Social Media Lead

Job Title: Social Media Lead

Location: Remote | Full-time

Reports to: Head of Content

About EssentiallySports

EssentiallySports is the home for the underserved sports fan, delivering stories that go deeper than the headlines. Ranked among the top 10 sports media platforms in the U.S., we reach over 30 million monthly active users and generate more than 1 billion pageviews annually—all built through organic growth. Our data-driven approach combines deep audience insights with cultural trends to connect with fans where they are and where they’re headed.

As we look ahead, we’re focused on expanding our reach, strengthening our brand presence, and creating new ways to engage and serve our community of sports fans.

Role Overview

We are looking for a strategic, hands-on Social Media Lead who can build our socials, grow them, drive audience engagement, and elevate our overall brand presence across social platforms. This role sits at the intersection of editorial, creative, and growth, and is central to defining the visual identity, tone, and performance strategy for the EssentiallySports brand and its sub-brands.

Key Responsibilities1. Platform Strategy + Social Voice Development

• Build a cross-platform rollout plan using an experimentation-first approach to content across Instagram, LinkedIn, YouTube, X (Twitter) and Facebook.
• Create and maintain a recognisable tone and personality for ES across platforms grounded in authenticity, insight, and authority.
• Optimize content for each platform (e.g., Reels-first for IG growth, value carousels on LinkedIn).

2. Visual Identity + Brand Differentiation

• Redesign and manage visual identity for ES and all sub-brands (e.g., Lucky Dog on Track, She Got Game, Essentially Golf) with a sport-specific and aspirational lens.
• Establish templates, tone, and copy frameworks tailored to each sub-brand’s personality

3. Content + Creative Leadership

• Partner with editorial, design, and video to create original content tailored for social memes, video, infographics, stat explainers, quote cards, power rankings.
• Spearhead episodic content formats, short-form series, and high-conversion content designed to ladder into long-form storytelling and future podcast network ambitions.
• Ensure content relevance and accuracy, especially for live sports coverage.

4. Newsletter Ecosystem Growth

• Lead social-first strategies to drive newsletter subscriber growth across all verticals.
• Create campaigns that turn social followers into newsletter readers, using platform-native storytelling, optimized posting times, and strong CTAs.
• Integrate newsletters into daily social cadence via stories, reels, and carousels.

6. Community, Credibility & Culture

• Drive conversational engagement and build comment credibility by actively listening to community sentiment.
• Introduce culture-forward content like style, tech, or behind-the-scenes features that build fan trust and industry respect.
• Celebrate subscriber, audience, and brand milestones publicly to enhance brand authority.

7. Influencer & Partnership Execution

• Collaborate with athletes, influencers, and brands to develop co-branded content, leveraging athlete-driven storytelling as a credibility and engagement engine.
• Test short-term brand collaborations with scalable, high-volume concepts.
• Identify and activate affordable influencers across key verticals for tactical campaign amplification.

8. Paid + Organic Growth

• Launch small-scale paid media experiments to amplify high-performing content, with the goal of building a data-backed playbook for larger investment.
• Track growth KPIs closely: newsletter subs, engagement, CTR, video views, follower growth, and sentiment analysis.

KPIs & Success Metrics

• Growth in newsletter subscribers from social sources
• Content engagement (likes, shares, comments, link clicks)
• Positive sentiment in comment sections
• Video view growth across Reels and YouTube shorts
• Follower growth across all platforms
• Post volume and consistency
• Revenue-driving potential from merch, affiliate content, and sponsorships

What You Bring

• 5-6 years of social media experience in media, sports, or entertainment
• Deep understanding of how sports fans consume content across platforms
• Strong instincts for credible, contextual, and timely content
• Fluency in visual trends, meme culture, and platform-native storytelling
• Experience working with newsletters, sub-brand architecture, and influencer strategy
• Clear understanding of metrics and how to translate them into actionable content decisions
• Strong project management skills and comfort with cross-functional collaboration
• Bonus: Familiarity with NASCAR, WNBA, NFL, Golf, or underserved sports audiences

Why Join EssentiallySports

This is a chance to shape the future of a high-growth digital sports media brand. You’ll have room to experiment, the opportunity to lead, and the ability to make real impact across editorial, social, brand, and revenue.

How to Apply

Please apply directly through this job posting. Make sure your updated resume includes a working link to your portfolio showcasing your social media work.