Digital Content Strategist
Learn about the role and responsibilities of a digital content strategist.
In this section of the Digital Business course module, we look at the role and responsibilities of a digital content strategist.
This article is part of our free content management course series where we look at various digital roles and responsibilities that a content manager may need to oversee and assume, depending on the organizational structure of the business.
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Digital Content Strategist Role
A digital content strategist is a professional who is responsible for planning, developing, and managing content for digital media.
The main goal of a digital content strategist is to effectively communicate a brand’s message to its target audience in a way that is engaging and aligns with the overall marketing strategy.
To do this, a digital content strategist must have a deep understanding of the brand, its target audience, and the competitive landscape. They must also be proficient in various content creation and management tools, such as content management systems, social media platforms, and analytics software.
In addition to creating and managing content, a digital content strategist also plays a key role in SEO and social media marketing efforts. They may conduct keyword research, create meta descriptions and titles, and optimize content for maximum visibility and engagement on search engines and social media platforms.
Overall, the role of a digital content strategist is crucial in today’s digital landscape, where consumers are constantly bombarded with content from various sources. A digital content strategist helps ensure that a brand’s message stands out and resonates with its target audience.
Content strategists plan, oversee, and manage the content marketing strategy of a business.
This involves:
- Liaising with management and executive-level roles to better understand business objectives and set marketing goals.
- Developing content strategies to meet specific targets.
- Creating exclusive social media and online written content to stimulate consumer interest and sales.
- Understanding industry best practices and ensuring compliance with all legal requirements
- Analyzing existing content to determine strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats (i.e. conducting a SWOT analysis).
- Working with internal and external content creators to ensure smooth content flow.
Essentially, the job of a content strategist is to:
- Collect information about the different customer personas the business is targeting
- Perform extensive research and analysis of customer thoughts
- Devise content strategies and set up a plan to create useful, usable content that will increase the brand’s awareness, attract the attention of a targeted audience, convert potential customers, and foster customer loyalty.
Content strategists may also be required to manage creative marketing campaigns, build strategic partnerships, and achieve company sales goals.
Digital Content Strategist Duties And Responsibilities
Content strategists are responsible for:
- Developing a content strategy that will help the business achieve its goals.
- Content planning, including designing, researching, creating, editing, curating, and publishing relevant content to meet the company’s business objectives and users’ needs.
- Brainstorming creative ways to engage the audience online and produce engaging content types.
- Ensuring that the content aligns with the brand and adds value to existing and prospective clients.
- Keeping track of the competition’s marketing strategy and ensuring that all content created by the digital team is 100% original and unique.
- Working with the company’s website to help it reach its full potential (e.g. optimizing the website and its content for better search engine rankings).
Typical responsibilities of a digital content strategist include:
- Maintaining budgets.
- Performing exhaustive research to gain in-depth knowledge of all customer personas.
- Performing extensive research and analysis on consumer thoughts and trends.
- Creating specifications and content appropriate for the brand’s customer personas.
- Strategizing content pillars and sub-pillars.
- Planning the editorial calendar and content proposition.
- Collaborating with content management teams, creative teams, and writers to implement the content strategy.
- Overseeing writing style and tone for all content.
- Developing content governance guidelines for tone, style, and voice of all content, and ensuring these are followed.
- Developing an editorial strategy to ensure content consistency across all delivery platforms.
- Conducting periodic content audits.
- Assisting with the technical integration of content.
- Tracking and calculating content ROI.
- Ensuring that content strategy meets business objectives.
- Strategizing and improving content delivery and promotion.
- Analyzing content marketing strategy to evaluate whether it’s working or not.
Additional jobs that a content strategist may perform in the role include:
- Create target audience profiles
- Learn the priorities and content needs of the target audience
- Develop surveys
- Create and manage social media campaigns
- Manage content marketing campaigns
- Implement SEO best practices
- Create and maintain editorial calendars, style guides, taxonomies, metadata frameworks, and content migration plans.
- Build strategic partnerships with agencies, freelancers, creatives, designers, etc.
Digital Content Strategist Role Requirements
The content strategist role requires excellent writing skills, client-facing skills, SEO knowledge, and the ability to work with the organization’s content management system, web analytics platform, SEO research software, and other tools used in the content planning and publication process.
Additional skill sets a content strategist needs to perform successfully in the role include:
- The ability to meet organizational goals and targets.
- Excellent copywriting skills – the ability to plan, direct, design, and edit content that get results.
- Content presentation skills – the ability to determine how content should be packaged for encouraging potential customers to take action.
Content delivery skills – the ability to determine the best content distribution channels for the target audience. - Handling and strategizing marketing campaigns.
- Content monetization skills.
- Multitasking and organizational skills.
- Editorial skills to conduct content audits and determine which content should be kept, edited, rewritten, etc.
- Analytical ability to identify patterns and trends in content marketing data.
- Team-building and leadership skills.
- Attention to detail.
- Ability to handle significant pressure.
Recruitment sites advertising the role of Content Strategist recommend having at least three to five years of experience in marketing-related roles like digital content manager, web writer, or content editor.
Also, having a bachelor’s degree in a subject like English, journalism, communications, marketing, creative writing, technical writing, information management, or something similar is often a requirement.
