Deputy Director, Social Audience & Marketing

Role Overview

• Own the strategy and performance of all social-to-owned conversion initiatives — including newsletter signups, website traffic, and other off-platform audience actions — identifying opportunities to move audiences from social platforms to deeper engagement with COURIER's journalism.
• Develop and refine conversion frameworks and CTA strategies that help state social media managers incorporate clear, platform-native, mission-aligned calls-to-action into daily publishing across all state social channels.
• Design, run, and analyze A/B tests across CTAs, subject lines, landing pages, and social content to continuously improve conversion performance.
• Serve as an internal marketing resource for reporters, editors, and editorial leaders — helping them develop subscription and conversion strategies tailored to their beats, align coverage calendars with audience-growth moments, and translate editorial coverage into measurable audience impact.
• Coach newsroom staff on how to promote newsletters, grow subscriber bases, and measure the effect of their content on retention and conversion.
• Establish, track, and report on KPIs for conversion and growth initiatives across states, including newsletter growth, subscriber retention, audience participation, and civic engagement beyond social platforms.
• Provide regular insights to leadership on what content and strategies most effectively drive audience action.
• Support the development of Unified Content Monetization strategies, identifying opportunities where social content can drive revenue through audience growth, partnerships, or new monetization formats.
• Build clear frameworks and best practices that allow the social team to scale successful conversion strategies across multiple states.
• Manage and develop a team of 3–4 direct reports, providing strategic direction, coaching, and performance oversight.

Requirements

• 4–6 years in social media strategy, audience development, newsletter marketing, or digital media growth — with demonstrated success driving conversion from social platforms to owned properties (newsletters, websites); required
• Experience managing and developing a small team of direct reports
• Hands-on experience with email/newsletter platforms (Sailthru, Beehiiv, Mailchimp, or similar) and social scheduling/analytics tools (Sprout Social, Later, Buffer, or equivalent)
• Familiarity with conversational marketing or messenger automation tools (e.g., ManyChat)
• Demonstrated experience running A/B tests across CTAs, subject lines, landing pages, and social content
• Strong understanding of platform-native storytelling and audience behavior, with the ability to analyze performance data and translate insights into actionable strategies
• Skilled at making marketing strategy accessible to non-marketing audiences — including journalists and editors — and communicating clearly with both technical and non-technical stakeholders in a distributed environment

Benefits

• Unlimited Paid Time Off (PTO)
• 11 paid holidays a year
• An Employee Assistance Program (EAP)
• Full suite of health benefits
• Flexible working arrangements