What exactly does a content manager do?
Because the idea of “content management’ is still fairly new to the inbound marketing scene, many companies struggle to hire for a content manager role due to ambiguity of the position.
Contrary to popular opinion, content managers are not an enigma (some sort of slippery riddle or amorphous marketing position). The role is defined. The expectations are stone-set. Let’s put an end to any confusion - full stop.
Content managers prove remarkably driven content creators, marketing strategists, and all-around angels with bright, beaming halos.
Alright, I admit, I may be a tinge biased - I train content managers for a living after all.
My name is Seth Slater - former content manager and current content trainer here at Media Junction. I have over 100 blog posts on the first page of Google and want to help you reach your full organic-traffic-driven revenue potential.
So, what exactly do content managers do day-in-and-day-out?
This article covers what I believe the top 5 duties of a content manager entail:
- Content calendar creation
- Content development execution, and publication
- SEO
- Tracking metrics
- Developing a culture of content
Top, Most Vital Content Manager Responsibilities
1. Content Calendar Creation
Content managers are visionaries - out-of-the-box thinkers, focused, and future-oriented.
They generate current and upcoming content marketing campaigns based on relevant product/service/process topic clusters, on-page search engine optimization (SEO), and sales enablement content.
In my humble opinion, a finely tuned content calendar is the key to successful content creation.
Content calendars allow content managers to organize and schedule content for website pages, blogs, and social media platforms (LinkedIn, Tik Tok, Instagram, Youtube, and so on).
Content calendars enable content managers to plan ahead and anticipate a consistent creative flow state (think wu-wei) that aligns with the organization's marketing needs and goals.
Content Calendars:
- Track deadlines (publishing in a regular cadence is key)
- Assign tasks (subject matter expert interviews, etc.)
- Ensure all content is on brand and relevant to the target audience
- Track publications across platforms (Linked-In, Instagram, Reddit, blog etc.)
In short, content calendars are crucial for managing and executing successful content marketing strategies.
Read our article Top 3 Reasons to Hire a Content Manager and learn how a content manager can turn your inbound marketing strategy around.
2. Content Development, Execution, and Publication
Content development and execution is the process of creating, editing, and publishing content that directly aligns and bolsters a marketing strategy.
This process usually begins by identifying a target audience (aka buyer persona).
Once the buyer persona is established, the next step is to brainstorm and research ideas for content that prove relevant and viable for the target audience.
The content is then developed - outlining, designing, writing, and publishing the video, audio, or written content.
Lastly, the content is executed by publishing it on various media channels: websites, digital platforms, social media, and so on.
Fantastic content development includes ongoing maintenance, promotion, and measurement of performance.
Content Managers that keep their finger on the pulse are able to measure performance to ensure that the content is reaching the hearts and minds of the specific audience and achieving the desired results - engagement, a boost in organic traffic, and increased revenue.
Content managers develop:
- Blog Posts (generally 2-3 a week)
- Email Campaigns
- Premium Content
- Social Media Posts
- Youtube, Instagram, Tik Tok Videos (an added bonus if there is no full time videographer)
Read our article Business Blogging Checklist: Blog Optimization 2023 to discover how stage a fantastic blog post.
3. Search Engine Optimization
Content managers are adept SEO implementers. Think digital blinking neon signs broadcasting relevant keywords across the internet.
Content managers use SEO, or search engine optimization, to improve website visibility and ranking on search engines like Bing, Yahoo, and Google.
This is done by implementing various techniques and strategies to optimize a website’s structure, content, keywords, and links.
Some specific ways that content managers utilize SEO include:
- Conducting keyword research to identify relevant keywords, LSI keywords, and phrases to target in the content
- Optimizing the website's meta tags, title tags, and header tags to include keywords
- Writing high-quality, informative, and engaging content that uses the keywords in a natural way
- Creating internal and external links to improve the website's authority and link structure
- Using alt tags to describe images and other multimedia content
- Optimizing website load speed (image size, etc.)
- Creating a sitemap and submitting it to search engines
- Creating backlinks to the website from other authoritative sites
Content managers also track the performance of their SEO efforts using tools like Google Analytics, Google Search Console, and SEMrush to monitor website traffic, search rankings, and key performance indicators (such as bounce rate and conversion rate).
Based on this data, they can continuously adjust their SEO strategy to improve the website's performance in search results.
4. Metrics
Content managers track metrics to measure the content's performance and effectiveness and understand how it impacts the organization's overall business objectives.
Identify areas for improvement:
By tracking metrics such as engagement, lead generation, and ROI, content managers can identify areas where the content is not performing as well as expected.
Optimize the content:
By tracking metrics such as click-through rate, bounce rate, and conversion rate, content managers can understand which content is resonating with the target audience and which is not.
Demonstrate the impact of content:
By tracking metrics, content managers can demonstrate the effect of the content to the rest of the organization.
For example, they can show how the content is generating leads, increasing engagement, and helping to achieve business objectives.
Align content with business objectives:
By tracking metrics, content managers can measure the success of the content in achieving the organization's overall business objectives.
This helps them to align the content with the organization's goals and to ensure that the content is relevant and valuable to the target audience.
Monitor the competition:
By tracking metrics, content managers can also monitor the competition and understand how their content is performing in comparison to their competitors.
Overall, tracking metrics is essential for content managers to understand how their content impacts the organization's goals, identify areas for improvement, and optimize the content to achieve better results.
5. Developing a Culture of Content
Content managers play a crucial role in developing a culture of content within an organization.
Communicate the importance of content:
Content managers must communicate the value of creating and sharing high-quality content with the rest of the organization.
They should explain how content can help achieve business goals such as lead generation, customer engagement, and brand awareness.
Align content with business objectives:
Content managers should work closely with other departments and stakeholders to align content with the organization's overall business objectives.
This will ensure that the content produced is relevant and valuable to the target audience.
Encourage collaboration:
Developing a culture of content requires input and participation from multiple teams and departments.
Content managers should create opportunities for cross-functional collaboration, such as brainstorming sessions, and encourage team members to share their ideas and feedback.
Invest in training and education:
Content managers should invest in training and education for all teams involved in content creation to ensure that everyone has the necessary skills and knowledge to create high-quality content.
Celebrate successes:
Content managers should acknowledge and celebrate achievements and milestones in the content development process to keep the team motivated and engaged.
In short, developing a culture of content is not only a byproduct of great inbound marketing strategy, but needs to be an intentionality.
Ready to start a blog to kick-off your culture of content? Check out our article How to Develop Your Blogging Voice in 3 Simple Steps. and develop your brand voice.
Content Management - Inbound Marketing’s Future
In this article, you learned how content calendar creation, content development, execution, & publication, SEO, metrics, and developing a culture of content are the top 5 duties of any content manager.
Want to take your blogging game or content management system to the next level? I help train marketing teams across the globe to pump out ever-green, well-researched, and conversion-driven content.
Media Junction will step alongside you, either as a coach or your very own outsourced marketing team.
If you’re ready to buy now, check out Media Junction’s price page.
