Paid Social Strategist

Houston Chronicle; Houston (TX); On-site; USD 70,000 - 95,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

Medical, Dental, Vision

Retirement plan with match

Generous paid time off

Parental leave

Child & dependent care support

Mental wellbeing benefits

Inclusive health services

Fertility coverage

Pet wellness reimbursement

Job summary

Houston Chronicle is seeking a Paid Media Strategist to plan, execute, and optimize digital advertising campaigns across social, search, and video platforms. The role emphasizes analytics, tracking, attribution, and reporting to drive performance.

You will work with GA4, GTM, Looker Studio, Agency Analytics, and other tools to deliver actionable insights. The ideal candidate has 3+ years in paid media, hands-on experience with major platforms, and strong communication skills to partner with

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience managing paid media campaigns across social and digital platforms.
• Experience with Meta Ads Manager, Google Ads, YouTube Ads, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager.

Responsibilities

• Plan, build, execute, and optimize paid media campaigns across Meta, YouTube, TikTok, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

Skills

Paid media campaigns

Data analysis

Stakeholder communication

Cross-functional collaboration

Campaign optimization

Education

Bachelor's degree in Marketing/Analytics/Business

Tools

GA4

Google Tag Manager

Looker Studio

Agency Analytics

Meta Pixel

Conversion API

Job description

Paid Media Strategist

The Paid Media Strategist is responsible for planning, executing, optimizing, and measuring digital advertising campaigns across social, search, and video platforms, including Meta, YouTube, TikTok, and LinkedIn. This role combines paid media strategy with technical expertise in analytics, tracking, attribution, and reporting to ensure campaigns are accurately measured and continuously optimized for performance. The ideal candidate is both data-driven and client-focused, with experience leveraging tools such as GA4, Google Tag Manager, Looker Studio, Agency Analytics, CRM Automations/Connections, Zapier, Meta Pixel, and Conversion API to deliver actionable insights and business results.

Core Responsibilities

• Plan, build, execute, and optimize paid media campaigns across Meta, YouTube, Tiktok, LinkedIn, and other digital advertising platforms.
• Develop and manage direct response and brand campaigns designed to drive customer acquisition, engagement, lead generation, and retention.
• Execute A/B testing strategies to improve campaign performance through optimization of creative, audience targeting, bidding strategies, placements, and conversion objectives.
• Create paid acquisition plans and provide regular reporting on campaign performance, pacing, risks, and optimization opportunities.
• Implement and maintain campaign tracking infrastructure, including Meta Pixel, Conversion API (CAPI), Google Ads Conversion Tracking, and related attribution solutions.
• Configure, deploy, and troubleshoot tags using Google Tag Manager to ensure accurate tracking, measurement, and attribution across campaigns.
• Set up and manage Google Analytics 4 (GA4) and other analytics platforms to track campaign performance, analyze user behavior, evaluate attribution models, and identify conversion paths that inform optimization strategies.
• Build, maintain, and troubleshoot reporting dashboards within Looker Studio, PowerBI, and Agency Analytics, ensuring data accuracy and delivering actionable performance insights.
• Partner with clients, sales teams, and internal stakeholders on campaign strategy, reporting, optimization recommendations, and performance reviews.
• Assist with ad operations functions including campaign setup, trafficking, QA, tracking validation, platform integrations, and troubleshooting across advertising platforms.

Qualifications

• 3+ years of experience managing paid media campaigns across social and digital advertising platforms.
• Hands-on experience with Meta Ads Manager, Google Ads, YouTube Ads, TikTok Ads, LinkedIn Campaign Manager, and other paid media platforms.
• Experience implementing and troubleshooting Meta Pixel, Conversion API (CAPI), Google Ads Conversion Tracking, and related attribution technologies.
• Proficiency with Google Analytics 4 (GA4), Google Tag Manager, Looker Studio, and Agency Analytics.
• Understanding of ad operations processes including campaign setup, trafficking, QA, tagging, and measurement validation.
• Experience building reports and dashboards that translate performance data into actionable business insights.
• Strong analytical skills with the ability to interpret performance metrics across multiple reporting systems and platforms.
• Experience with audience development, conversion optimization, attribution modeling, and performance measurement.
• Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Analytics, Business, Communications, Advertising, Data Analytics, or a related field preferred.
• Strong oral and written communication skills with the ability to present data and recommendations to clients and stakeholders.
• Ability to manage multiple campaigns, priorities, and stakeholders in a fast-paced environment.

Our Benefits

At Hearst we not only support our employees through personal and professional development, but we also believe in promoting each individual’s physical, financial and emotional wellbeing (and that of their family). Our industry-leading benefits include:

• Physical Wellbeing: Medical, Dental, and Vision coverage to keep you and your family healthy.
• Invest for the Future: Competitive retirement plan with matching program in most markets.
• Generous Paid Time Off: Recharge with ample time off, including holidays and vacation.
• Paid Parental Leave: Support for growing families, with paid leave for new parents.
• Monthly Child & Dependent Care Reimbursement: Financial support for the care of your loved ones.
• Emotional Wellbeing: Be your best self with our mental wellness benefits.
• LGBTQ+ & Inclusive Health Services: Inclusive healthcare designed for every individual’s unique needs.
• Fertility Coverage & Menopause Support: Helping you along every step of your family journey.
• Pet Wellness Reimbursement & Rover Credits: We care about your pets, too – helping you keep them happy and healthy.