What Is A Content Marketer? What Does A Content Marketer Do?

September 1, 2022 by No Comments

First, what is a content marketer?

A content marketer is responsible for the planning, creating, and sharing of valuable content to attract and convert prospects into customers, and customers into repeat buyers. Depending on what a content marketer sells, he will share different types of content. In other words, he educates others so that they will know, like, and trust him enough to conduct business with him.

Please read on for a more thorough explanation of what a content marketer does.

Content Marketer Definition  

Let’s examine the traditional definition of marketing, which includes the four Ps, if a content marketer is in charge of marketing content:

  • Identify, select, and develop a product
  • Set the price
  • Select the distribution channel to reach the customer where she is (place)
  • Plan and execute a promotion strategy

Using this model, content would be the product. The price could range from an email address (to receive blog updates, join an email newsletter) to payment for access to a content library, ebook, or online training course.

The place would be your blog/website, email list, and social media channels. And promotion would be how you share the product.

A content marketer is someone who knows how to position and promote content to reach the largest audience, convert those users from prospects to subscribers to customers, and keep them as customers.

Now, the art of content marketing has been with us for a while, but an actual person who is a content marketer is a rather new phenomenon.

I had to rely on my own knowledge, the expertise of content marketing experts, and even a review of about a dozen job descriptions for content marketing positions to compile this list.

Common Core Skills Of Content Marketers

Storytelling

A content marketer has a keen eye for a good tale, first and foremost. She is aware that a compelling marketing tale must have a protagonist, mentor, objective, challenge, and moral. And she can discover the history of her own company, as well as support other businesses in doing the same.

As C.C. noted, this is significant. Chapman and Ann Handley write in their book Content Rules, “[By presenting you as a trustworthy and worthwhile source of information that is vendor-neutral, good content positions you to add value.”

In other words, stories help an audience get to know you, like you, and, ultimately, trust you — before you sell them anything.

The content marketer researches the storytelling techniques of novelists, screenwriters, and short story writers so that when she writes content (see skill number three below for more information), she is able to invite prospects to consider a journey that ultimately results in a transaction.

The Hero’s Journey is a storytelling technique that is popular in this area. Through the use of the narrative arc, content marketing instructs your audience.

Strategy

Another deliberate quality of a great content marketer is: she understands and communicates the overarching objective of an organization’s content marketing strategy.

Professional content marketers will also set editorial objectives. She might:

  • Work through these 13 questions
  • Create an empathy map
  • Put together a customer journey map

The content marketer will recognize the need for buyer personas and, if necessary, develop them.

She’ll be able to conduct a website audit and update any outdated or broken content.

Not to mention, all content marketers are excellent researchers.

Do you wish to examine that final point in greater detail?

As Ann Handley advises in her book, Everybody Writes:

Think before you ink means finding your key point by asking three questions about every bit of content you’re creating.

  • Is there a purpose behind this?
  • What is the main argument I have for this?
  • Why is it important to the target audience that I’m trying to reach?”

I’ll add a fourth: Who are you writing this to? Knowing your audience is the essence of research.

An experienced content marketer can oversee a content project from planning to execution to promotion, even though that won’t be her primary skill set.

She gets through those tasks with the aid of interpersonal abilities like empathy, listening, storytelling, and negotiating.

Writing Content

The writing of content for blogs, websites, ebooks, and infographics is frequently the responsibility of content marketers in addition to managing strategy and storytelling.

It pays to be an exceptional web writer; someone who possesses crucial qualities like an:

  • Average understanding of SEO
  • Average understanding of usability
  • Above average understanding of social media (see skill number four below to learn more)
  • Outstanding understanding of copywriting (yes, copywriting is different from content marketing)

This is significant because she will probably also be the one writing articles for other websites as part of a guest posting strategy.

Writing magnetic headlines, choosing outdated content to update and republish, and reimagining outdated content in new formats (such as turning an infographic or blog post into a SlideShare) are all skills that a content marketer will master.

