8 Traits of Content Strategists

Content Strategy is a relatively new discipline, which is still evolving. As it evolves, it takes a new shape and sets new expectations. Organizations/agencies have reached a state where they understand the need of a content strategist but are still struggling to define the skill set of a content strategist.

To overcome the struggle, organizations can look for the following traits for a content strategist:

1. Creative and analytical skills — Any job related to strategy requires creative and analytical brain behind it. Content strategists often work with cross-domain teams, so it is necessary for them to understand each deliverable of respective team in a short span of time to provide content solutions. Analytical and creative skills are necessary to solve problems by making logical decisions that are sensible.

2. Word Play — A content strategist need not be a hard core content or a creative writer. They have to be aware of what makes a perfect combination such as what makes content readable, shareable and engaging. They have to be skilled enough to sort the masterpieces and display right amount of information and picture for maximum impact.

3. Story telling — Story telling is widely used in marketing and advertising field. It creates a memorable experience and stronger emotional connect with customers. It is a skill that helps strategists to enable a brand to stand out from the market. It is one of the biggest and important business skills for a strategist, as it helps them to stick their ideas and tell a bigger story behind the brand. Successful stories persuade, inspire and motivate customers to engage with brand which in turn lead to increased conversion rates and Return on investment (ROI).

4. Diplomat speaker/communicator — To be a great speaker you have to be a great listener. Content strategists always interact with cross-domain teams, so it is necessary for them to know the knack and nuances of communication, no matter who their audiences are.

5. Multi-disciplinary — Content strategists don’t come from a single discipline. They are often a mix of varied disciplines or skill sets. Varied skill set include accounting, project management, strategic management, market analysis, social listener, consumer behavior analysis, content management and content marketing. They have to wear many hats and use diverse skills to gain a feather on their respective hat.

6. Multi-tasking — Content strategists need to be smart jugglers. They have to be up-to-date in all fields, so that they can handle multiple tasks easily and do justice to whatever role they take it up. They have to be big picture thinker, good client relationship manager, Marketing strategist or specialist, etc.

7. Attention to big picture — Big picture thinker is often misunderstood for detail-oriented people, but they both are totally different. For example CEO is a big picture thinker whereas COO is a detail-oriented person. In reality, a perfect strategist comes with this combo. A strategist has to have a perfect blend of big picture thinking and attention to details.

8. Industry knowledge — Gaining more industry knowledge enables you to stay competitive in your business as well as in career. To stay updated in your field, always learn and explore new things that are competitive enough in your domain. Actively participate in forums and discussions. Write lot of thought leadership articles in the form of blog or as whitepaper.

You can either look for people with above skills or train existing people to attain these skills, whichever works best for you.