While the practice of content marketing has been around for decades. It has only recently emerged as a recognized and accepted kind of marketing. As the practice has spread around the world, so has the introduction of dedicated, content-focused professionals within corporate marketing groups. The Content Marketing Manager is one of the most prevalent new job titles we encounter these days. According to Google Trends, before roughly 2013, the term “content marketing manager” was rarely searched. Interest in this new role grew steadily over the next two years and has been consistent since 2015. So, let’s learn more about the content marketing manager job description, interview questions, and salary.
Who is a Content Marketing Manager?
Content marketing managers improve brand exposure and promote web traffic by disseminating online content. They also are data-driven marketers that understand how to cultivate online audiences, organize digital marketing campaigns, and lead a team of analysts and creatives.
Content Marketing Manager Responsibilities and Job Description
The following are the eight strategic projects that most content marketing managers will have as part of their job description.
#1. Analysis of Competitors and Research
The primary job description of the content manager is to successfully implement the company’s content marketing strategy. This is by publishing and promoting content that accomplishes the strategy’s aims. It is hard to develop an effective content marketing strategy and plan without conducting preliminary research. This research assists content managers and creators in better understanding their target audience. Hence they can decide what kind of material to develop and topics to address.
This research could include the following steps:
- Examining the content, messaging, and distribution strategies of competitors
- Identifying target audiences’ essential demographics, hobbies, and online behavior
- Current consumer surveys to better understand and justify strategic and tactical decisions
- Facilitating internal stakeholder interviews to establish business goals and subject matter experts
- Keyword Research
- Conduct research to identify acceptable issues and topics.
- Investigating content tools and software that can assist them in creating and promoting content
#2. Creating Content Marketing Strategies
Following an initial research phase, the content marketing manager can begin developing one or more content marketing strategies. Multiple content marketing strategies will often be required to outline strategy and tactical execution for individual brands, business divisions, or channels, depending on the size of the organization and the scope of their offering. For example:
- A bank may have separate content marketing plans for their consumer and commercial products.
- A software corporation may have one external content marketing strategy focused at generating new business and a different content marketing strategy geared at retaining and upselling existing clients.
So, each content marketing plan should be guided by the overarching content marketing strategy. You can get this with the assistance of the larger marketing team. Also, it should describe the exact goals for each initiative as well as how the content manager will achieve these goals with content.
Plans for content marketing should contain (at a minimum):
- Goals that are specific and measurable, with a timetable for achieving them
- A general budget that includes projections for personnel, creative resources, and paid promotion.
- The kinds of content to produce (ex: blog posts, ebooks, white papers, infographics, etc.)
- The themes (and why)
- The routes for the distribution of the content.
- A strategy for paid content marketing
- An execution plan defining the frequency of publication, production procedure (creation, reviews, and approvals), and continuous content maintenance.
Individual content marketing strategies for specific campaigns, an overarching plan for a fixed time period (such as the next quarter or year), or a mixture of the two may also be created by your content marketing manager.
#3. Putting Together an Editorial Calendar
After developing a content marketing strategy, content marketing managers can plot deadlines for development, publication, and promotion on a content calendar. They allow the entire marketing team to understand at a glance what material is planned for the following weeks and months.
A graphic editorial calendar assists your content manager in aligning content publishing and promotion with significant dates for your business and other marketing activities. It is also critical to include slack time in the timetable to account for any delays in content creation as well as last-minute, real-time marketing possibilities.
#4. Creating Content
After the content plan has been produced and accepted by all key stakeholders, it is time for the content manager’s major task – actually creating the material.
Having said that, not every content manager will physically create and publish every piece of material. Many content marketing managers will be in charge of directing production workflows and managing a creative team. However, because your content manager will be ultimately responsible for what is published, it is critical that they have strong writing and editing skills.
Material marketing managers may be required to find images and drawings to accompany written content, format material, and provide meta-information in addition to researching and authoring content.
