Upworthy
Upworthy was one of the first publishers to treat social measurement as a creative input, not a report card — and at the time, its posts had the 4th highest engagement on Facebook of any news publisher (NewsWhip). I ran video there: first as Supervising Producer of original video, then as Director of Video, responsible for audience development, production, development, syndication and distribution across Upworthy/GOOD.
- Role
- Director of Video
- Discipline
- Social Video
- Location
- New York
- Duration
- 2016–2017
Make values-forward, feel-good video that earned its attention on a feed built to reward outrage — at a cadence of 10–15 originals a week, each expected to clear a million views. Then turn that same machine into a branded-content business: profitable, results-driven, and attractive to the biggest brand partners.
How we got there.
- 01
Treated the first three seconds as a full creative discipline — optimizing every cut for the specific platform it would live on, and reading audience behaviour daily to shape the next brief.
- 02
Managed a team of creators producing 10–15 videos a week, each averaging 1m+ views, with views growth of 300% in Q3 and Q4 2016.
- 03
Re-focused the branded video strategy toward data-driven outcomes and in-house production — identifying revenue-driving distribution channels and building content and licensing partnerships around audience growth and platform optimization.
Led a unit spanning original production, syndication, and distribution: budgeting and licensing, cross-platform growth opportunities, and a tight loop between audience data and creative — integrating journalism and craft for maximum video impact.
- 10–15
- Original videos produced per week, managed team
- 1m+
- Average views per video on Facebook
- +300%
- Views growth in Q3 + Q4 2016
- 4th
- Highest engagement per post on Facebook of any news publisher (NewsWhip)
- Director of Video / Supervising ProducerKatie Walmsley
- OrganizationUpworthy / GOOD
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