Why You Should Hire a Content Marketing Manager
Your business is going well. That’s great, obviously, but it’s starting to become rather a lot to juggle by yourself. You may find yourself in need of some assistance, someone to oversee the content, the writers, when to post what, as well as sharing it all on social media. What you need is a content marketing manager! They will also keep your writers on track, and ensure a consistent content flow.
When Should You Hire a Content Marketing Manager?
When you first start out with your business, you may be able to manage the content on your own OK. As the content becomes more lucrative, you are sure to want to create more, however. You’ve got the platform, and your following has really begun to grow. Soon, handling content strategy and marketing on your own may become a monumental task.
Some assistance may be in order. This is when you should hire a content marketing manager!
What Does a Content Marketing Manager Do?
A content marketing manager will manage not only your content marketing (as the name suggests) but may also manage your writers and content directly. A quality content manager should also have the writing skills to give each piece a quality check. And they should be able to provide solid content of their own if called for. Content marketing managers will:
Assign Content
A content marketing manager will assign content to your writers, complete with topics, the number of words needed, focus keywords, and secondary keywords (also known as ‘LSI keywords’). Your content marketing strategist is ultimately the one responsible for ensuring consistent and reliable content flow.
Edit Content
Often, a marketing manager will work together with an editor. Sometimes they will take care of editing on their own, however. In these cases, they will personally verify that each piece of content that is published is factually correct, free of typos, that the links work, that the content has proper SEO, etc. A marketing manager will ensure that each piece is polished so that your content can really shine!
Provide Feedback
This goes part and parcel with being a quality editor: providing feedback. This will go a long way to helping your writers improve! When it comes to crafting top-notch content, there must be a good rapport between your writers and your content marketing manager.
Distribute Content
Content distribution is another part of the job description that you can leave to your content marketing manager. Any content marketing manager worth their salt knows the ins and outs of publishing on online platforms. WordPress, for example, is the most popular.
Along with this, they will share the content on social media ads and posts, and inform your subscribers of new content over email.
Manage Social Media
Social media is a very effective marketing opportunity for one very powerful reason: people actually want to see advertisements for products and services. They will even go out of their way to ‘like’ and ‘follow’ some of their favorite companies. As a result, people can potentially see your promotions mixed in with their feed.
Your content marketing manager will share your content, and advertise across the top social media platforms, like:
- Pinterest. Pinterest ‘Pins’ are single images with short text blurbs, which link back to the image source (website). They can be a great way to reel in traffic. See what Pinterest advertisement tactics your own content marketing strategist may have.
- Instagram. Instagram ads can be shown as sponsored posts, which people will see while they scroll through their feed, or as stories, located at the top of their Instagram feed. Stories are short slideshows of images, clips, etc.
- Facebook. Facebook ads will not be neglected by a professional content marketing manager. Create an advertisement (for a small fee), and Facebook will show your ad to people within a certain demographic, and based on their location and profile information as well.
Save You Time
If you’re running a business, then you probably have a lot on your plate. You may find that you have little free time, trying to manage everything yourself.
A content marketing manager will manage the details, giving you the time and autonomy to focus on what demands your attention the most.
Help You Expand Your Audience
Have you been wanting to reach out to young mothers more, or perhaps extend your audience to men, too? Ask your content manager. A good content manager can tailor your content marketing strategy to appeal to the audience you’re after. This is an excellent approach when it comes to stimulating your business to grow!
Offer Expert Knowledge of SEO
Your content manager should offer expert knowledge of SEO (search engine optimization). This is the process of refining your content strategy so that people will find your posts, articles, and blogs when they carry out an online search related to your niche. How? For SEO, content marketing managers will:
- Do keyword research to find keywords. Keyword research is a necessity for effective SEO. These are the words that people use most often when performing an online query using a search engine. A good content manager will know how to use keyword tools, such as SEMRush or Soovle, and how to find keywords manually, by doing online searches of their own. They will be able to learn your competitor’s top keywords, and other aspects of their marketing strategy as well.
- Incorporate keywords into your content. The content manager will then ensure that the keywords are properly incorporated into your content. They will know the different types of keywords to use (seed or short-tail, body, and long-tail or LSI), and how many keywords to include in each piece. Your content manager will also know how to incorporate keywords naturally. The result? Top-notch SEO content, custom-made to show up when internet searches are made in your niche.