#5. Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
It is not enough for internet content to be well-written and free of spelling and grammar mistakes. Content marketing managers must also be skilled in search engine optimization. This is to ensure that their content is seen by web searchers. So, the content should appear on the first page of Google and other search engines.
You may have already hired an SEO specialist if you have a whole digital marketing team at your disposal. Alternatively, you might outsource your SEO requirements to a specialized service. Regardless, it is critical that your content marketing manager know at least the fundamentals of SEO. This is to enable them to carry out an efficient content marketing strategy.
#6. Editing and Ensuring Style Guide Adherence
When a content marketing manager is in charge of a team of authors, editing and proofreading skills are crucial. They must also be able to provide constructive comments.
It is critical to have a consistent brand voice in your material. This can be difficult when you have numerous authors working on it. For this reason, a style guide is needed. This style guide should be created by your content marketing manager. So, it should include information about brand personality, writing styles, punctuation and grammatical preferences, SEO best practices, and image selection rules.
Also, your content manager must guarantee that all content follows to this style guide in addition to proofreading and editing each piece of content before publishing.
#7. Content Distribution and Promotion
It is the content marketing manager’s responsibility to guarantee that each piece of content is published and marketed to the appropriate people in the right location at the right time after it has been created and authorized. They can do it manually. They may also hire technical employees to load content into a web CMS, email marketing, or social media automation platform.
Once published, a pre-planned promotional strategy should be implemented. So this may include automated social media postings or other methods that fire at times chosen for maximum engagement. This form of content automation is an efficient approach to increase content output without expanding your crew.
Your content marketing manager must also link your content strategy with the rest of your marketing initiatives and discover additional online and offline channels for promotion.
#8. Monitoring and Analysis of Content Performance
Your content marketing manager’s job does not cease once a piece of content is published. So, one of the most crucial aspects of this profession is continuous monitoring and analysis of published content to determine what is and isn’t working. These findings will help to shape future marketing initiatives and provide intelligence for your overall marketing strategy.
Although content analytics software can make this process easier, it is critical that your content manager still takes the time to analyze the data, make suggestions, and draw practical conclusions based on it.
You’ll also need to track engagement with your material, respond to comments and inquiries, and take notes on future content ideas. All of this falls under the purview of the content marketing manager’s responsibilities, albeit any or all of these jobs may be outsourced.
Read Also: Content Marketing Strategy: Complete Guide (+ Examples)
Content Marketing Manager Requirements
- BA/BS degree or similar work experience
- Experience generating digital content and establishing a social audience
- Editorial attitude that attempts to comprehend what audiences consume and also how to provide it.
- Content analysis and presentation skills, as well as social performance
- Knowledge of WordPress, Google Analytics, Slideshare, and the most popular social media channels
- Project management abilities and an awareness of how to manage the priorities of numerous stakeholders in a complicated setting while focusing on the delivery of outcomes in the form of engagement, leads, and sales are required.
Now we have seen the job description and qualifications for a content marketing manager, let’s see their salary in the next section.
Content Marketing Manager Salary
As of May 27, 2021, the average content marketing manager salary in the United States is $74,387. However, the content marketing manager’s salary range frequently ranges between $67,340 and $80,740. Content marketing manager salary ranges can vary greatly depending on a variety of things, including schooling, certifications, supplementary talents, the number of years you have worked in your field, and sometimes also, job description. Salary.com has more online, real-time compensation data than any other website, allowing you to pinpoint your specific wage target.
Let’s see some interview questions that can be used when recruiting a content marketing manager in the next section.
Read Also: PRODUCT MANAGER: Job Description and Salary updated
Interview Questions for a Content Marketing Manager
Here are some interview questions you could use when recruiting a content marketing manager.
#1. How do you decide on a piece of content’s style or tone?
When disseminating content, candidates should describe their thought processes. They should also keep in mind that the tone of the content will be determined by the platform, as different platforms offer distinct aesthetic characteristics and cater to different audiences.
