Five Facts You Never Knew About Content Strategists

Content strategists are the marketers of content marketing. They used to be called “copywriters” but now in most organizations, they’re part of a larger marketing team that helps drive both content and sales. You’re probably already well aware of the basics, like how content marketing can help you find new customers or increase your visibility on search engines , content marketing services are a hot topic these days. Every day, companies are looking for new and creative ways to get their message across to customers.

But there are other important lessons you should know too, like how these experts use analytics to determine which pieces of content work best for an audience and what tactics can help with SEO.”

Over the past decade, professionals have been redefining what the term “content strategist” means. These professionals are helping organizations gain a better understanding of their customers and the best ways to reach them.

 “We’re putting ourselves in our customers’ shoes and trying to figure out what they should hear, when they should hear it, and how to get your offering in front of them,” says Marty Weintraub, founder of SEO copywriting service provider AimClear.

Here are five facts you may not know about content strategists :

1.They determine the value of content

Content strategists are the ones who determine what posts are valuable, which pieces of content might have high visibility, and how long it takes for a post to generate new leads. They create reports based on these results. 

“We’re looking at whether or not there’s a correlation between a landing page and the quality of the copy that’s produced,” Weintraub says. “Ultimately, we want to make sure that when we write an article around a topic or keyword, is it going to produce leads? Is it going to be high quality?”

2. They can help with SEO

Content strategists are good at working with search engines. “We’re looking into what’s already been done in that particular industry and making sure we’re not duplicating it,” Weintraub says. “For example, if we’re going to be covering a major software release, we want to make sure there aren’t 10 posts about the same software release on different websites.” The last thing you want is for your organization’s piece of content to appear out of date or dated. That won’t generate any new leads for your company.

3. They help to identify a target audience

Content strategists are also some of the first people to look at who you’re targeting. Weintraub says, “We sit down with someone from marketing and sales, and we start developing personas for different kinds of audiences within your business. We’ll figure out whom we’re going after and then think about how that audience is going to consume content.”

4. They know how to match their messaging with their competitors’ voices

It’s not uncommon for content strategists to have what Weintraub calls a “SWOT analysis,” in which they try to identify the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats in their marketplace. They want to make sure that the messaging for your company and its products is consistent with what’s already out there and will resonate with current customers. 

They’ll also be looking up your competitors to see how they’re promoting their own content, research what their readers are searching for, and do a bit of intelligence gathering to ensure that you don’t step on any toes.

5. They know when to ask for permission

Content strategists are good at asking permission before sharing someone else’s content without permission. “We have to ask ourselves: Is this relevant? Is this something our target audience would like? If it’s in a newsletter or in an email, has our brand seen it?” Weintraub says.

How to hire content strategists

In order to hire a content strategist or vice versa, you need to first make sure that the person is qualified. If you’re looking for a chief information officer (CIO) who also happens to be a content strategist, for example, you’ll want to make sure she has relevant experience and training. “You have to think about the specific skills that someone has,” Weintraub says. 

“If they have some experience with search engine optimization and have done some sales calls on their own, those are the things we’d probably look at.” You might also want to consider asking your potential employee if they’ve read a book like “The Ultimate Sales Machine” by Brian Tracy. While there are many different kinds of people who can prepare and deliver content, those with proven sales experience will likely be able to effectively help organizations get more customers.

Learning from your existing team

You should also look at the creation of your current content when hiring someone new. Do some of your employees already have experience as content strategists? Do they have a good understanding of SEO? “We’ll look at what kind of language is being used,” Weintraub says.

 “Are they using the right kind of keywords to target the right audiences in the right way?” It’s important that content strategists are able to identify what customers want or need before they’re ready to buy or sign up for something.