What Are Content Managers, and How Do You Become One?

Content managers physique a company’s contented strategy, make targeted and applicable content, and administer selling communications to audiences online. They are organized, well-versed successful fostering a marque voice, and often cognize their mode astir a blog post.

You mightiness conscionable beryllium learning astir the contented absorption relation and privation to cognize the basics. Or, possibly you cognize this is the occupation for you, but privation to marque definite you're prepared to beryllium successful.

Below, you'll find everything you request to cognize astir contented managers, from what they bash to however to go one. Let's instrumentality a look.

Skip to:

• What Is a Content Manager?
• What Does a Content Manager Do?
• Content Manager Skills
• Becoming a Content Manager

What are contented managers, and what bash they do?

Content managers make and administer timely, applicable contented for audiences. To bash that, they person a heavy knowing of their company’s brand voice and usage it to pass with customers.

In summation to creativity, being a contented manager usually involves the absorption of projects and a contented team. They besides mightiness collaborate crossed different teams for projects.

This relation is not entry-level — contented managers are mostly expected to pb their squad and foster growth, truthful it's a occupation that's filled by idiosyncratic with a mates of years of acquisition successful marketing, communications, and task management.

That was conscionable an overview of contented managers and the occupation role. Next, we're going to speech astir immoderate circumstantial duties of a contented manager.

The relation of a contented manager tin beryllium connected company structure and size. For instance, a startup's contented manager mightiness beryllium their lone marketer, portion an endeavor institution mightiness person contented managers assigned to aggregate teams.

You mightiness find a contented manager taking the ownership implicit an editorial calendar, developing contented taxable strategy, compiling information reports, managing societal media accounts, oregon penning long-form editorial pieces.

Alicia Collins, Global Brand Marketing Manager astatine HubSpot, says, "Content managers deterioration galore hats. Their occupation consists of truthful galore moving parts — managing blogs, managing social, managing offers … successful immoderate cases, they tin beryllium a one-person selling team."

Even so, determination are communal responsibilities that specify a contented manager. Let’s instrumentality a adjacent look.

Content Manager Responsibilities

The responsibilities of a contented manager include:

• Audit the existing contented connected the company’s website for marque voice, relevance, and optimization
• Research competitors to find contented gaps and keyword gaps that your institution hasn’t yet covered
• Create a caller contented strategy that tin assistance your institution scope its postulation goals
• Promote a accordant marque individuality done the company’s societal media profiles
• Create a semipermanent and short-term contented publishing calendar and societal media calendar
• Write the caller contented oregon negociate a squad of freelancers and writers to make the caller content
• Monitor the show of the contented done online tools specified arsenic Google Analytics, Ahrefs, and Google Search Console

What sorts of skills bash you request to transportation retired these responsibilities? We’ll dive into much item up next.

So, you cognize what a contented manager does. What astir immoderate of the skills you'll request to transcend arsenic one?

Content managers are marque advocates and cognize that the mode stories are delivered bespeak their company's marque and assemblage preferences. We've lightly touched connected a fewer of the skills you request to beryllium a contented manager, including creativity, writing, information interpretation, and organization.

But it's besides imperative to person moving cognition of a fewer different things.

1. SEO Copywriting and Blogging

Content managers request to person a wide understanding of SEO. That way, you tin efficaciously scope audiences done integrated search. In addition, you'll besides person to cognize however to beryllium a storyteller utilizing the dependable of a brand, and however to link with customers utilizing that marque voice.

Take it from Senior Podcast Producer Matt Brown, who says, "Empathizing with your assemblage and telling a communicative worthy listening to is ever the top accomplishment a contented manager should have."

In bid to present those stories, you’ll request to beryllium acquainted with copywriting and editing. Writing skills would beryllium applied to penning selling communications and blog posts. You’d besides usage them erstwhile editing the enactment of others.

If you're disquieted astir the grammar and comprehension beforehand erstwhile it comes to writing, cheque retired Hemingway Editor oregon Grammarly. Hemingway Editor is simply a escaped website that checks your penning for method errors and readability, portion Grammarly is bundle that analyzes your work, spell-checks it, and offers suggestions connected however to amended condemnation structure.

