As the marketplace becomes more cluttered and competition gets tighter, it’s becoming more evident that B2B marketers need to change the focus of their strategies to attract and build trust with new and potential clients.

Content-driven strategy is fast becoming the new marketing buzz phrase and many organizations’ marketing departments are already implementing content strategies into their marketing plans.

"A content strategy manager, or content strategist, oversees the planning, development and management of informational content produced by an organization. They take into account what the content is, what it can be, and how to curate content so it communicates the key values of the organization." - Nick Louca, Associate Director, Robert Walters (New York).

What is a content-driven strategy?

A content-driven strategy is about telling your brand story in a compelling way that offers value to your potential clients, builds their trust in your brand and moves them into action to interact with the brand. Content-strategy is about being understated; not screaming about your brand, but instead providing information that offers value and illustrates that your brand is what it says it is.

Why is there a shift in focus to a content-driven strategy?

Your clients and potential clients are now driving the conversation. Through the use of search engines they are able to be targeted on the kind of information they are looking for, and they will filter out all of the irrelevant content. This means that simply ‘selling’ to your target audience will no longer be as successful because your audience will be exploring the market more thoroughly.

Advantages of a content-driven strategy for your company:

• Increased search engine result rankings
• More visitors driven to your website or blogs
• Increased mentions, tweets and likes
• Increased client acquisition
• Increased brand awareness
• Builds trust and brand loyalty

What channels drive content strategy?

• Website - articles, press releases
• Social media
• Industry blogs
• Client case studies
• eNewsletters
• Videos
• Whitepapers
• Industry updates
• Events

What skills are needed to be a content strategist?

A content strategist is a dynamic and important role. He or she has a responsibility to represent the voice and image of a brand and drive communication with every word and image.

Highly developed communication skills are a must for a content strategist, with the ability to develop a clear strategy for inspiring and engaging the audience. A content strategist must devise and implement improvements to best practices, tools, and processes as well as make decisions based on credible metrics and well-reasoned analysis. A strong understanding of the users/consumers, and the ability to anticipate needs by understanding behavior is crucial.

A content strategy manager is usually required to have a bachelor or masters degree in a communications or media discipline, or extensive online editing and/or content strategy experience.

As content-driven strategies become more and more important, the need for a new breed of marketer - the content strategist - has arisen. Generalist marketers will still need to have an understanding of emerging technologies and how to use them to deliver the brand’s story to the market, as it will also be part of their job description to help roll out these strategies.