The role of a content strategist

What does a content strategist do?

A content strategist is a vital role in any organization that wants to communicate effectively with its audience and achieve its goals. A content strategy manager, or content strategist, oversees the planning, development and management of informational content produced by an organization. They consider what the content is, what it can be, and how to curate content so it communicates the key values of the organization.

A content strategist is responsible for creating and executing a brand content strategy that aligns with the organization’s vision, mission, and objectives. A brand content strategy is a plan that defines how content will be used to support the brand identity, voice, and tone, as well as the specific goals and outcomes of each content initiative.

A content strategist also ensures that the content is consistent, relevant, and engaging across all channels and platforms, such as the website, social media, industry blogs, client case studies, eNewsletters, videos, whitepapers, industry updates and events. A content strategist works closely with other teams, such as marketing, sales, design, and development, to ensure that the content meets the needs and expectations of the target audience and the stakeholders.

Why is content-driven strategy important?

In today’s competitive and cluttered marketplace, content-driven strategy is essential for any organization that wants to stand out and build trust with its potential and existing clients. 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-driven 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.

Content-driven strategy is also important for improving your search engine optimization (SEO), which is the process of increasing the quantity and quality of traffic to your website or blogs through organic search engine results. By using the key words and phrases that your audience is searching for, you can increase your chances of ranking higher on the search engine result pages (SERPs) and attracting more visitors to your content.

What are the benefits of content-driven strategy for your company?

Content-driven strategy can bring many benefits to your company, such as:

• Increased search engine result rankings: By using the relevant and popular key words and phrases in your content, you can improve your SEO and rank higher on the SERPs, which can lead to more exposure and visibility for your brand and content.
• More visitors driven to your website or blogs: By creating and distributing valuable and engaging content that addresses the pain points and interests of your audience, you can attract more visitors to your website or blogs, where you can showcase your products or services and convert them into leads or customers.
• Increased mentions, tweets and likes: By creating and sharing content that resonates with your audience and encourages them to interact with your brand, you can increase your social media presence and reach, as well as generate more word-of-mouth and referrals for your brand and content.
• Increased client acquisition: By creating and delivering content that educates, informs, and persuades your audience, you can build trust and credibility with your potential clients and move them along the buyer’s journey, from awareness to consideration to decision, and ultimately to action and loyalty.
• Increased brand awareness: By creating and promoting content that showcases your brand identity, values, and personality, you can increase your brand recognition and recall among your audience and differentiate yourself from your competitors.
• Builds trust and brand loyalty: By creating and maintaining content that is consistent, relevant, and engaging, you can establish a long-term relationship with your audience and create loyalty and advocacy for your brand and content.

What skills are needed to be a content strategist?

A content strategist is a dynamic and important role that requires a variety of skills and competencies, such as:

• Highly developed communication skills: A content strategist must have excellent written and verbal communication skills, with the ability to develop a clear and compelling strategy for inspiring and engaging the audience. They must also have strong editing and proofreading skills, as well as the ability to adapt the content style, tone, and format to suit different channels and platforms.
• Analytical and strategic thinking skills: A content strategist must have the ability to analyze data and metrics, such as web analytics, user feedback and market research, to measure the performance and effectiveness of the content and make informed decisions and recommendations. They must also be able to think strategically and creatively, and plan and execute content initiatives.
• User-centric and empathetic skills: A content strategist must have a deep understanding of the users/consumers, and the ability to anticipate their needs, preferences, and behaviors by conducting user research, persona development and user journey mapping.
• Collaborative and leadership skills: A content strategist must have the ability to work effectively and efficiently with other teams, such as marketing, sales, design and development, and coordinate and manage the content production and distribution process. They can lead and motivate the content team and ensure that the content quality and standards are maintained and improved.

A content strategy manager is usually required to have a bachelor’s or master’s degree in a communications or media discipline, or extensive online editing and/or content strategy experience. A content strategy manager salary may vary depending on the industry, location, and experience level, but the average base salary for a content strategy manager in Canada is around $86,000 per year.

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 understand 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.

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