Content Marketing Institute founder Joe Pulizzi made an astute point back in 2016:
“Our marketing departments are too dated to keep us competitive over the next decade.”
Say it isn’t so, Joe! And yet, it’s a realization that any company that makes content marketing a priority understands all too well.
Let’s face it, content marketing is a strategic part of business, but it’s also one of the most fluid. From year to year marketing trends change and it’s up to you to implement those changes.
So, ask yourself, “Are you going to have the same old same old again next year?” The people who fail to accept change are cramming one keyword 100 times into a paragraph. How is that working out for them do you think?
No, if you want to find success, and who doesn’t, then your company needs to evolve and that starts with lining up your fantasy content marketing team for 2020.
1. Commander in Chief
Or chief content officer (CCO) as we call them in the business world. The chief is responsible for telling the brands story for the coming year by focusing on curation and overseeing the different channels.
One change you are likely to see in 2020 is the further development of omni channel marketing. It’s not enough to ensure there is content in every channel. In 2020, content must follow that customer journey across all potential channels to increase individual touchpoints. Marketing needs to be adaptive and not static and that requires tight curation to ensure the story stays consistent.
2. Content Strategy Director
Content strategists are growing up in 2020 and they deserve a grown-up title, too. The role of a content strategy director is to sculpt the content in a way that meets goals established by the CCO. That’s the simple job description, though.
In truth, content strategists put themselves in the place of the user to determine what they need to buy a product or fall in love with a brand. They work to create content that fills a void.
As part of the process, content strategists must look at data to determine how well the carefully crafted campaigns are working and make tweaks until the marketing is hitting its target goals.
Large companies may opt to have a team of strategists with one director. Smaller businesses may only need one person to get the job done.
3. Managing Editor and Project Manager
Apple probably has one of each because they are Apple but small to middle-sized organizations can get away with combining the two roles. The project manager is responsible for day-to-day operations and may serve as a liaison to the CCO. Someone has to manage the nuts and bolts of the content marketing process.
As managing editor, this person would also be the grammar and formatting cop and work directly with the creative team like writers, photographers and video professionals. All content must go through this one person before publishing.
4. Audience Strategist
Audience strategist is a role that bubbled to the surface a few years ago as niche markets began to expand. Marketing experts knew they needed to focus on developing audiences instead of trying to sell the same mousetrap to everyone.
The problem is that some audiences are harder to reach than others. The audience strategist looks for ways to expand the target and better define it. Who’s a lifelong customer, for example, and who is a one night stand looking for a bargain? The audience strategist helps to create campaigns that focus on that top-level customer to grow the base.
5. The Master of Influencers
If you are taking nothing else with you into 2020, take this — influencers matter. Using influencers was the hottest trend going into 2019 and nothing has changed except maybe that there are more of them and they seem to be getting younger all the time.
The team needs one person who is willing to venture out into the unknown and find an influencer or two. It’s not just about getting someone with an impressive social media following to endorse a brand or product, either.
Influencers need active monitoring to ensure 1) they are playing by the rules and that means proper disclosures 2) doing what they said they would as many times as they promised 3) are having the desired effect. An influencer that isn’t getting likes and shares isn’t really influencing anyone, right?
6. The Tech Director
Trying to publish content without understanding the technology behind it creates chaos. The tech director keeps the chaos at bay.
Make 2020 the year you really invest in content marketing, not just by putting together the right team but by focusing on quality writing. We can help you with that because that’s what we do here at WriterAccess. Go ahead and make us part of your team, too.
Darla F. is a full-time freelance writer published internationally, an award-winning author and professional artist. Over the last decade, she has ghostwritten memoirs for a successful entrepreneur and created byline pieces for USAToday, Jillian Michaels, USARiseUP, New York Times — About.com, Multibrief, MedCity News, LiveStrong and AOL. Darla is known for her ability to take complex topics and make them clear to anyone. With an academic background in the sciences, medicine and healthcare, Darla F. spent years working as an EMT, but she has vocational experience in several industries. After college, she took a job as an Accounting Manager for the factoring division of a major bank in New Jersey and learned the basics of programming.