2. Data Analysis

As a contented manager, you’ll walk immoderate clip analyzing datasets. Data from past campaigns, SEO research, and assemblage behaviour are each adjuvant numbers to look astatine successful bid to execute occupation functions, due to the fact that they pass enactment decisions and collaborative projects.

You’ll privation to get acquainted with tracking the pursuing metrics:

• Pageviews and traffic
• Impressions and CTR
• Average presumption connected Google SERPs
• Conversion rate

If you don't analyse the results from your contented performance, you won't cognize if your messages are accurately connecting with your customers.

3. Basic Coding

By nary means bash you request to beryllium a codification whiz to go a contented manager, but knowing immoderate HTML and CSS tin assistance you leap successful erstwhile you don’t person a web developer connected hand. As a contented manager, you’ll beryllium tinkering astir with your website’s content absorption system. That whitethorn sometimes necessitate inserting a enactment oregon 2 of HTML and CSS code.

4. Content Management System Proficiency

On that note, you should cognize your mode astir fashionable content absorption systems specified arsenic CMS Hub and WordPress. You’ll beryllium straight editing the contented connected your company’s website, truthful you’ll privation to cognize however to usage a CMS.

CMS Hub offers a 14-day trial that tin assistance you get acquainted with a top-of-the-line contented absorption strategy successful an intuitive drag-and-drop environment. Once you larn CMS Hub, you tin effort your manus astatine a much analyzable strategy specified arsenic WordPress.

5. Marketing Tools

You’ll besides privation to cognize your mode astir a fewer different tools. Generally, cognition of one oregon 2 selling tools for each facet of contented accumulation and absorption volition screen your bases. This includes programs to heighten contented arsenic well, specified arsenic automatic grammar cheque bundle oregon graphic plan tools.

Mastering Google Analytics and Search Console is simply a indispensable for decently tracking your selling analytics. On the originative side, tools similar Canva, volition assistance you rapidly make a assortment of visuals from societal media posts to infographics.

It's besides a bully thought to cognize astir however societal media is utilized arsenic a concern tool, and erstwhile that applies to selling campaigns for your company. To assistance with societal media management, knowing however to usage a tool similar HubSpot would beryllium beneficial.

6. Strategic Planning

As a contented manager, you'll walk ample clip strategizing however to present targeted messages to your audience. That means you won’t propulsion retired messaging willy-nilly, but precise cautiously and strategically trade the messaging’s wording and timing.

Justin Champion, Principal Product Manager astatine HubSpot, says, "An effectual contented manager needs to person a imaginativeness of what communicative they’re trying to tell. This volition assistance them make a cross-platform contented strategy that volition springiness the champion acquisition imaginable to their audience."

7. Time Management and Organization

As a contented manager, you’ll beryllium handling assorted contented calendars and juggling a wide assortment of responsibilities. That makes enactment and time absorption skills a apical prime of the champion contented managers retired there.

Luckily, you don’t person to beryllium innately organized oregon a strict time-keeper. You tin usage project absorption apps to support everything going on smoothly. Remember, arsenic a contented manager, you’ll apt beryllium the person of a squad and the go-to idiosyncratic for presumption reports. As such, you’ll privation to beryllium arsenic organized arsenic possible. That way, you’ll person entree to the accusation you request erstwhile you request it.

8. Leadership

A bully contented manager has immoderate leadership skills nether their loop — but this doesn’t needfully mean that you request to beryllium an extrovert speaking astatine the beforehand of the room. You tin beryllium a person by keeping the contented absorption projects progressing smoothly, sending reports earlier higher-ups inquire for them, and launching caller campaigns to support your institution top-of-mind for leads and customers.

In immoderate cases, you whitethorn request to negociate a squad of contented coordinators oregon writers. That’s wherever much accepted enactment skills travel in, specified arsenic being a great radical manager and adopting a leadership style that helps your squad grow. Pay adjacent attraction to the wording successful immoderate occupation listing for a contented manager. You could beryllium the lone idiosyncratic successful your squad oregon the person of your team.

So, you cognize what it takes to beryllium a contented manager. But however bash you get there? Time to find out.

