As a member of the Athletic Department, the Social Media Strategist is responsible for crafting and implementing social media strategies specifically for Minnesota’s football and men’s basketball programs. This position will work with other sports as well and on special projects, but the majority of their efforts will be spent on operating social platforms for football and men’s basketball. Functional areas of responsibility include providing strategic direction on football and men’s basketball social media usage, monitoring/measuring analytics, and ensuring consistent execution of the Athletic Department mission and brand.
This position will work closely with units throughout the department including athletic communications, marketing, creative and digital productions, ticketing, fundraising, etc. to effectively and efficiently meet the demands of the Athletic Department in today’s social marketplace. This position will also orchestrate social media campaigns for football and men’s basketball that help drive revenue (ticketing, fundraising, sponsorship, licensing, etc.) as well as provide guidance on industry best practices.
Primary Responsibilities
1. Strategic Direction (50%):
Develop social media strategies that support the goals of the football and men’s basketball programs. This responsibility will include, but not be limited to, introduction of “best practices,” monitoring of social media practices conducted by industry peers, and staying abreast of emerging social media outlets and related technologies. The position will actively participate in leading the social media efforts of both programs, which includes games, practices and daily operations. It will also monitor social media activities conducted by student athletes and provide ongoing advice and feedback, establish standards, and serve as a catalyst to improve both program’s social media performance. This position will also assist with management of third-party relationships. This position will serve as the “voice” for both accounts, which will include leading and participating in conversation on all social platforms. It will also include live Tweeting, responding to topics/inquiries and promoting program initiatives. Use professional judgment to identify potential issues and respond accordingly. This position will also work with the Social Media Manager and others on social media ideation and how best to serve and meet the needs of the football, men’s basketball and Gopher Athletics.
2. Social Media Management (40%):
Overseeing the ideation, creation and management of content for football and men’s basketball social accounts. This includes social media content that will help recruit perspective student-athletes, engage sponsors, activate marketing, fundraising and ticketing plans and any ancillary programing that requires social media assistance for football and men’s basketball. The Social Media Strategist will work with members of both programs and the communications staff to fulfill social media campaigns. This individual should have the ability to take photos and video and basic editing experience. They will also work with a student work force.
3. Assistance/Mentorship (10%):
This position will also assist the Social Media Manager and will also work on special projects where needed. This function of the job will fall outside of their responsibilities with football and men’s basketball. This position will also assist department staff members on social media preferences and best practices.
Minimum qualifications
• BA/BS degree in Communications, Marketing, Journalism, Art with four years of professional social media/communications experience, OR
• Non-communications degree with six years of progressive responsibility in social media,
communications, or marketing.
Preferred qualifications
• Full-time experience in collegiate or professional sports social media, communications, marketing, digital, media relations, athletic communications or public relations
With more than 140 years of tradition, Gopher Athletics is one of the oldest and most decorated athletics departments in the country. Minnesota was a charter member of the Big Ten Conference – our teams have won more than 200 conference titles to go with 26 national titles. There are more than 600 student-athletes and nearly 300 full-time employees in our athletics department. That community has built Minnesota into a nation’s top- ranked public school with respect to student athlete academic performance in each of the past four years, a span of time during which the Gophers have won 13 conference team titles and a collection of individual conference and national crowns. Housed in the historic Dinkytown neighborhood on the northern edge of the University campus, Gopher Athletics is succeeding against a backdrop unique in college athletics, nestled at the heart of a bustling, modern metro area. We are proud of our decorated history, but we are prepared to achieve even greater success in the years to come. Ski-U-Mah!
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