Great content starts with a great content marketing team. But where are you going to find that team?
According to the 2017 State of the Creator Economy Study (SOCE), the majority of companies using content marketing have an in-house team working on production. Around 63 percent of content marketers use an in-house studio or team of writers, while just 14 percent use independent contractors and 16 percent use an external agency.
Hiring a content marketing team and having that team specifically address content marketing can not only improve your brand’s content quality, it can also reduce inefficiencies and help streamline the process. The SOCE revealed that at many companies, content marketing was often lumped into different departments, reducing the chance that there would be a “center of excellence.”
What Is a Content Marketing Team?
A content marketing team is a group of employees who are dedicated to all aspects of content marketing at your company. Your team doesn’t have to be huge, but the larger your company and the more content you hope to produce, the more people you’re likely to bring onto the team. At the very least, you can expect a well-staffed but still lean content marketing team to have:
Chief content officer (or manager)
The person in charge of leading the team.
Content strategist or managing editor
The person in charge of researching and putting together a content strategy, including coming up with ideas for content. In smaller companies, the strategist might also edit content to make sure it is up to standard. In bigger companies, content strategist and managing editor can be two separate roles.
Content creators
The people who actually create the content, whether they are graphic designers, writers, or video artists.
If you have room in your budget, you might also hire an SEO specialist for your content team, as well as a social media manager.
What to Look for When Hiring A Content Marketing Team
Chief content officer
Must-haves:
Top-level leadership experience, understanding of content marketing, storytelling talent.
Nice to have:
Past experience leading a content marketing team.
Avoid at all costs:
Someone who’s never been near content marketing, or someone with no documented leadership experience.
Content strategist
Must-haves:
Understanding of content marketing, including content analytics and data, storytelling ability, good writing skills.
Nice to have:
Past experience putting together content strategy, experience editing content, experience with content management systems and analytics tools.
Avoid at all costs:
Someone with no experience writing or editing content; someone who’s not a team player or can’t delegate tasks well.
Writers/creators
Must-haves:
Understanding of storytelling, ability to follow directions and create content that follows specific guidelines.
Nice to have:
Some experience planning content or working with a content team.
Avoid at all costs:
Someone who misses deadlines and has no documented experience writing, creating videos, or designing graphics. People who aren’t team players or who don’t respond to criticism or revision requests well.
Where to Find Your Content Marketing Team
Hiring your content marketing team can be very similar to hiring for just about any other position in your company. You need to get the word out that you have open positions. While you might have a company job board, it’s also worth posting the openings on job boards across the internet so that you can reach as many people as possible.
Depending on your budget, you might only be able to hire a CCO or content strategist full-time, and might prefer to work with a team of freelance content creators. There are several writer or creator marketplaces online that allow you to connect with creators who specialize in the type of content you want, and in particular subject matters.
In some cases, you can use the marketplaces to actually produce and pay for the content. Other marketplaces work as brokers and match you up with creators, but then leave you to handle the creation of content, price negotiations, and payment on your own.