As content continues its rise to the top of the marketing food chain, its value is no longer in question. How to assemble a winning content marketing team, however, still requires some fine-tuning. Sure, anyone can write a blog post, cull facts for an ebook or have a knack for social media; but not everyone can do it well and certainly no one can do it well alone.
About 55 percent of B2B small businesses don’t believe they’re effective at content marketing. Manpower is a crucial ingredient for effective content marketing, so it’s important to have the right team in place. Too often businesses falsely assume they can ask someone from accounting or other unrelated department to write, edit and market pieces through social media channels. But this mindset limits results (and increases typos).
Here’s who you’ll need for a winning content marketing team:
Project Manager
The project manager is the saving grace of any major project. He helps gather all of the information necessary to begin a project and helps prioritize tasks to ensure an overall project is completed on time.
Content Strategist
As the architect of the project, this person is responsible for conceptualizing all of the moving parts — and making sure they align with your strategy. If an infographic needs to be created or an article or ebook needs to be written, this is the person who determines the subject matter, based on research and trends.
SEO Specialist
If you’re hoping for organic traction, someone with SEO knowledge needs to be a mainstay on your team. The good news: With the right training, any intelligent person can grasp the key fundamentals to optimize your organization’s content and have it rank better in the SERPs. But if you want the best and have the financial resources, hire an SEO expert to audit your content.
Editor
All hail the project editor! The editor catches all of the little mistakes that would make your group look pretty careless and perhaps even — dare I say it — slightly illiterate. But don’t think editors are limited to just proofreading. She is also the person who hones the strategist’s directions for the writer, matches up voices — from brand to writer to publication, and eliminates any unnecessary or unclear text in articles so the reader gets the best possible piece of content.
Important Note: Your editor should not be your writer. If you want quality, you simply cannot do without that extra pair of eyes on the work. Though if you believe you have a mythical purple squirrel, give her a raise and buy a lottery ticket… but still double check everything.
Writer
This wordsmith is responsible for executing the written content, armed with the instructions from the strategist. Not everyone is a writer. This person should be able to write tight, clear copy and have a working knowledge of grammar and syntax.
Writers are typically not responsible for:
Creating your content calendar
Researching SEO or keywords
Editing their own work. (Though good writers will often provide you with a near error-free final draft)
Designer
If your blog is more than just stock-photo content, you should consider hiring a real designer on your team. It’ll help boost originality and quality. If you think the rest of us haven’t realized the stock photo of all those smiling ethnically diverse faces aren’t real people who work in your office, you are sadly mistaken.
Social Media Specialist
Once you’ve placed all of your content online your social media specialist should step in. What good is it for your brand to create branded marketing content without an audience to consume it?
This gatekeeper of your online audience is responsible for:
Identifying which social media channels to target
Creating the social media calendar based off of the editorial calendar
Setting up social media paid ads when appropriate
Ensuring a proper mix of scheduled posts and real-time online engagement
Teamwork Makes It Possible
Good content doesn’t come easy. It requires a plan and a team to pull it off. With both, you can create content that makes your brand look good and converts website visitors into customers.
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