MVP: Content Strategist
Content strategists are the MVPs and champions of content marketing. Here’s a checklist of characteristics of the cream of the crop:
- Writes every day to continually refine his or her skills
- Demonstrated ability to create content that inspires, educates, and performs
- Solid online identity and active social media sphere
- Multi-dimensional marketer who uses the latest conversion tactics
- Fresh portfolio of content campaigns that achieved remarkable results
- In tune with the latest content marketing and strategy trends, tactics, and news
- Capable of working with and motivating all team members to exceed goals
The Many Roles of an MVP
A content strategist has to wear many hats and assume many roles. What follows are just three of the roles that the savvy strategist owns. Although you may not have the skills and experience to fulfill all of these roles today, use this list as a benchmark to work toward and to perfect over time. As you grow as a content strategist, you’ll offer your clients greater insight, better skills, and a bigger toolbox of resources and ideas.
1. Socially Connected. Your degree of popularity and influence in the social sphere greatly impacts your ability to drive content strategy. If your social voice and communication are not engaging to your friends, family, and fans, then it’s unlikely that you’ll be able to create a voice for the business that will connect and convert. The best content strategists know how to engage readers and then re-engage them time and time again. Your ability to do this in the social sphere will spur shares and retweets of your posts that are like live reviews of your work and communication skills.
2. Story Finder & Teller. It’s no secret: the best marketing tells a story. But consistently generating fresh, human-interest ideas for your content can be a struggle. The best content strategists, like the best journalists, have an instinct for finding and telling stories that both enlighten and entertain readers.
3. Customer Journey Crafter. No one on the marketing team understands the customer more than a content strategist does. After all, it is strategists who develop the customer journey and who labor over the touch points defined by marketing, sales, and customer service team members. It is strategists who have their fingers on the pulse of all content assets in the workflow that support those touch points. And it is strategists who take note of any gaps in the flow of content assets and who resolve to fill them with new content that will motivate customers at those stages of their journey.
To learn more about the roles of a content strategist, click here to download a copy of my book: Content Strategy Game Plan.
Hope this helps.
Look for more tips and advice coming soon!
