Senior Audience & Social Strategy Manager

Audience & Social Strategy Manager (Remote)

About Surround Sound News

Surround Sound News is building the country's largest network of local news outlets. Our mission is simple: make high-quality, local journalism sustainable again.

Using a combination of AI and experienced journalists, we produce timely, relevant reporting for communities across the United States. Our outlets focus on the stories that matter most to residents—from local government and schools to businesses, development, sports and community events.

We're looking for a Social Media Manager who can help make each of those outlets a daily habit for the communities they serve.

The Role

As Social Media Manager, you'll oversee the social presence for dozens of local news outlets across the country. Your primary objective is to grow readership within each outlet's coverage area by creating engaging, platform-specific social content that encourages local residents to read, follow and share our journalism.

You'll combine editorial judgment, audience strategy and analytics to determine which stories deserve attention, how they should be presented on each platform and what drives local engagement.

This role requires someone who enjoys moving quickly, testing new ideas and managing many brands simultaneously without losing sight of what makes each community unique.

Responsibilities

Audience Growth & Community Management

• Develop and execute social media strategies that increase readership and engagement across a network of existing local news outlets, and future outlets as coverage areas expand
• Grow followers and build loyal local audiences within each publication's coverage area.
• Identify opportunities to increase referral traffic and repeat readership through social media.
• Experiment with new formats, platforms and tactics to expand audience reach.
• Demonstrate strong discernment when deciding when and how to engage with comments, DMs, or other activity as a result of published content
• Collaborate with in-house or third-party teams to boost high-performing organic content

Daily Publishing

• Identify stories with strong local interest and determine the most effective way to present them on social platforms.
• Work closely with editors, reporters and product teams to ensure our strongest journalism reaches the right audiences.
• Write compelling, platform-specific social copy that encourages clicks and sharing.
• Select headlines, photos, graphics and videos that maximize engagement while maintaining editorial integrity.
• Coordinate timely promotion of breaking news, enterprise stories and community coverage.

Analytics & Optimization

• Monitor audience growth, engagement and referral traffic across all outlets.
• Analyze performance data to understand what resonates in different communities.
• Conduct ongoing testing of headlines, visuals, posting times and content formats.
• Collaborate with product teams, as coverage areas expand, to develop or enhance workflows

Qualifications

• 3+ years experience managing social media content for news media or large brands
• Strong news judgment and understanding of what motivates readers to engage with local journalism
• Experience growing audiences across multiple social platforms.
• Familiarity with HootSuite, or similar social media scheduling tools, a plus preferred 
• Familiarity with AI, automations, and prompt-generated content, a plus
• Highly organized with the ability to manage numerous brands and publishing schedules simultaneously.
• Comfortable working in a fast-paced, collaborative startup environment.

Salary Range: Competitive salary + equity and bonus