Meet Samantha, “Professional Internet Person” and Social Media Editor for The Points Guy in New York.
The first thing I do when I get to my desk is check Slack and email, then do a quick sweep of our social pages. Next, I’ll scan through other social accounts that I admire as well as news outlets to make sure we’re keeping up with trends — both within our industry and beyond. Oh, and coffee. Lots and lots of coffee.
Our daily news meeting includes the whole TPG content team. This is our time to talk about what’s going on in the world – and what we should be writing about. I love to pitch stories that are a little “out there” and fun, since those are the things that help grow our audience. (Shameless Lizzo content plug 💁💅✨.)
Every two weeks, the social team will meet to talk about the bigger picture (think: long-term strategy, upcoming campaigns, etc.) I work hand in hand with our editorial team to curate a social-friendly content calendar, keep up with breaking news, and make sure all of the 30+ articles we post per day (whew!) are being optimized on social. I also do a fair amount of writing for the site, focusing mostly on travel and beginner credit card tips that I know will perform well on social. Of course, I also work closely with the rest of the TPG social team on community management, reports, and… whatever else comes across my desk!
Aside from those recurring meetings (and the occasional 5-alarm-fire), most of my day is spent keeping an eye on media and travel trends, so we can always be on the pulse of what our audience craves content-wise. I also do a decent amount of writing for the site, as well as partnerships and special projects. In short: I make you click on things.
What do you enjoy most about your job?
I love that TPG empowers me to create content – whether for social or the site – that is important and meaningful to me. The fact that I can come in every day, get creative, and make things that enrich our readers’ lives is an absolute dream. Most importantly, though, the people here are what makes TPG so special.
What’s one thing that might surprise people about your job?
Doing social media for a travel company is not as glamorous as it might seem!
As the manager of TPG’s social media pages – including Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and Instagram – a lot of my day is spent scheduling posts, or simply just waiting on posts to be written/edited. Of course, there are plenty of things to keep me occupied in the meantime. It’s also a 24/7 thing so being able to be flexible and “always online” is a must!
What advice would you give someone thinking about joining RV?
I think people are a huge factor of what makes TPG (and RV) so great, and everyone here is really close. We’re a very social company and work very hard – which falls into the “pro” column for a lot of people – but if you don’t have that mentality, and just want to keep your head down, you might have more fun ~following~ the adventure from afar 😉.
Really, go do it:
Instagram ✅
Facebook ✅
Twitter ✅