Ideally, you will gain hands-on experience in areas like digital content creation and content editing, learn the basics of SEO, and develop the skill set described above.
Full-time content strategists can expect to earn between USD$90,000 to USD$135,000 a year.
Digital Content Strategist Role – FAQs
Here are frequently asked questions about the role of Digital Content Strategist:
What does a Digital Content Strategist do?
A Digital Content Strategist is responsible for developing and implementing content strategies that align with digital marketing goals. This includes planning, creating, distributing, and optimizing content across various digital platforms to engage audiences and drive results.
What are the primary responsibilities of a Digital Content Strategist?
Primary responsibilities include developing content strategies, conducting audience research, identifying content opportunities, planning content calendars, collaborating with content creators, optimizing content for SEO, analyzing performance metrics, and iterating on strategies based on data insights.
What skills are essential for success as a Digital Content Strategist?
Essential skills include strategic thinking, content creation expertise, understanding of digital marketing principles, proficiency in SEO and content optimization, data analysis skills, excellent communication skills, creativity, and the ability to collaborate effectively with cross-functional teams.
What qualifications are typically required for a Digital Content Strategist role?
Qualifications often include a bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, journalism, or a related field. Previous experience in content creation, digital marketing, or content strategy roles is usually required. Additional certifications in content marketing or digital strategy can be beneficial.
How does a Digital Content Strategist collaborate with other teams within an organization?
A Digital Content Strategist collaborates closely with marketing teams, design teams, SEO specialists, social media managers, and other stakeholders to ensure content aligns with overall marketing strategies and business objectives. They provide guidance, share insights, and facilitate cross-functional collaboration.
What tools and technologies does a Digital Content Strategist use?
Digital Content Strategists use a variety of tools and technologies, including content management systems (e.g., WordPress, Drupal), SEO tools (e.g., SEMrush, Moz), analytics platforms (e.g., Google Analytics), social media management tools (e.g., Hootsuite, Buffer), and collaboration tools (e.g., Slack, Asana).
How does a Digital Content Strategist measure the success of content initiatives?
Digital Content Strategists measure success through key performance indicators (KPIs) such as website traffic, engagement metrics, conversion rates, time on page, social media metrics, and content ROI. They analyze data to track performance, identify trends, and optimize content strategies accordingly.
How does a Digital Content Strategist stay updated on industry trends and best practices?
Digital Content Strategists stay updated through continuous learning, attending industry conferences and webinars, networking with peers, subscribing to industry publications and newsletters, and participating in online communities and forums. They also conduct regular competitor analyses and stay informed about emerging trends.
How does a Digital Content Strategist ensure content quality and consistency?
Digital Content Strategists establish quality standards, provide clear guidelines to content creators, conduct regular reviews, offer constructive feedback, and implement content governance processes. They also ensure consistency in tone, style, and branding across all digital channels.
What are some challenges faced by Digital Content Strategists?
Challenges may include keeping up with rapidly changing digital trends and algorithms, managing diverse content formats and channels, balancing creativity with strategic goals, overcoming resource constraints, proving the ROI of content initiatives, and effectively targeting and engaging fragmented audiences.
Content Strategist – Interview Questions
If you are considering applying for a role as a content strategist, here are some interview questions you may be asked:
General Questions
- How did you hear about our company and what interests you about this role?
- Can you describe your career journey so far?
- What do you enjoy most about content strategy?
Behavioral Questions
- Can you tell me about a time when you had to manage a challenging project?
- What was the outcome?
- Describe a situation where you had to collaborate with multiple departments to achieve a common goal.
Technical and Strategic Questions
- Can you walk me through your process for developing a content strategy?
- How do you define and understand the target audience for your content?
- What tools and platforms do you prefer for managing content strategy and why?
Creative and Analytical Questions
- Can you give an example of a successful content campaign you developed?
- What made it successful?
- How do you measure the success of your content? What metrics do you track?
Future-Oriented Questions
- How do you stay updated with the latest trends in content strategy and digital marketing?
- What do you see as the biggest challenges in content strategy over the next few years?
Company-Specific Questions
- How can your strengths be an asset to our digital content team?
- What do you know about our company’s content and how do you think you can contribute to its improvement?
For more interview questions related to the role of Content Strategist, see these resources:
- Content Strategist Interview Questions (With Sample Answers) [Indeed]
- Content Strategist/Specialist Interview Questions [Join]
- Content Strategist Interview Questions [TechnicalWriterHQ]
- Content Strategist Interview Questions and Answers [Remote Rocket Ship]
- Content Strategist Interview Questions [Test Gorilla]
Related Roles
Content strategists interact with people in other digital roles, including:
- Digital Strategy Director
- Digital Marketing Manager
- Digital Content Managers
- Digital Content Editors
Source: https://www.simplilearn.com/content-strategist-job-description-article
Useful Resources
We recommend the following resources:
Visit our tools and resources section for additional courses, guides, and helpful tools and resources.
Other Digital Content Related Roles
Click on the links below for more information about other digital content-related roles:
Digital Content Team
Digital Content Strategist
Content Production Manager
Interactive Media Manager
Internet Marketing Director
Content Marketing Specialist
Digital Communications Professional
Search Engine Marketing Director
Internet Marketing Coordinator
Content Outsourcing Resources
Content-Related Jobs and Careers
Return to our content management course outline
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