Part-Time Social Media Specialist

Society for Historical Archaeology
SHA.org
hq@sha.og
301-972-9684

Request for Proposal: Part-Time Social Media Specialist

Introduction

The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA), an educational not-for-profit organization, is in need of a Social Media Specialist. SHA is currently accepting proposals in response to this request for proposal (RFP).

The Society for Historical Archaeology (SHA) is the largest scholarly group concerned with the identification, excavation, interpretation, and conservation of sites and materials on land and underwater created during the period of the formation of the modern world (A.D. 1400-present). Geographically, the Society emphasizes the New World, but also includes European exploration and settlement in Africa, Asia, and Oceania. The Society for Historical Archaeology adopted six strategic goals in 2018, among which include providing leadership in the field through the promotion of best practices, advocacy, outreach, publications, and ethics; growing membership nationally and internationally; and encouraging inclusivity in both membership and subject areas.

SHA advocates for a global perspective in the study and protection of historical and underwater cultural resources by educating the public and policy makers, and providing a valued resource for knowledge exchange, professional development, and the maintenance of high ethical standards.

Current social media activities

To date, the Society for Historical Archaeology has utilized Facebook and Twitter as its primary social media outlets. The Society also has a YouTube channel that it uses to a lesser extent.

Social media activities are generally aligned with the strategic goals outlined above, providing membership and other followers with information about archaeological projects, proposed and new pertinent legislation, details about the annual conference (call for papers, registration reminders, etc.), membership renewal deadlines, and resources provided by other scholarly organizations.

The Society’s Facebook is updated approximately once per week and currently has 8,545 followers. The SHA Twitter has, historically, been most active during the Society’s annual conference and is updated irregularly during the rest of the year; the account currently has approximately 30,300 followers. The Society’s YouTube channel is used primarily as a place to save and share videos significant to SHA’s history; the channel has 13 subscribers.

Challenges

The SHA’s past social media responsibilities have generally fallen to volunteers. Much of this activity has centered around the annual conference in January. While these volunteers have always been dedicated, producing regular posts throughout the year often becomes challenging for volunteers with limited time. SHA’s Executive Director, Karen Hutchison, has also assisted with social media in the past but has other primary job duties to fulfill. As a result of the volunteer nature of previous social media activity, another challenge SHA has faced is the lack of a social media strategy and consistency in branding and marketing.

Project purpose and description

The purpose of this project is to expand the SHA’s social media presence on multiple platforms. This position will focus on how the Society is promoted to its members and the wider public through social media presence.

This project requires a part-time social media specialist, working as an independent contractor to the Society, who can initially develop, implement, and manage a new social media strategy for SHA. This specialist would then work closely with SHA’s Executive Director, the Executive Committee, and a new Social Media Oversight Committee in the production of campaigns and content. Additional duties and responsibilities include determining SHA’s social media key performance indicators (KPIs), assessing the success of campaigns, SEO, monitoring user engagement, and responding to social media comments/requests. SHA’s social media goals are to:

1. Build awareness of the Society for Historical Archaeology.
2. Utilize social media to help fulfill SHA’s strategic goals.
3. Increase social media followers and engagement with the Society for Historical Archaeology’s Facebook and Twitter accounts.
4. Explore potential new social media outlets, including Instagram.
5. Monitor social media activity around the Society for Historical Archaeology and archaeology in general so that the Society is aware of any quickly arising issues.
6. Respond to social media comments and inquiries in a timely manner.

Bidder qualifications

In order to be considered for the Society for Historical Archaeology’s Social Media Specialist position, all bidding individuals or agencies must:

• Have training in social media marketing and show any pertinent certifications
• Outline relevant work/project experience in social media marketing
• Be familiar with SEO and web traffic metrics
• Have experience in monitoring user engagement toward content optimization
• Keep abreast of the latest social media best practices and technologies

Proposal guidelines

In order to be considered for the management of SHA’s social media, all bidding individuals or agencies must:

1. Include a price proposal for work that considers:
   a) initial social media strategy development (15 hours total)
   b) monthly meeting with SHA Social Media Oversight Committee (1 hour per month)
   c) weekly content production (5 hours per week)
   d) timely response to social media comments and requests (2 hours per week)
2. Provide a list of all personnel who will be working on the project – including resumes for each individual
3. Provide two references from current or former clients
4. Provide samples of past work in a PDF portfolio or as individual PDF files

Timelines

Request for proposal timeline

Proposals in response to this RFP should be sent to hq@sha.org by September 30, 2020.

Evaluation of proposals will be conducted from October 1 until October 30, 2020. Bidders will be notified during this time if any information or discussions are needed.

The winning proposal will be chosen no later than November 6, 2020.

Notifications to bidders who were not selected will be completed by November 13, 2020.

Project timeline

Project initiation phase must be completed by November 30, 2020.

Initial social media strategy development must be completed by December 11, 2020. Initial social media strategy development will determine the timeline/schedule for ongoing work.

Proposal evaluation

The SHA will rate each application based on the following factors:

• Relevant training/work experience
• Positive references
• Samples of past work
• Cost vs. value: Bidding agencies will be evaluated on the cost of their proposals based on the outlined scope of work

For related questions or to submit a proposal, please e-mail SHA Executive Director Karen Hutchison at hq@sha.org.