- Incorporate links. Links are second-only to keywords when it comes to SEO. Linking to other authority sites will serve to strengthen your reputation, both to the public eye and to Google’s algorithm. This is another way to rise in the search results, AKA ‘rank.’ Links to other sites are known as ‘external links.’ Your content manager will also link to past content of yours, and these are called ‘internal links.’
- Post. Your content marketing manager will then post the content themselves, or have one of your other writers post it, on WordPress or a similar platform. They will do this with the appropriate tags, images, categories, etc., to further enhance SEO.
Ensure Consistent Content Creation
Almost as important as creating content is publishing it on a regular basis. When posts are made infrequently, it can come off as a bit scattered, uninvolved, and therefore unprofessional. Publish on a regular basis, on the other hand, and your readers will learn to expect your posts, and hopefully even start to look forward to them. Your company will be seen as a consistent and dependable presence, and one of the first in your niche that they think of.
What Makes a Good Content Marketing Manager?
Not all content marketing managers are equal. There are certain traits and abilities that you can look for, that make the best stand out from the pack. For example:
A Great Content Marketing Manager Can Refurbish Past Work
A content manager typically has the ability to re-write current content as well as create new. They can take old posts and update them so that they are relevant, and get them circulating again! Content marketing managers can rewrite old content entirely, and repost it as if it were totally new. Why let quality posts from the past fall into obscurity if they can still serve your business?
They Will Understand What Your Audience Wants
Your content manager should have an intimate understanding of what your audience wants — and their pain points too. They will learn this by looking at reviews, forums, and other places where they can find niche-related feedback.
From here, they will use the information they’ve learned to create content that is custom-tailored to your audience. As a result, your company will come across as the intuitive expert. If you want to encourage people to come to you, this will do the trick.
The Best Content Marketing Manager Will Have Vision
You should be able to leave much of the planning up to your content manager. They should know what immediate action to take and be able to plan for the future as well.
Part of this is creating a calendar that schedules topics well in advance, especially for big events like Christmas, so you’re never having to play catch-up as a business.
Another part is having an understanding of your overall vision and goal. You are the captain of the ship, after all. You should have a handy first mate in your content marketing manager.
Content Marketing Managers Should be Up-to-Date on Trends
Content marketing managers make it their job to stay up-to-date on trends, as the market is always changing. They will be well-versed in the most current information in your niche, including events, new competitors, top-ranking keywords, reviews, FAQ, and more. You can stay ahead of the game with a good content manager!
You’ll Want a Content Marketing Manager Who’s a Fast Learner
The best content marketing managers are fast learners and are genuinely interested and involved in their work. They will quickly adapt to your brand tone, and any other requirements or suggestions you may have. The best content marketing manager will both do their research, and be receptive to feedback.
A Top Content Marketing Manager Should Be a Top-Quality Writer
To ensure quality content, a content marketing manager must be a top-quality writer themself. They should be able to write informatively, on-brand, and free of error. This should also give them good editing skills so that they can help your writers get better.
They Should Be Quick to Communicate
A good content marketing manager will be quick to communicate. This means that they will typically respond to your messages well within 24 hours. They will provide you with relevant updates on assignments without you having to wonder or ask. With a truly good content marketing manager, you will not have to wait on answers to questions, deal with delayed content, or tolerate any other newbie mistakes.
They Should Be Reliable and Trustworthy
As with any good worker, you should not have to nag your content marketing manager. They should have the go-getter attitude, self-discipline, and organization to make sure that stuff gets done — and done right. If you assign them something, you should be able to rest easy knowing that it will be promptly taken care of.
The ideal content manager should also be considerate. They will adhere to deadlines as best they can, and will not take their work lightly. If a piece will be late, they will let you know ahead of time, so you are prepared and in-the-know. They will be happy to provide revisions, to assure that you get the work quality that you expect and are paying for.
So, what do you think? Could you use a content marketing manager? Now that you know what to look for, you can get started looking for your own, super-helpful, expert content marketing manager. Make things a little easier for yourself while encouraging your business to grow. It’s a win-win.
Originally published at https://jenniferberube.com on September 16, 2020.
