This is the second blog in a series of five agency hacks to transform your agency into a content creation powerhouse that your clients can depend on for quality content.
No matter how many writers, editors, designers, and other team members you have creating and perfecting your clients’ content, you won’t be able to grow your agency without the kingpin in place. That kingpin is your content manager.
Think of the content manager as the great orchestrator. Their job is to ensure every piece of each client’s content marketing puzzle comes together in perfect harmony.
What to Look for in a Content Manager
The ideal candidate will be able to produce whip-smart answers to questions like:
- What are a few of the top benefits companies get from producing great content?
- How would you define “great content?” What makes content good or bad?
- What is your favorite word, and why?
- How do you know if your content is successful or not?
- What brands do you think do a good job with content marketing, and why?
- What’s one of the greatest content marketing faux pas have you seen or made?
- What’s one of the greatest content marketing successes you’ve seen or made?
They should also have a solid background and training in the content marketing arena. You want someone who has the notable experience, along with a penchant for staying up to date on the latest content marketing tactics and techniques.
WriterAccess Academy’s Content Strategy Certification provides a powerful training program that contributes to exceptional content management, as do many other in-person and online courses.
Content Manager Job Description
While the exact duties of a content manager will vary based on your agency and clients’ specific needs, they’re basically in charge of running each client’s content marketing show.
- For clients that are new companies, that may mean building a brand from the bottom up.
- For clients that are established firms, the focus may be more on managing the creation and promotion of a steady stream of highly effective content.
You could certainly go with a run-of-the-mill content manager job description template and hope someone non-boring applies.
Or you could whip up something creative that matches the creativity and flair you’d expect in the candidate – like the following description I wrote to attract a content manager superstar to a fun and creative agency.
Now Hiring: Content Marketing Maestro
Igor Stravinsky’s “The Rite of Spring” stirred up enough emotion to cause a riot at its 1913 Paris debut. If you can create passionate and memorable content marketing moments – but preferably without any chairs being thrown – then you’re the content marketing maestro we’re looking for.
As the content manager of our content marketing agency, it’s your job to make beautiful music with our client’s content marketing. This involves:
- Crafting melodious content strategies across multiple platforms
- Creating and executing harmonious content plans
- Ensuring all players hit just the right notes
- Delivering standing-ovation content performance
Part juggler, part wordsmith, and part content strategy master, our ideal maestro will be also able to shapeshift into the specific role needed for the task at hand. These include but are not limited to:
- Writer, proofreader, and editor
- Content strategist and planner
- Idea generator
- Content optimizer
- SEO champ
- Performance analyzer
- Fan and follower builder
- Leader of the pack
You’ll not only be leading each client into content marketing greatness, but you’ll also be orchestrating the activities of our freelance writers, editors, designers, and other content marketing team members.
A proven track record is important, but not as important as the ability to come up with fresh and effective solutions at any time of the day or night (or at least during weekday business hours).
What worked for one client in the past won’t necessarily work for another client in the future. Each client is unique, requiring a content marketing solution tailored specifically to their needs.
But as a content marketing maestro, you already know all that. The right candidate will also have experience:
- Working at a fast-paced agency
- Meeting tight deadlines
- Operating various content management systems
- Managing content across all platforms
- Knowledge of HTML and bachelor’s degree in communications, marketing, or related field a plus
If you’re ready to take center stage as our content marketing maestro, we’re eager to hear from you.
Summing It Up
The content manager is an integral role in any content marketing plan running smoothly. It’s particularly crucial for agencies with multiple clients running any number of plans. Without this great orchestrator in place, discordance and utter chaos can quickly erupt. And it may only be a matter of time before people start throwing chairs.
Get instant access to WriterAccess Academy’s Content Strategy Certification program and other training with a free trial.
