When companies crave long-term sustainable growth, they need to consider content marketing.
Content differentiation is knowing how, when and where to post, how to organize information online with the purpose of reaching a specific audience, understanding SEO, driving customers to profitable actions, and much more.
And it takes a combination of marketing savvy, artistry, creativity, and content talent to pull it all together.
How do you build an exceptional content marketing team – one designed and equipped to meet your organization’s content marketing goals and needs?
Put these eleven tips to work for you as you build yours.
1. Determine your marketing goals
Knowing your “why” or vision is the most important step in your marketing strategy because this is how your company will promote itself to the public.
It’s also important to set goals for your content marketing program, which will help align the team, understand purpose, and measure progress and success.
This is also an important first step as it is the backbone of building the best team to implement the strategy and objective. It will be very difficult to get top talent to buy your vision if you are not completely sure what you are.
2. Start at the top
In large organizations, two important leadership roles are the content manager (or also known as the content marketing manager) and the content marketing manager.
- Chief Content Officer (CCO) He is the person who oversees every aspect of the content program to ensure that the company’s content marketing strategy is in place and meets its business goals. This role is the backbone of the team, as decisions and staffing will flow from here.
- Content Marketing Manager Will report to the Content Manager. This person focuses on developing a roadmap for the team once the vision and/or strategy has been defined.
In smaller companies, these roles can be combined into a single job.
The Chief Content Officer and Director of Content Marketing will then define the job roles and formal structure of what the team should look like.
This will assist with the recruitment and hiring process for these specific roles, not to mention keeping the team organized and on track.
3. Documentation of operations
For a content marketing team (or any team for that matter) to be successful, companies must document work processes and “standard operating procedures,” or standard operating procedures.
Without solid documentation, attempts to scale your content marketing team will result in chaos and uncertainty of ownership and responsibility.
Standard Operating Procedures provide your team with a set of transition guidelines to guide their efforts so you can easily replicate the successes and scale your content marketing campaigns.
4. Know your style
Decide on the tone of voice, writing style, and messaging preferences that will be conveyed in your content.
Get a style guide and document your tone of voice and communication style so that everyone on the content marketing team represents the brand with the same integrity, values, and tone.
This is an important part of ensuring that every potential customer has a similar experience with your brand.
It will also help you determine if the content team candidates are a good fit, as you compare their portfolio and writing style against yours.
Learn more about how to create a style guide (with examples).
5. The editor is everything
The content editor is responsible for developing and implementing processes that ensure quality content and keep the brand out of copyright issues.
They edit the content so that it is clear, concise, attractive, and as close to error as possible.
Editors also provide direction to writers to ensure that each piece of content meets its objectives.
Look for an editor who is organized, accurate, accurate and proactive.
6. Keep innovating with a Content Strategist
In smaller organizations, content strategy and ongoing planning may be handled by a content marketing manager or director.
This content specialist has her finger on the pulse of the competitive landscape in your industry.
They are constantly thinking and testing new content types and formats.
A content strategist brainstorms, reflects, and challenges the status quo. They are always on the lookout for gaps in your customer journey and innovative content to fill them.
When major companies are looking to hire a content strategist, they should look for someone who knows how to create exceptional content, has a great picture of the industry, and understands the vision for the company’s future.
7. Prioritize brand design
Hiring a designer for your content marketing team is crucial.
Research has found it 65% Most of the general population are visual learners, which means they need to see information in order to retain it.
Moreover, studies have shown that the brain can process images and videos 60,000 times faster than text, so it is important to have a designer on hand to create high-quality images to augment your written content.
The best content tells a story that triggers an emotional reaction or entice your visitor to take action. Design is a key element in creating those experiences.
8. Hire experienced writers who care
The best writers are also talented researchers, so you don’t necessarily need to find a writer with a lengthy portfolio on your specific topic.
But it is important to find writers who are passionate about the subject in order to create original and exceptional content.
to me Matthew proChief Marketing Officer at EduMe,
“Internal content resources are critical. The writing is very revealing – you can read someone’s level of interest in what they’re writing about. That’s why you need people who are all involved in your mission to be true guardians of the brand, to really embody (or craft) your tone.”
Whether you’re building an in-house team or hiring through an agency, look for writers who believe in the company’s mission and content strategy.
9. Diversify your team
Everyone on your content team will have their strengths and weaknesses.
For example, some writers are adept at producing informative and educational pieces, but may lack humor and be unable to produce irony, and vice versa.
Your customer base is diverse and your content team should be too.
Have members of the content team take inventory of their interests, strengths, and weaknesses. Use these insights to inform future job postings and talent searches with complementary skills and attributes.
10. Define career paths for ambitious and motivated team members
Make sure there are pathways for progression in your team. Perhaps the individual begins as a writer. How can they become editors, and then directors of content marketing?
What skills will they need to develop, and how will you ensure they have the time and resources to do so?
Ensure that your team is constantly growing as individuals and know that they are valuable enough for promotions and internal opportunities.
Promoting internally tends to be less expensive than recruiting externally, and creates organizational loyalty and a higher employee retention rate as well.
11. Training and face-to-face communication are important
New employees need real-time communication and training, whether through video conferencing or in person.
People will get to know people better when you can hear their voices and see their facial expressions versus communicating through chat or phone.
Asynchronous training videos can help team members in different time zones get up to speed, but it’s important to make time for regular one-on-one interviews between managers and their direct reports.
Regular team meetings can help keep everyone connected and moving in the same direction, too.
Building a content marketing team can be daunting, but the rewards are worth it.
When you have a cohesive, energetic team that’s constantly moving in the same direction and showing off their best work in your company’s name, you’ll realize your content goals — and then some.
More resources:
- Hiring a content marketing agency? Ask these 11 questions first
- Top 20 content marketing tools you can try
- Ecommerce Marketing: The Ultimate Guide
Featured image: Pits vec / Shutterstock