She will logically establish and uphold the editorial tone and voice.

You might find her reading a variety of unusual books to help her hone her craft and inspire her creativity because she is an excellent storyteller.

Social Media

Social media is familiar to content marketers.

To meet the growing demand in the number and variety of different platforms, some content marketers may even make this their area of expertise. The majority of content marketers, however, are experts in one or two platforms and have a basic understanding of others.

You see, a content marketer enjoys fiddling with the latest shiny social media gadgets. She is then able to assess the potential of the new platform and convey it to the right client.

She’ll be aware of the best content types for each platform. Twitter, for instance, is effective at promoting fresh content. Facebook is useful for getting people to participate in your surveys and discussions. For sharing pictures, Pinterest is fantastic.

Of course, a knowledgeable content marketer is also aware of the risks associated with digital sharecropping and isn’t afraid to warn clients of these risks.

In addition, “don’t waste time delivering content where your audiences don’t actually want you to be,” writes Kristina Halvorson and Melissa Rach, authors of the web’s content strategy

Recognize the hangouts of your target audience. and ask their consent before speaking with them.

Subscription Assets

The need for creating subscription assets, such as email subscriber lists and exclusive community memberships, is understood by content marketers.

They will be in charge of writing the content for these subscription models, but they may also need to manage, measure, and monitor each model in addition to having a thorough understanding of how it functions.

For instance, a small business might delegate to just one content marketer the task of writing, editing, uploading, monitoring, and measuring the emails for their email marketing campaigns.

So, content marketers, choose your priorities carefully. Otherwise, you’ll overextend yourself.

Also read: What Is A Pillar Page?

Content Marketing Roles

A content marketing team is made up of an executive, managers, and content marketers. Each position will be filled by a different professional in larger organizations, and teams can be divided based on the type of content (blog vs. social media, etc.). Members of teams frequently play multiple roles in smaller businesses. One content marketer may handle SEO and social media while another focuses on newsletters and graphics, for instance, and the executive and manager may be the same person.

The duties of each role are broken down in the sections that follow, along with information on what you should put on your resume to be considered for the position.

Content Marketer’s Salary

Early in 2022, the average annual pay for content marketers in the United States was $61,306. The response to the question, “How much does a content marketer make?” does vary depending on location, company size, and your experience, so be sure to do your research to get the most value out of your career.

What Is A Content Marketer What Does A Content Marketer Do
What Is A Content Marketer? What Does A Content Marketer Do?

Ways To Be A Content Marketer

As was already mentioned, content marketers need to be strong in communication, research, storytelling, and digital marketing. There are two ways you can demonstrate your command of these abilities on your resume.

Experience is the first. Which positions in the past required you to be exceptionally skilled at written communication? When have you assisted a company in telling its story? Using digital marketing tools like paid advertisements or social media, how have you assisted in raising awareness? Include volunteer and freelancing work as well; they both count! Having examples of your work to show prospective employers can also be helpful. If you aren’t allowed to share anything from previous jobs, compile a portfolio of sample blogs (or infographics, social media posts, or videos) to demonstrate your skill level.

Certifications in various marketing strategies are the second way to demonstrate your skill set. Typically, a four-year degree is advised, and programs like marketing and communications are preferred. In spite of this, you can succeed as a content marketer by bringing experience from any field! You can add to your education by getting certificates for particular marketing tools, like Google Ads. DemandJump University is yet another excellent starting point for increasing your skill set. Our DemandJump University courses cover how to create content, develop a content marketing strategy, and ensure that your content is supporting your marketing objectives. They are free with your account and are also free to sign up for.

What Is Content Marketing?

The question is made fun of in Michelle Lin’s article, “How to Explain Content Marketing to Anyone,” which she wrote because she is a content marketing expert and writes a lot about the subject.” She talks about the challenges she faces when attempting to explain to others what she does in detail as well as the “aha” moments that have enabled her to do so.

