Content Strategist, what do they do and how can you become a Strategist?

Overview

What does a Content Strategist do?

A content strategist understands business goals and user needs, then helps plan, develop and deliver clear, relevant content that brings the two together. Content Strategists create brand communications and content which tells the brand story.

To excel in this field you should know how to send the right message to the right people at the right time, to create the right content strategy for your marketing team and get the most out of your campaigns.

Content strategy is the science behind storytelling.

Last updated: March 3, 2018

Basic Details

Career Industries Business Design Media/Journalism Arts English

Workplace

Day-to-day responsibilities often include creating and managing social media campaigns; monitoring engagement and analyzing data; managing content marketing campaigns; implementing SEO best practices; and building strategic partnerships.

A content strategist use data, research and understanding of psychology to shape client’s narrative and create content experiences tailored to the company’s target audience.

S/he also plans, writes and edits content; ensures it is clear, compelling and properly distributed across web, mobile and social platforms; and adheres to a consistent brand philosophy.

You may also have to find time for video production and information architecture.

Potential Employers

Media Companies
Design Consultancies

Requirements

Education

BA Journalism BA English PG Diploma Journalism B.A. Journalism Bachelor of Business Administration

Skills

Storytelling
Blogging
Marketing
Social Media
Design
SEO
Google Analytics
Google AdWords
Writing
Research

What should I know?

Best content strategists have a background in journalism and a fundamental understanding of how to tell compelling stories.

You should also love content—all of it. You’re telling your client’s or company’s story, so writing skills, including copywriting, are important.

But it’s not enough to be a good writer; you should also be able to produce video and understand how to tailor that content to different digital and social media platforms.

You should also be well versed in social media, programming languages and analytics.

In short you should know

Is this career suitable for me?

A specific type of degree is not necessarily important, but a journalism degree can help.

Look for internships that provide hands-on experience in areas such as analytics, copywriting and/or media planning. They should help you land a junior content strategist gig. Then you’re off to the races.

It’s important for content strategists to be expert storytellers with superb copy editing skills and a knack for multimedia.

Pros & Cons

There will be pros and cons for all jobs. A pro to you may be a con to your friend. So choose your career wisely according to your point of view.

Pros	Cons
You will get to work with various industries	Content strategist role varies across every organization
You can learn new things	You need to keep yourself updated in a daily basis
You can read a lot	Your content needs to be always relevant