One of the biggest social media jobs in the art world is now up for grabs

Fancy creating content for more than 11 million art-loving social media followers? The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York is hiring a new senior social media manager who will be responsible for exactly that.

According to the job description, the role involves “developing and overseeing the museum’s global social media strategy”, “publishing and moderating content on all of the museum’s official social media channels”, and “leading innovation and adoption of the latest best practices”. With a salary of $110,000-$120,000, the high profile job comes with high (for the museum world) remuneration.

The Met’s current senior social media manager Claire Lanier took up the role in 2019. During her tenure she saw the Met through the turbulent times of Covid-19 lockdowns, when more people were active on social media than ever before. Speaking to The Art Newspaper in 2020, she reported that the Met had gained more than 200,000 social media followers in just two months and that engagement on Instagram had increased by 95% in the first two weeks of lockdown alone.

Giving her tips to other social media managers in the industry, Lanier told The Art Newspaper: “Social media is hard work: it may seem like something you just throw together but to create a post requires research, writing and timing. There’s a very strong impulse to devote most of your time to that creator part but don’t forget to create social media friendships. I think that’s a really important key to building your presence.” Under Lanier’s management, from March 2020 to March 2024, social media followers on the Met’s Twitter, Instagram, Facebook and TikTok platforms have increased by almost 1.3 million, according to our annual Visitor Figures research. It is the second most followed museum in the world after the Museum of Modern Art in New York.

In the announcement of her departure from the Met on LinkedIn, Lanier said she was taking some time off from full-time work after recently relocating to Paris. “When you work in social media, it’s not impossible to be ‘totally off’…but almost. I am overjoyed and deeply grateful to be able to give myself the gift of presence,” she writes.

However, she also notes that “Working at the Met (during a pandemic no less!) was an absolute once-in-a-lifetime experience”—adding for prospective applications that: “working at The Met will change your life”.