Digital Engagement Editor at The Aspen Times

The Aspen Times and Glenwood Springs Post Independent Are you passionate about community journalism? Do you enjoy making sure headlines are SEO-optimized and digging into the analytics of articles and website traffic? Do you get excited about finding creative and engaging ways to share news online with a global audience? If so, the position of Digital Engagement Editor at both The Aspen Times and Post Independent could be the perfect fit for you.

The Digital Engagement Editor leads both newsrooms’ digital content strategy while also working with reporters and editors to implement methods of interactive storytelling online. Through optimizing search, social, email newsletters and other emerging direct digital campaigns, the engagement editor not only attracts new readers but also converts them to a loyal audience. The engagement editor keeps an eye on data and analytics and uses that information to help guide the editor in content and story planning while also implementing best practices to continue to engage and grow the newspapers’ audiences. Objective: This position leads the digital content strategy for both The Aspen Times and Post Independent.

The Digital Engagement Editor ensures the property delivers first-rate storytelling through proven digital techniques. Tasks Attract: Attract a targeted audience through search, social, email and emerging direct digital reach campaigns. Engage: Convert online readers to email subscribers and registered users, social fans/followers or buyers. Retain: Maximize audience retention rate for newsletters, social communities, strong website metrics Key Metrics Primary Measures of Success are: Sessions Per User, Time on Site, Registrations, Responsibilities -Content marketing strategy: Sets the direction for marketing digital products (editorial, marketing and advertising) with specific digital content plans. -SEO: Ensures all content has SEO-optimized titles and descriptions. EE writes the titles and descriptions and mentors editorial staff on best practices. -Chartbeat: Experiment with headlines in Chartbeat. A/B/C/D/E test 1-2 headlines per day. -Facebook: Develops a daily posting strategy that mixes links (traffic) with native posts (engagement)—timing, copy, image selection.

Responding to comments and DMs and conducting outreach to other community and affinity pages for link sharing. -Instagram: Post a combination of photo galleries and text-based stories. -X: Schedule daily posts -Grow email lists: Engages and converts online readers, social fans and buyers into email subscribers through contests, giveaways, promotions and content. -Story sharing: Sharing stories from sister publications to the website and making adjustments to headlines and photos as necessary. -Follows emerging trends: Studies emerging digital trends and experiments. Shares findings with other digital engagement editors. -Cross-departmental support: Collaborates with all departments to ensure special projects maximize the property’s ROI and reach the largest digital audience. -Tools: Chartbeat, Wordpress (CMS), Zoom, Google Analytics, Social Media Management Software (Meta and EchoBox), CitySpark (online calendar).

Qualifications

• Bachelor’s degree in interactive media, journalism, communications, marketing, or equivalent experience, with a passion to grow our digital community.

• 3-5 years of experience leading true digital efforts, including search, email marketing, digital content publishing and social media.

• Uses data to drive decision making. • Google Analytics, Chartbeat, Google Sheets, and WordPress knowledge helpful

• Superior time management skills and proven ability to meet constant deadlines.

• Ability to work independently as well as a team member.
• Ability to write and edit quickly, with excellent writing and message development skills.

• Must have strong attention to detail.

• Creative thinker who is good at addressing challenges.

• Effective coaching and mentoring skills. Pay $54,000 - $59,000 Competitive benefits include medical, dental, vision, life insurance after 60 days of employment,

$500 Recreation Bonus after 6 months and 401k Plan after 1 year. Experience Level: Some experience required