The Playbook for Landing Your Dream Sports Marketing Job; Lindsey Archer’s Story
Former Knoxville Smokies social media manager *Lindsey Archer* (now with the *Charleston RiverDogs*) joins us to talk about what it _really_ looks like to run social for a Minor League Baseball team, from pulling tarp and shooting content to planning campaigns and measuring impact.
Starting as an intern while studying marketing at the University of Tennessee, Lindsey worked her way up to Community Relations and Social Media Manager, and in this conversation she breaks down the career moves, skills, and mindset that helped her get there.
*In this episode, we cover:*
* How Lindsey went from UT marketing major to intern to full-time social media manager
* What a _game day_ actually looks like behind the scenes: content planning, media coordination, and in-park execution
* How the Smokies structure their *social content calendar* across Instagram, X/Twitter, Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and LinkedIn
* Using tools like *Loomly* to schedule posts, label content, and track what’s working
* Why TikTok is more about *brand awareness* than ticket sales – and how that changes the content strategy
* The frustrating reality that effort ≠ results on social… and how she stays focused when a 3-second video outperforms a polished campaign
* The marketing skills from UT that actually translated to the job (and what she _wishes_ she’d learned more about, like paid media and targeting)
* The most important *soft skills* for landing and thriving in a digital marketing role: teamwork, communication, and saying “yes”
* Lindsey’s advice for students and early career marketers who want to work in sports, entertainment, or social media
If you’re a marketing student, an aspiring social media manager, or just curious how sports teams build their digital presence, this episode gives a very real look at the job, beyond the highlight reels.
*Connect with Lindsey*
* LinkedIn: _Lindsey Archer_
* Knoxville Smokies (at time of recording): *@smokiesbaseball* on all major platforms
* Now with *Charleston RiverDogs:*@chasriverdogs on Instagram and X