What does a content marketer do?

A content marketer works with other marketing teams to create all the content that will drive a company’s marketing campaigns. Content marketing strategy is based on supporting brand awareness, building relationships with a target audience, and attracting and converting high-quality leads into new customers. Content marketing takes into account what a buyer persona reads or views at every step of the buyer journey, and when. A content marketing manager will work on a plan that includes the strategic distribution of high-quality content, with an editorial calendar.

An effective content marketer will establish a company’s voice as a trusted subject matter expert with high value content. This trust is built over time with engaging content that has consistent messaging and relevance to target audiences. Content marketers will gauge effective content writing with marketing metrics like Google Analytics (which provides KPIs for content performance across the web).

Types of content

Content marketers commonly create seven types of content in digital marketing campaigns:

• Blogs
• Videos
• Ebooks
• Case Studies
• White Papers
• Social Media
• Emails

Blogs 

Blogs are regularly updated web pages generally written in an informal, conversational style. Content marketers can take advantage of blogs to create any type of content that will engage a target audience. Blogs can be informational, educational, opinions or any combination thereof. An individual might be able to use a self-serve platform like Wordpress for a plug-n-play display, but professional content marketers will generally work with graphic and web designers to create a blog landing page that resonates with a company’s brand and marketing messaging. For example, Welcome is a webinar platform that drives revenue. Welcome’s blog page contains content that is most helpful for B2B marketers who want to run visually captivating webinars with a high return on video engagement.

Videos 

Videos have become a necessary tool for content marketers. Marketing videos have to compete with the split-second attention span of a TikTok-loving audience, but also deliver high-quality content. Content marketers today are also video content creators and influencers in a sense, albeit with a more data-driven publishing plan. Short-form videos on Linkedin tend to have a much higher engagement than text posts. Content marketers can use both short and long-form video to maximize a visual asset for different platforms. This short clip was posted on LinkedIn, but it was part of a longer event about Top 3 Marketing Attributions & Metric Myths In 2023.

Ebooks 

Ebooks can provide extended educational value on a specific topic if written well. Ebooks help to establish a company as a trusted thought leader and subject matter expert. This Ebook from Welcome is useful for businesses interested in Webinar Best Practices. It creates value by explaining how to plan and create captivating webinars, drive registration and attendance, and ensure your webinar program is a success.

Cases Studies and White Papers

Content Marketers use Case Studies and White Papers to offer readers insight into their product or industry; this type of in depth research contains valuable content with long-term appeal. Like all the content above, it is usually gated (accessed behind a lead capture form).

Social Media 

Social Media content drives target audience engagement across social media platforms to capture followers, increase brand awareness and (if targeted well), generate high-quality leads. Content marketers for social media will rely heavily on SEO analytics to determine the type of content creation that will be most effective.

Email marketing 

Email marketing is a traditional but key component of every content marketing strategy. Content marketers will set up email marketing campaigns that are sent at the right time to the right buyer persona for maximum engagement. Emails also help to keep prospective customers consistently aware of a company’s brand and offerings in a direct manner.

What are key skills for a content marketer?

Content marketers need to collaborate well with other teams and possess stellar communication skills and writing skills. They should be experts in copywriting, always on point with marketing trends, and experienced in project management involving content calendars. A content marketer’s skill set should include social media management and search engine optimization. Data analytics and marketing metrics should drive a content marketer’s decisions as well. Marketing is not a static endeavor, and constant auditing of KPIs is necessary to make a company’s content marketing strategy effective and timely.

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