Increasingly, both small businesses and B2B companies are using content marketing to help get the word out about their products and services.
But great content doesn’t come out of a vacuum. It’s created and distributed by a small group of individuals—the content marketing team—who determine the most effective types of content and the best ways to distribute that content to the widest possible audience.
So who’s needed to comprise this great content marketing team? Titles and number of employees may vary, but the roles and responsibilities are as follows:
Managing Editor
As with any venture, you need one person at the helm with the right experience and vision to jumpstart content marketing and keep it going. A managing editor must be a capable project manager, with experience in the editorial realm and a clear sense of the target audience. The managing editor is responsible for:
- Devising the right content marketing strategy, based on what your audience is looking for.
- Overseeing the resources needed to generate and distribute compelling content.
- A keen grasp of the right metrics to track content marketing efforts.
- Nothing gets done without a managing editor at the helm. He or she provides the leadership needed to maximize your content marketing ROI.
Content Creators
Content creators—also known as “writers”—are charged with the production of material that provides value to your audience and moves them closer to purchasing decision. Content creators must understand the problems your prospective customers face and be able to craft solutions that are both easy to read and easy to understand. The best content creators come out of a journalism or media background, but hiring an individual with previous experience creating content in your industry can also be a huge plus.
There are several options for recruiting the best talent for your content marketing team:
- Hire a savvy, full-time writer with a proven track record in content creation, including knowledge of online marketing and effective SEO tactics.
- Nurture members of your current workforce, such as subject-matter experts in different areas who are interested in creating content. Their fledgling efforts can be supervised by the team’s managing editor or they can enroll in a business writing course to hone their budding skills.
- Look to freelance contributors or a web design agency for help. Both these resources often come with a far wider range of experience and knowledge than you can find in-house. They’re also tuned into industry best practices and can produce the type of valuable content you want the first time around (thus saving time and resources).
Content Distributor
What’s the point of producing wonderful content and neglecting to distribute it properly? In some cases, content creators will be equally adept at distributing content across different platforms—but taking time to distribute and monitor this activity can stretch your team too thin.
Budget permitting, consider hiring a social media expert (or enlisting the services of an agency specializing in this area). This person’s job is ensure that great content is visible not only on your company’s website, but in social media accounts, direct marketing and sales campaigns, and anywhere else your target audience might look for information.
Industry Experts and Influencers
The final part of the puzzle is locating and enlisting the services of industry experts and influencers—the people your target audience already looks to for advice and guidance. As noted above, such individuals may already work in your company and you should invite them to contribute, either through material they generate themselves (blog posts, articles, white papers) or as subjects of podcast and video interviews.
But don’t hesitate to look elsewhere. Prominent authors, bloggers, analysts and others are often eager to share their knowledge through various types of content. It’s a win-win equation—you get great content for your marketing purposes and they get a way to promote themselves. They also enhance the credibility of your brand and can attract a wider range of potential customers for your business.
This article was originally published on Business2Community.com on January 22, 2014.