A particular subset of digital marketing is content marketing. Businesses can use it to connect with their customers in ways other than just pitching them on their product or service. They connect through a variety of channels, including blog posts, social media posts, emails, gated content, and video.

It takes skill to develop engaging, creative content that appeals to a specific audience. This is true of both content marketing and creation. This type of educational content is helpful to the reader, provides an answer to a question, or deals with a problem in a way that is enjoyable to read, watch, or listen to. Gaining a reputation as an authority on a subject inspires client trust and loyalty, particularly if you keep your attention on producing useful content for your readers.

The goal of content marketing is to influence a consumer to take action. Information in content should be useful, interesting, and pertinent. The role of the content marketer is to figure out not only how to do that, but also how to gauge the success of the strategies used through metrics.

Both a storyteller and a data analyst are necessary skills for a content marketer. The ultimate objective of a content marketer is to contribute to the company’s overall digital marketing strategy by identifying and connecting with the target audience in a meaningful way.

Ways To Start Content Marketing

So, what qualifications do you need to become a content marketer? How else can you contribute to a field if you don’t know what’s already happening in the conversation? Content marketers must first understand the landscape. Reading is the first step, as any writer will tell you. For content marketing, the same holds true. Every day you are exposed to it through social media, online activity, and product research for the best solution to whatever problem you are dealing with. Learn to identify the messages in your industry’s content that resonate with you and those that don’t by studying its content.

You can distinguish between successful and unsuccessful strategies using this process. You’re expanding your toolkit and developing your skills as a content marketer by doing this. The process will be natural when you’re given a project or a piece of content to write; it will be based on your research rather than a creative idea. Remember: the job of a content marketer is to understand your company’s audience and provide them with content they’ll value, and the pursuit of those goals should be any good content marketer’s primary drivers.

A Content Marketing Manager’s Duties 

A manager will frequently be qualified as someone who can identify goals and create and lead strategies to meet them by reading the description of a content marketing manager in a job posting. The typical duties of a content marketing manager include:

  • Researching competitors
  • Developing content plans to meet specific marketing goals
  • Creating a calendar for content creation, editing, and publication

The following requirements for content marketing managers, along with possibly a few others, must be satisfied in order to be given consideration for the position:

  • A bachelor’s degree, typically in marketing, business administration, communications or a related field
  • Experience in content marketing and/or team management
  • Proficiency in content management tools like Hubspot or marketing research tools like DemandJump

Ways To Be A Content Marketing Manager

Working your way up in your current team or submitting an application to a business that hires external candidates are two ways to become a content marketing manager. In the end, your experience will be what distinguishes you from other applicants. Start keeping track of the initiatives in which you are taking the lead if you are considering a career as a content marketing manager. Are you also in charge of publishing content as a content marketer? Are you knowledgeable about SEO, blog writing, social media, and other content types? Do the members of your team look to you for leadership or do you create administrative documents to streamline procedures for everyone?

The typical pay for a brand and content marketing manager in the US is $103,131.

What Performs The Head Of Content Marketing?

The person in charge of content marketing is in charge of providing answers to broad questions like who the target audience is and which strategies will reach them. Top companies pay their marketing executives an average salary of over $300,000.

A Content Marketing Director & An Executive Work

Frequently found in job descriptions for content marketing directors or executives are the following duties: developing and overseeing content marketing campaigns, conducting research to identify audiences, and leading idea generation for promotional strategies.

At the top of the pyramid, where they set long-term objectives, are executives in content marketing. Then, managers determine which tactics and team members are capable of achieving those goals. Individual pieces of content must be created, distributed, and analyzed by content marketers.

Final Words

The post concentrated on what a content marketer does.

A career in content marketing is an exciting possibility if you have excellent writing skills, strong leadership abilities, and a strong desire to produce content that will be valuable to your reader.

So, having read the post, do you now understand what a content marketer is? If you have any inquiries regarding what a content marketer is, kindly leave a comment. I’ll answer as soon as possible.

I want to thank you for reading, but that’s not the end of it.