In this article, I will provide 7 insights to help you think about what a content strategist is all about so you can better understand your client’s needs and use their services more effectively as a result of an effective consultation process.
Having a content strategist on board can be a tremendously positive experience for an organization because it helps take some of the load off of your internal team , content marketing service providers can also offer their clients expertise on how to best promote their products and services, leveraging the social media channels (eg. Twitter), since content strategists are well connected in the digital marketing space. I recommend that you take a look at this article to get a better understanding of what a content strategist is all about, as well as some of the ways they can assist your client in their marketing efforts.
Seven Simple (But Important) Things To Remember About Content Strategists :
1. Know What You Don’t Know
As a consultant, it is incredibly important to know what you don’t know. Some questions to ask yourself are:
What are the limitations of your knowledge? What types of questions will you need to ask the client during the discovery phase? Who does the client want involved in the project from other departments inside their organization?
Who will be responsible for managing, maintaining and updating their content over time? How will you plan to measure success after project completion? What happens if things go wrong or change direction during or after the project has been completed?
2. A Content Strategist Is Not A Copywriter
It is very important not to confuse a content strategist with that of a copywriter. A copywriter is someone who writes, while a content strategist is someone who plans, creates and maintains the strategy of content. They work together on a project but are two different professionals. This can be confusing to clients as they both do similar things using words, but they are NOT the same thing.
3. A Content Strategist Is Not A Director Of Marketing Or Communications
This point may seem very similar to the previous one, but it is important for the content strategist to understand this one as well. A director of marketing or communications is someone who is responsible for managing other marketing and communications professionals. This role AND the role of a content strategist are different.
The director of marketing/communications will likely be involved in defining the roles and responsibilities of their team during the discovery phase, but they are not responsible for creating and maintaining the actual course of action (content strategy) itself.
4. Understand What It Is You Need To Do, And How You Need To Do It
As I previously mentioned, there are many different types of content strategists who do many different types of work under one title; sometimes it can be very difficult to understand what you need to do as a content strategist and how you should go about doing it. If you are not clear on this point, your clients will not be able to either.
5. Understand That Content Is Important To Your Clients
Do your clients understand the importance of content? If not, this is a major opportunity for you to educate them as early as possible in the project. I have seen this time and time again with my clients in the past – they didn’t understand what content was, why it was important and how it would help their business grow. As a content strategist, it is important to educate them early on in order to get their buy-in and enthusiasm at project kick-off.
6. Understand That Content Is Both Important And Difficult To Do Well
In other words, know that it is not just important to do well; it is difficult to do well as well. This means there are many steps you can take as a content strategist in helping ensure this happens and that everyone involved in the project is on the same page as far as what they need to do and how they need to do it. Your clients will appreciate your expertise and experience if you can provide them with clarity at all levels of the project.
7. Understand Who Is Working On The Project, And Who Is Responsible For Planning And Execution
As a consultant, you need to understand who is involved in the project and who is responsible for planning and execution. A content strategist will help you determine this information because they are often the professionals who actually do the work.
Once all of your clients agree on who will be involved in the project or if it should be split up into multiple projects, the content strategist takes over and becomes responsible for planning and managing the entire course of action (content strategy).
