Earlier this month, I was featured in a profile highlighting the soaring demand for content strategists.
Not all companies need a content strategist—if your digital presence is minimal and content is not an effective strategy for establishing your expertise or for acquiring customers, you can get away with a site that’s little more than a virtual brochure, augmented with a social media presence.
But this describes fewer and fewer companies in today’s economy. It’s more likely that your content should not go on autopilot, lest you find yourself in the ejector seat.
Here are a few reasons why a content strategist can play an important role in your organization:
Too much content
Companies are creating more content than ever before and have become, in effect, publishers. Companies need to create content that enables the impatient customer or potential client to navigate through digital channels effectively. Remember that (almost) every interaction a potential client or customer has with your company is through content.
A content strategist can play the role of air traffic controller to ensure that the launch of all those pieces of content happens systematically, and that intentions and objectives of content creators don’t collide.
Too much complexity
As channels and devices proliferate, the process of creating and distributing content, and tracking the effectiveness of your efforts, has become more complex.
Content strategist know how content is created, managed, and distributed on platforms and channels, which is important—if you don’t know how easy it is to upload a YouTube video and then forget to make it public, you cannot account for this detail in your workflow processes
A content strategist can make the many minute decisions necessary to pilot projects all the way to successful completion—without losing sight of the overall strategy.
Too many people
Just about everybody in the company is involved in creating content these days, including the CEO who contributes expertise to the blog. Creating and managing great content is just as much about helping people get to their right seat (at the table), as it is about the craft of writing.
A content strategist can make everyone feel welcome as they embark on their content adventure, an attentive attendant who makes your flights of fancy more comfortable (or, at the very least, less painful).
Too much at stake
Companies are creating content not just because it’s fun, but also because they want to accomplish business goals. Your content needs to stay on brand and on message and get potential clients and customers to move closer to conversion.
A content strategist can make executive decisions that help both client and company reach their destination.
Now that you have landed safely…
Learn more about the position of content strategist.
Read the book that popularized the term.
Sign up for a Certificate in Storytelling & Content Strategy program through University of Washington Professional & Continuing Education.