#2. Describe how data plays a role in your job. How significant is it?
A content marketing manager’s job should be based on data. Candidates should accept that data drives all content marketing strategies and also provide examples of how they’ve used data to develop their plans.
#3. When determining the success or failure of a content marketing strategy, what metrics do you consider?
Candidates should include key analytics like page views, unique visitors, and also conversions. They must also explain how they use such analytics to make marketing decisions.
#4. What has been your most notable achievement as a content marketing manager?
This interview question allows the content marketing manager applicants to showcase their marketing expertise. Look for examples about how to use data to modify a marketing approach or lead to more engagement.
#5. How do you stay current in the content marketing industry?
Content marketing is a continuously changing profession that needs ongoing self-education to stay current. Candidates could also consider reading marketing blogs, being aware of changes to social media algorithms, and reading broadly on the topic of marketing as ways to keep current.
Is a Content Marketing Manager Necessary?
Many of the responsibilities described above can, without a doubt, be outsourced or delegated to other team members, freelancers, or agency partners, so it’s easy to believe that you don’t need to fill this function at all.
This, however, is a foolish way of thinking. Your content marketing manager’s role is to assure the success of your content marketing plan. It is easy to become lost in the day-to-day grind of merely cranking out content if you don’t have a motivated, capable person in this capacity.
Content marketing managers use a clearly defined content pipeline to connect all of the separate components of your content strategy – writing, SEO, promotion, analysis, and optimization.
Hiring someone to oversee your content marketing plan may be a large investment, but without it, you may not see a return.
How does a Content Marketing Manager work with other teams in an organization?
A Content Marketing Manager typically works closely with other teams in an organization such as the sales, product, and marketing teams. They also collaborate with designers, writers, and other creative professionals to bring content marketing initiatives to life.
How does a Content Marketing Manager measure the success of their content marketing efforts?
A Content Marketing Manager measures the success of their content marketing efforts by tracking metrics such as website traffic, engagement rates, and conversions. They also conduct regular surveys and focus groups to understand how their content is resonating with their target audience.
What is the role of a Content Marketing Manager in the sales process?
The role of a Content Marketing Manager in the sales process is to create and distribute content that helps to educate and engage potential customers. This can include blog posts, whitepapers, e-books, and other types of content that help to build trust and authority with the target audience.
What is the most important aspect of content marketing for a Content Marketing Manager?
The most important aspect of content marketing for a Content Marketing Manager is to create and distribute content that resonates with the target audience. This requires a deep understanding of the audience’s pain points, interests, and needs, and creating content that addresses these areas.
How does a Content Marketing Manager use data to inform their content marketing strategies?
A Content Marketing Manager uses data to inform their content marketing strategies by analyzing metrics such as website traffic, engagement rates, and conversions. They also conduct market research to understand their target audience and use this information to create content that resonates with their needs.
Content Marketing Manager FAQs
What is the role of a content marketer?
To oversimplify the role: content marketers are responsible for planning, creating, and sharing valuable content to grow their readership and relationships to potentially create new business for the company they represent
What skills do you need to be a content marketer?
The 9 most important content marketing skills and tools you need to focus on in 2023
- Content creation skills. …
- Editing skills. …
- Deep understanding of sales funnels. …
- Planning skills. …
- Research skills. …
- SEO skills. …
- Content promotion skills. …
- Data analysis skills
What can I expect from a content marketer?
As a content marketer, you will work with a team of writers or freelancers and assign topics. Even still, a content marketer is able to write as well and will be expected to do so. To create quality written content, you will need excellent writing skills and to be able to persuade your audience without selling overtly.
What makes a good content marketing manager?
They have a desire to create the best content on any given topic. … Ambitious content marketers don’t just settle for writing great content—they strive to create the best content. They work hard to ensure their content reaches the right audience by aggressively promoting it.
