Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and others. They should also have a demonstrable interest in news, particularly about politics and policy, as well as a strong command of journalistic standards. The person in this role will be part of the communications team and work closely with our national content team and other editorial staff members to track the top news stories and trends from across the network and figure out how to translate those stories into digestible and compelling video and visual content that inform and engage a national audience. 

The Social Media Strategist will also provide strategy and advice to our state newsroom staff and, over time, help to develop and implement processes that increase both the number of newsrooms with a presence on these platforms and the amount of content produced. With the support of members from the Communications and Product teams, this position will play a lead role in taking our social media game to the next level via increased video production, cross-newsroom collaborations, and key partnerships with aligned independent creators, and will collect and review audience analytics and stay on top of trends to ensure that we’re broadening our reach. 

If you are a highly strategic digital communications leader with video production and social media storytelling experience who thrives in fast-paced, collaborative environments and is passionate about supporting state and local journalism’s essential role in our democracy, this job is for you!

PRIMARY JOB RESPONSIBILITIES

• Work closely with the Communications Director and other members of the Leadership team to develop and execute a social media strategy that bolsters States Newsroom’s presence on popular social media platforms, with a primary focus on producing and posting more frequent short-form video content that engages a national audience
• Strategize creative approaches to translate important news stories of national interest into compelling video and visual content for national and state newsroom accounts
• Work with our National Content team to collect and produce short-form editorial video content (including TikTok, Reels, YouTube Shorts and other platform-native formats) for a national News From the States account
• Track examples of impact and identify and edit compelling media clips from our podcasts, live events, media appearances and more to adapt them for social platforms and other audiences
• Help produce and compile video and visual content on timely news stories and national trends involving multiple states, and respond to emerging conversations relevant to major state stories
• Develop partnerships with media organizations and independent creators who can amplify our work to a wider audience
• Track evolving trends on video platforms to share and incorporate insights and work with the Product team to monitor and measure analytics related to social media audience growth and engagement
• Help create reusable and customizable templates for photo and video posts and identify other posting tools and processes for use by state and national news teams
• Assist the Communications Director with a variety of other social media and communications-related duties, as necessary

QUALIFICATIONS & COMPENSATION

We’re looking for someone who demonstrates:

• At least 6 years of recent, professional experience in social media, digital communications, and/or content creation
• Deep knowledge of social media trends across a wide variety of platforms
• Experience creating a social media strategy / plan for a national organization
• Experience producing and editing short-form video content for social media platforms
• Experience creating compelling visual and graphic content for digital channels
• Ability to work across multiple digital formats including video, graphics, and written content
• Strong storytelling skills and ability to translate both investigative and breaking news stories into accessible content for broad audiences
• Experience using photo and video editing tools such as Adobe Creative Suite, Canva, CapCut, or similar; familiarity with audio software such as Riverside or Descript is a plus
• Familiarity with social media analytics and performance tracking
• Prior experience in journalism is strongly preferred
• Excellent interpersonal, written and verbal communication skills
• Ability to adapt quickly to new technologies and priorities
• Great self-direction and the ability to manage up
• A strategic thinking and problem-solving approach to their work
• Enthusiastic support for the power of journalism in democracy

The minimum salary for this role is $100,000 and rises with experience. Our generous benefits package includes:

• Platinum-level healthcare options with premiums covered 100% for employees and 75% for qualified dependents
• 4 weeks of vacation per year
• 2 weeks of personal leave per year
• 11 paid holidays per year
• 20 hours of paid volunteer time per year
• $75 monthly cell phone reimbursement
• $200 cell phone replacement benefit every two years
• $75 monthly fitness benefit
• 401K with up to 3% match
• 12 weeks of parental leave
• Full-service EAP

Authorization to work in the United States is required. At this time, States Newsroom is unable to provide visa sponsorship.

ABOUT OUR CULTURE

States Newsroom is dedicated to producing journalism at all levels — from quick hit to investigative — but not at the expense of burning out its employees. We are supportive, exciting, welcoming and positive. We believe in creating sustainable careers for journalists on the crucial state government beat.

States Newsroom’s mission is to connect people to the power that shapes their daily lives through relentless reporting and incisive commentary on state government and policy. Journalism is a powerful force for social change, uniquely suited to challenging systemic inequality and racism. Our goal is to build an organization that fulfills that mission.

At States Newsroom, we believe we strengthen our work and improve our insights when we incorporate the perspectives of people who come from different backgrounds and have had different experiences. We are committed to diversity and prioritize equity in all recruiting and hiring. We are always working to better represent our communities and are supported in these efforts by a network-wide Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Justice committee.

HOW TO APPLY

To apply, send a cover letter, resume, and portfolio sample of at least three (3) videos/graphics you’ve produced/directed for social platforms to View email address on click.appcast.io. Applications will be reviewed as they arrive.

Salary/Compensation: $100,000 per year