Associate Director, Social Strategy

We’re RPA: an independent advertising agency that puts People First. It’s a unique philosophy for a different kind of agency: where we aspire to create work that truly matters to people, for brands that respect and value people, with a team we empower and treat like people. And we do it all in the heart of sunny Santa Monica, California.  

Why You’ll Never Want to Leave 

Our People First philosophy means creating a culture where people like you can thrive, do meaningful work, and — we hope — stick around  for a while. In an industry known for high turnover, people at RPA seem to recognize the value of an environment that truly wants to support our Associates’ lives and career growth. 

Who You’ll Be Collaborating With 

Every day, you’ll be teaming up with a diverse, enthusiastic, multi-disciplinary team of professionals with a smart sense of humor and a strong desire to grow and develop. 

Job Summary

This is our senior leadership role responsible for shaping and executing social media strategies. We’re looking for a strategic thinker with proven expertise in managing enterprise-level social media to serve both brand building and business driving objectives. You’ll build, grow or consult on social strategies of all our agency’s clients while also guiding our executional and community management work. You’ll drive the conception and execution of best-in-class social content and platform strategy. The ideal candidate will be comfortable with culture-driving platforms like TikTok and business-centered content on LinkedIn. 

The Role 

This is a highly collaborative role where you will work closely with creative teams, brand strategists, social media community managers, media partners and analysts to generate measurable impact for clients from social media efforts.

You will be the trusted social media expert and resource for both internal and client teams. You’ll support our Experience Strategy team with development of cross-channel social strategic direction. You’ll write strategy briefs for creative teams to bring to life, work with them to tune their ideas to sing on social platforms and will identify customer, cultural and category insights to help our clients grow their businesses.   

You Are... 

Someone who not only understands best-in-class social media strategies and executions but wants to set a standard of excellence. You have a vision for how social strategy practices should look, are great at identifying patterns and trends and love  finding efficiencies to make work better.  

You believe in the power of social media to create connections within culture and move people to action. You have ideas about how brands should show up to break through and add value. You understand the balance between brand, customer, and business objectives when it comes to making and developing social content. 

You are a curious self-starter who asks the right questions to get to the heart of an issue and are energized by the challenge of becoming an expert on new topics quickly. You combine data-informed rigor with out-of-the-box thinking. You can confidently and persuasively advocate for a point of view and quickly build rapport with diverse teammates and clients.

You know what’s trending. You experiment with new platform enhancements. You laugh at good brand posts and share them with your friends. You know some social-first brands and have favorite content creators. 

What You’ll Be Working On 

• Develop and execute comprehensive paid and organic social media strategies that align with our clients' business goals. As expansive and forward-looking as trend forecasting and as hands-on as oversight of always-on social content.  
• Set the standard with the tools of our trade: briefs, POVs, platform updates, community management strategies, etc. 
• Guide cross-departmental and multi-client collaboration to evolve our vision, practices and work streams. Work with cross-functional teams, including marketing, creative, and analytics, to ensure cohesive and effective work. 
• Build and maintain strong relationships with clients, acting as the trusted social media advisor.  
• Take a hands-on role for clients such as Homes.com, Apartments.com, La-Z-Boy, ampm and Spotless.  
• Serve on our agency marketing committee as strategic lead for the agency's own social media presence.  
• Research and synthesize insights into consumer behaviors, motivators and needs using a combination of syndicated tools and desk research  
• Provide leadership for analyzing social media performance metrics to optimize campaigns and report on key insights. 
• Develop and present regularly scheduled social media performance reports, highlighting key insights.  
• Manage and mentor a team of social media strategists, providing guidance and support to help them grow in their roles. 
• Oversee our community management and publishing practices – necessary pauses, proactive and reactive engagement, etc. 
• Serve as the go-to for all things influencer marketing. Guide how we develop briefs, tap into creator agencies, and partner with a wider to team to make influencer / creator campaigns come to life.  
• Coordinate with internal teams and clients to manage recurring meetings, such as weekly status updates and bi-weekly client calls. 
• Oversee social media boosting strategies, selecting top-performing posts for paid promotion. 

How You’ll Excel In Your Role 

• This role requires relentless curiosity about effective social media marketing, emerging advertising and consumer technologies, and the tools that facilitate meaningful, actionable connections between people and brands. 
• Be comfortable with both evergreen, organic social media content and big, bold Super Bowl social media programs. 
• Solid experience in a social media marketing or related role, demonstrating the following skills:  
  • Knowledge of social media management and listening tools like Meltwater, Sprout Social, Sprinklr, Brandwatch, NetBase, etc. 
  • Experience with briefing social content development based on platform and audience insights  
  • Develop insights and creative recommendations from analytics reporting and then implement those in creative development  
  • Extensive knowledge of digital and social creative formats, platform characteristics, specs, and audience behaviors - especially Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, Twitter, LinkedIn, Snapchat, Reddit, TikTok 
  • Grasp of cultural and trending references on various social platforms and can effectively gauge how content will be received by organic and paid audiences alike  
  • Fundamental understanding of brand-building principles, brand and marketing strategy frameworks, and digital media strategies 
  • Demonstrated ability to craft compelling thought leadership materials (POVs, trend decks, topic deep-dives, etc.) 
• Collaborative and thrives in a team environment 
• Strong time management skills, able to juggle multiple projects and clients on different timelines and prioritize efforts accordingly 

The maximum semi-monthly salary range for this position is $6,250.00, with an annualized equivalent of $150,000.  Actual compensation will be based on experience and overall qualifications as aligned with the role.

As an Equal Opportunity Employer, at RPA we hire without consideration to race, religion, creed, color, national origin, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, veteran status, disability, or any other classification protected by federal, state, or local law.