What Is a Content Strategist? What Do They Do?
Businesses often struggle to create content that brings in traffic, engages their audience, and turns visitors into customers. This is where a content strategist can work their magic. But what is a content strategist? What do they do, and is it a good career for you to consider after you’ve been a content writer for a while?
Do you ever feel like you’re constantly creating content but not seeing any results? You’re not alone.
Many people struggle with creating content that engages their audience and generates leads. If this sounds like you, it might be time to bring on a content strategist.
However, what is a content strategist, and what do they do?
In this article, I’ll answer all of your questions and help you understand why hiring a content strategist might be the next step for your blog. As well, I’ll offer tips if you’re interested in becoming a freelance content strategist for other businesses.
What Is a Content Strategist?
A content strategist is someone who creates and manages content across all channels. It includes everything from website copy to blog posts to social media posts and beyond. A content strategist’s goal is to create a cohesive content strategy that aligns with the business’s overall goals.
Definition of Content Strategy
A content strategy is an overarching plan that guides the creation, distribution, and measurement of content.
The purpose of a content strategy is to help businesses achieve their marketing goals. These goals may include anything from generating leads to increasing brand awareness.
A good content strategy takes into account the needs of both the business and the audience. It’s important to remember that a content strategy is not a one-time project. It’s an ongoing process. A content strategist should revisit and tweak the strategy over time.
Is Content Strategy Important?
Yes, small businesses, bloggers, freelancers, and affiliate marketers should employ a quality content strategy. A content strategy is vital because it ensures that your content remains aligned with your business goals. Without a strategy, it’s easy to create content that doesn’t serve a purpose or achieve desired results.
A content strategy can also help you save time and money. By planning out your content in advance, you can avoid the costly mistakes that come with trial and error.
A Day in the Life of a Content Strategist
Content strategists usually work closely with other members of the marketing team, such as graphic designers and web developers.
The day-to-day duties of a content strategist can vary depending on the needs of the business. However, there are some common tasks that most content strategists perform daily, such as the following.
- Researching topics
- Creating editorial calendars
- Writing and editing content
- Publishing content
- Measuring analytics
Researching Topics
A content strategist must identify relevant topics that will engage the target audience. It requires a deep understanding of the audience’s needs and what type of content they’re looking for.
Creating Editorial Calendars
An editorial calendar is a tool that content strategists use to plan and organize their content. It helps to meet all deadlines and publish content regularly.
Writing and Editing Content
After researching the topics and creating the editorial calendar, it’s time to start writing. A content strategist typically writes or edits most of the content themselves. However, they may also work with freelance writers or other members of the marketing team.
Publishing Content
After writing content, it’s time to publish it. A content strategist will typically use a content management system (CMS) to upload the content to the website or blog.
A CMS is software that helps users manage digital content (HubSpot and WordPress are popular examples) . Sometimes, the content strategist may be responsible for creating social media posts and email newsletters.
Measuring Analytics
A content strategist needs to measure the analytics of their content to see if it’s performing well. They use data from Google Analytics and other tools to track things like page views, time on site, and bounce rate. The information helps them understand what type of content is resonating with the audience and what needs to improve.
A content strategist will also work closely with social media strategists. There’s a close tie between content that appears on social media and website content. The social media strategist and content strategist need to maintain constant communication to ensure each strategy type remains aligned with the other.
For example, if the content strategist creates a blog post, they need to share it with the social media strategist. The social media strategist will then create social media posts around the blog post to drive traffic back to the website.
Content Strategy for SEO
One of the most important aspects of a content strategist’s job is to create search engine optimized content. A good SEO strategy can help your website rank higher in search engine results pages (SERPs), which can lead to more traffic and conversions.
Employing a content strategy for SEO means creating content that uses SEO best practices. Here are SEO tactics that a content strategist should know how to do.
Identify relevant keywords and phrases: It’s impossible to create quality content without uncovering the best keywords your target audience uses to find your solutions.
Include keywords and phrases in your content: Once a content strategist finds the best keywords and phrases to target, they need to use them throughout the content. This includes using them in the title, body, meta tags, and images.
Create title tags and meta descriptions: The title tag is the most important element of on-page SEO. It tells search engines what your page is about and appears in the SERP as the clickable link. The meta description is the short text that appears under the title tag in the SERP. It should give a brief summary of what the page is about.
Use header tags (H tags) to structure content: H tags help to structure content and make it easy to read. They typically range from H1 tags to H4 tags with different levels of importance.
Optimize images with keywords and alt text: Images are a key aspect of any piece of content. A content strategist will optimize them with keywords and descriptive alt text to help search engines understand what they’re about.
Create XML sitemaps: A sitemap is a file that contains a list of all the pages on your website. Creating an XML sitemap can help search engines index your website more effectively.
Submit a website to search engines: The final step in SEO is to submit your website to the major search engines (Google and Bing). It ensures that they know your site exists and will start crawling it for information.
Content Strategy for Customer Success and Support
A content strategist in customer success and support creates content that helps customers use a product or service successfully. The process may include creating user manuals, how-to guides, FAQs, and troubleshooting articles.
The goal is to help customers get the most out of a product or service so they remain satisfied and continue using it.
Content Strategy for Sales Enablement
A content strategist in sales enablement creates content that helps salespeople sell a product or service. Work in this area can include creating pitch decks, case studies, blog posts, and white papers. Sales enablement content helps salespeople close more deals and reach their quotas.
Tips for Becoming a Content Strategist
If you’re interested in becoming a content strategist, here are some tips to get you started.
Learn About the Different Types of Content
A good content strategist needs to know about the different types of content and what purpose they serve. It includes blog posts, social media posts, ebooks, infographics, and more.
Understand SEO and How to Write for the Web
SEO is a vital skill for content strategists. They need to know how to write for the web in a way that will help their content rank highly on search engine results pages.
Learning how to use SEO tools like Semrush can also be a huge step forward in your content strategy career.
Get Experience Creating Various Types of Content
The best way to learn about content strategy is by doing it. Get experience creating all different types of content, from blog posts to social media campaigns. It will give you a well-rounded understanding of the field.
What Skills Do You Need To Become a Content Strategist?
To become a content strategist, you’ll need strong writing and editing skills. You should be able to research and understand complex topics. Additionally, it’s helpful to have experience with SEO and social media.
What Is a Content Strategist’s Salary?
Content strategist salaries can vary depending on experience and location. According to Payscale.com, the average content strategist’s base salary is just over $63,000 per year. However, the top 10% earn over $100,000 per year.
Is Content Strategist a Good Career?
A content strategist is a good career for those interested in writing, editing, and research. It’s a fast-growing field with plenty of opportunities for advancement. Plus, it offers a good salary and job security. If you’re interested in becoming a content strategist, use the above tips to get started.
Conclusion – Is Being A Content Strategist Right For You?
Content strategists play a vital role in the success of a business. They help businesses achieve their marketing goals by creating and distributing content that’s both relevant and engaging.
If you’re interested in becoming a content strategist, take stock of your current skills. If you notice gaps in the required skills, research how to improve in those areas. Lastly, don’t forget to create a strong content strategy for your own blog or website.
