A company needs a qualified and experienced content marketing team for any content marketing strategy to succeed. The team needs to update itself constantly given the fact that social media is dynamic and keeps tweaking itself constantly. The tweaks, at times can be minor, but can stump even the most experienced members of the team.
Let’s look at the roles that different members of the content marketing team perform:
#1. Content strategists
The content strategists design the strategy, and can be called the team’s brain. Their job starts with researching and analysing customer behaviour. The research covers both existing and potential customers and also includes customers of rival companies.
The next decision of content strategists is critical. They decide the content that needs to be created for different stages of the marketing funnel – from the awareness to the decision-making stage.
The content types are shared with the content creation team. The key here is that every piece of content must align with the overall content marketing strategy.
The final responsibility is performance analysis. The content strategists are required to analyse all data from the time a piece of content is published to the final act of the customer. This analysis is very rigorous. It maps the customer’s journey, especially if the customer leaves midway. Even one customer lost is a matter of concern; if the numbers are high then the entire content strategy needs review.
#2. SEO strategists
The task of search engine optimisation strategists, popularly known as SEO strategists, is clear cut. They must ensure that all content produced by the company’s content creators ranks high in search engine rankings and delivers handsome organic traffic.
They conduct competitive keyword research to identify relevant searches being made by existing and potential customers. These keywords then become the company’s gateway to the customer’s mind. They also become the foundation of all content creation.
Content briefs are created and content creators then proceed to produce content that matches the intent of searchers.
The SEO strategists are also responsible for all on-page and off-page practices to improve search engine indexing and ranking.
#3. Content creators
The content marketing team of a company needs to create content in three formats: text, graphics and video. This is why a content creation team of a company is a mix of the following:
1.Writers: The bulk of the content is created in text format. This can be both long and short-form content created as blog posts or well-researched web articles. The content has to be optimised for search engine indexing, and the content writers carefully follow guidelines laid down by SEO strategists.
The focus of the content can be to educate, persuade or engage with customers. Besides articles, it can be crafted as e-books, case studies and white papers. These advanced formats are very effective in the consideration or decision-making state of the marketing funnel.
Needless to say, the content has to be well-written, engaging and free of factual or grammatical errors.
2. Graphic designers: Graphic designers are a must for any content marketing team. They are very creative and some of the visual content created by them such as infographics, charts, picture messages etc go a long way in building brand recall. They reinforce the company’s brand identity and can be shared on social media platforms increasing the reach and visibility of the company.
3.Video editors: The most consumed content today on social media platforms and mobile phones is videos. That is why companies invest heavily in videos editors who can create videos that can showcase product strength, branding and sales messages.
Footage shot using scripts developed under the guidance of content strategists and senior editors is fashioned by video editors into compelling video stories that are informative, engaging and promotional.
# 4. Editors
Editors are the gatekeepers of the content marketing team. They scrutinise every piece of content before publishing to ensure that it is error free, is of high quality, meets brand guidelines, is search engine optimised and fulfils all content marketing strategy goals.
A key requirement of their job is to prepare an editorial calendar, maintain timelines and schedules.
#5. Social media manager
Social media managers are clued into social media platforms and form a key component of the content marketing team. They carefully track what is trending, on social media platforms and guide content creators to make timely and compelling graphics and videos.
They then monitor the performance of this content, the goal being to increase visibility of the company and generate referral traffic for the consideration and the decision-making stage of the marketing funnel.
Another important function of social media managers is to engage with audience and grow the brand’s social media community.
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