Content is king. For a brand to nurture and grow a customer base it needs to churn out content as a part of an effective marketing and communications plan. So brands are scurrying to learn SEO and content strategy, along with how to do content analysis. This is where a content strategist comes in. A content strategist is a professional who creates a strategy that aligns a brand’s goals and objectives with its target market’s wants and needs. This includes multiple tasks related to marketing, and the overall editorial process, including content creation, management, and audits.
Responsibilities Of A Content Strategist
A content strategist is responsible to create, oversee, and deliver all the content required for a project. They use data and research to understand the psychology of the project’s target market to shape the brand’s message and create content pieces tailored to its audience.
The responsibilities of a content strategist vary across organizations, but generally, they include:
- Defining key brand messages
- Establishing a content workflow (including creating a content calendar), and ensuring its effective functioning
- Improving content delivery and promotion
- Developing a set of standardized content guidelines
- Managing content projects
- Conducting research and testing for data-driven content creation
- Performing content audits and keeping content inventory up-to-date; editing existing content, if necessary
- Optimizing content in line with search engine optimization (SEO) best practices
- Publishing content to Content Management Systems and social media channels
- Using tools to monitor content analytics
What Skills Should A Content Strategist Have?
The role of a content strategist stretches across multiple domains, so it requires an extensive skill set. Though there are no specific requirements to get into the field, it helps to have an editorial background, a deep love for content creation (in all formats and channels), and an analytical mindset.
Here are some key skills that content strategists should possess:
Communication
The primary goal of a content strategist is to open channels of communication between a brand and its target market. It’s essential, then, to have compelling communication skills to better connect the two through relevant content.
Copywriting
You can’t execute a good content strategy without good content—and you can’t have good content if you don’t know how to write it. Though content strategists don’t typically write on a day-to-day basis, they must be ready to step in to create or edit content when needed.
Project Management
There are a lot of components in a content strategy, and a content strategist must have great project management skills to ensure that the workflow functions like a well-oiled machine.
Data Analysis
After publishing content, a content strategist must analyze the performance of each piece to check it’s efficacy and to devise the next steps to either improve previous campaigns or create successful ones. This can only be done if you know how to read analytics and decipher charts, graphs, and numbers in order to translate them into data-driven content later on.
An Understanding Of Basic IT Skills
Most of the tasks of a content strategist are online, so it’s necessary to have at least a basic understanding of information technology, especially as it relates to SEO, social media, along with project and content management systems.
What Makes A Good Content Strategist?
In addition to being a skilled professional there are a few soft skills that are required to fit the role of a content strategist. These help in achieving objectives more efficiently to create better marketing and communication plans.
A good content strategist should have empathy to better understand the needs and wants of both the brand and its audience for more relevant content creation. They should be curious and flexible to keep up with the ever-changing trends, and be creative enough to adapt content accordingly. A keen attention to detail and the ability to multitask is also required to oversee multiple aspects of a campaign at a time.
How To Become A Content Strategist
There aren’t specific degrees related to content strategy. But there are several courses, both paid and free options, to learn more about the field and how to successfully navigate through it. Becoming a content strategist takes some work, but with the right mindset and training, you’ll be on your way to a lucrative career.
