Job Description

Audience Producer

Chron is seeking an audience producer to help promote its stories and other content on the site's homepage and across all social media and search platforms. The person in this role will work 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. helping manage Chron's homepage, curating the positions of the stories throughout the day and pulling extra stories off the news wires to fill out our coverage where necessary. They will also be well-versed in how to write social copy and SEO headlines and decks, will understand how to best use each platform to promote Chron's different coverage areas, and will help the audience editor craft a strategy to grow Chron's presence on all current and future platforms. This person will also prepare the daily newsletter, take on the important role of listening and responding to readers' comments on its social pages, and will help the audience editor develop ideas for and execute new video content.

Primary responsibilities:

Curate the homepage and pull stories off the wires to fill out Chron’s coverage where necessary.
Post stories and create buildouts for secondary platforms, like LinkedIn, Digg, Reddit, Pinterest.
Prepare and next morning’s First Draft newsletter and send test to editors
Listening and responding to readers' comments on its social platforms.
Help the audience editor develop ideas for and execute new video content.
Help develop social strategy and calendar with audience editor to grow presence on all platforms.

Requirements:

1-2 years of professional social media experience required
Excellent news judgment
Willingness to work 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Professional experience writing social copy, headlines, decks, and captions.
Familiarity with all social platforms, and with content management systems
Strong copy-editing skills and knowledge of AP Style
Familiarity with the needs of the Houston and Texas audience
Familiarity with content management systems and metric tools

Preferred skills:

Knowledge of all social media platforms and their users.
Experience using Chartbeat, Google Analytics, Looker, or other audience measuring tools
Experience working in a CMS and publishing to digital platforms

The most challenging aspect of this position:

Developing social strategy for secondary platforms.
Understanding our readers and helping craft a strategy that reaches our readers and develops new ones

What type of decisions does this person have the authority to make without a supervisor’s approval?

Moving stories around the homepage
Writing social copy and posting stories to platforms

For what types of decisions does this person defer to others for approval?

Long-term social and search strategy
Pulling wire stories that may conflict with Chron’s original coverage
Developing and posting video content to Chron’s social platforms

What are the measures of success for this position?

Developing a homepage audience and increasing followers on social platform
Traffic performance of Chron original stories promoted on social media platforms
Listening to and responding to reader comments in ways that help develop community
Overall increase of unique in-DMA visitors
Overall increase of loyal in-DMA visitors

The Houston Chronicle, recognized for its Pulitzer Prize-winning journalism, serves its 2.3 million residents with content and marketing solutions across two of Houston’s largest websites — HoustonChronicle.com and Chron.com , along with our magazine, television and newspaper brands. Our mission is to spark conversations that inspire action to create a better Houston. All our content and the innovative business solutions we provide invite Houstonians to join conversations about a community we’ve been committed to covering and helping prosper for more than 120 years. The community we all call home.

As part of its continued efforts to maintain a safe workplace for employees, Hearst Newspapers requires that all employees who receive a written offer of employment to be fully vaccinated (as defined by the CDC) against the coronavirus by the first day of employment as a condition of employment, to the extent permitted by applicable law. Hearst Newspapers will consider requests for reasonable accommodations on an individual basis in accordance with applicable legal requirements.

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Audience Producer, Chron