Social & Brand Engagement Program Manager

OpticsPlanet is seeing a full-time Social & Brand Engagement Program Manager to join our Marketing team. As a Social & Brand Engagement Program Manager, you will lead social media and digital community engagement marketing for a 2A-focused organization, emphasizing automation through the utilization of tools, including AI to boost engagement, improve Brand reputation, and expand Brand visibility. Oversee strategy, execution, and optimization in a regulated industry, ensuring compliance while innovating with AI for personalized interactions, lead nurturing, and follower growth.

This role goes beyond traditional social media management. The ideal candidate will design and operate AI-assisted engagement pipelines, automated content generation workflows, and data-driven social campaigns that turn audiences into customers. You will interface with our internal teams and network of partners to deploy campaigns.

You will balance creativity and strategy — crafting punchy, scroll-stopping content that elevates our voice in retail media, while establishing scalable processes, analytics, and advocacy programs. This position reports directly to leadership and has significant ownership over the growth of our social channels and community reputation.

This is a fully remote and full-time (benefits eligible) position with some potential on-site visits to our Chicagoland worksites.

Duties & Responsibilities:

• Design and implement social media strategies across platforms like Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube, X (Twitter), Reddit and other popular/emerging channels to enhance brand visibility, positive sentiment, and community engagement.
• Build brand authority and community presence across relevant platforms.
• Drive AI automation initiatives, including tools for content generation, chatbots, predictive analytics, and automated posting workflows to optimize engagement and followership.
• Analyze performance metrics to refine campaigns and achieve ROI targets.
• Ensure all activities comply with platform policies, firearm industry regulations/standards, and legal compliance, avoiding prohibited content while maximizing reach.
• Use AI to analyze content against shifting social guidelines before publishing, ensuring maximum reach without triggering "restricted" flags.
• Collaborate with Marketing, Buyers, Suppliers, Partnership, and Compliance teams to align social efforts with business goals, such as lead generation and e-commerce integration.
• Manage content creation, including short-form videos, influencer partnerships, and user-generated campaigns tailored to firearm enthusiasts.
• Identify AI opportunities to automate repetitive tasks like scheduling, personalization, and data-driven targeting for efficient scaling.
• Stay ahead of trends in AI, social media, social algorithms, and firearm sector dynamics.
• Monitor feedback and sentiment on our social & community channels and flag any controversial issues.
• Engage via community channels (like Reddit and Facebook groups) to increase presence and manage reputation.
• Maintain a calendar for social, telling seasonal and impactful stories throughout the year that are aligned to brand vision, goals, and campaigns.