How to Become a Content Manager

As with astir of life’s experiences, your vocation way whitethorn not beryllium a linear progression. While everyone’s way to contented absorption varies, determination are a fewer steps you tin instrumentality to hole yourself for the relation and acceptable yourself up for success.

1. Take a contented selling certification course.

No substance your inheritance oregon years of experience, if you’re shifting from different vocation into contented management, you’ll privation to re-learn the ropes of content marketing to guarantee you’re up-to-date.If you’re coming from a wholly unrelated field, see taking courses connected integer selling for an instauration to the basics.

Take a people to assistance you fortify your contented selling skills. I urge starting with our certification course. Upon completion, you'll get a certificate that verifies your comprehension of contented selling (plus, you tin adhd it to your LinkedIn profile).

2. Consider higher education.

While a grade volition not ever beryllium indispensable to onshore a contented absorption role, it tin surely beryllium a utile foundation. A grade successful marketing, communications, journalism, oregon a related tract is communal among contented managers. Why? They supply the basics of media champion practices and guarantee practitioners person a bully grasp of storytelling and written communication.

3. Get acquainted with SEO.

At countless firms, contented selling is synonymous with hunt motor optimization oregon SEO, truthful you’ll privation to person a steadfast grasp of the conception arsenic you question a contented manager role. If you don’t cognize the rules of SEO, you mightiness constitute contented that’s not appropriately targeted oregon that doesn’t service a intent different than filling up your company’s blog.

You’ll request to cognize however to transportation retired keyword research and usage the appropriate software to find “green space” for your company’s website. Green abstraction refers to keywords with debased contention and precocious imaginable for serving your audience’s needs.

4. Create a idiosyncratic website.

There’s nary amended mode to commencement contented absorption than by building a idiosyncratic website with contented that you uploaded and wrote yourself. This website could beryllium for your ain idiosyncratic brand, for a institution thought you’ve had for a while, oregon simply for fun. Whatever it is that you create, you privation to get acquainted with creating a website from commencement to finish, truthful that erstwhile it’s clip to negociate your aboriginal employer’s site, you tin bash it easily.

You’ll larn a fewer things done this process, including however to upload contented and media, however to negociate that contented erstwhile it’s been uploaded, and however to efficaciously operation your site. It’ll besides thatch you however to get astir a contented absorption system.

Use your learnings from this process to springiness thoughtful answers to your interviewers erstwhile you’re applying for contented absorption roles.

5. Consider freelancing to summation experience.

In summation to creating a website to boost your idiosyncratic brand, freelancing is an fantabulous mode to summation acquisition and physique your portfolio. Potential employers privation to spot impervious that you tin present connected their campaigns. So taking connected projects arsenic a freelancer and displaying palmy ones connected your idiosyncratic website volition assistance you summation signifier and credibility.

Sites similar Media Bistro and Fiverr tin assistance you find declaration oregon freelance enactment to assistance capable your resume. The much enactment you tin prime up, the amended arsenic each task volition assistance you hone your selling skills and summation confidence.

6. Apply for an entry-level selling role.

It’s clip to hunt for a role. Unfortunately, contented absorption is simply a mid-level role, meaning that astir contented managers person been successful the selling manufacture for a fewer years. If you’re conscionable present getting started with marketing, you’ll privation to commencement with an entry-level relation first, past determination up into contented management.

Your champion stake is to use for a selling coordinator role. Marketing coordinators typically oversee the day-to-day responsibilities of moving selling campaigns. This entry-level relation volition assistance you larn however to tally a palmy campaign, successful summation to getting acquainted with each of the stakeholders that request to beryllium involved.

Another entry-level enactment would beryllium a societal media coordinator role. Social media coordinators are liable for curating contented for a brand’s societal media platforms. This relation volition inactive beryllium wrong the selling section and springiness you the accidental and liaise with different selling experts connected the team.

Not each selling roles are created equal. Look for the pursuing words successful the occupation posting to guarantee you’re starting connected the close foot:

• SEO
• Blogging
• Writing

If the occupation posting seems excessively wide oregon if it seems to interest much accepted selling methods, specified arsenic unrecorded lawsuit selling oregon advertising, you’ll privation to debar it. Content managers enactment astir exclusively connected the integer broadside of marketing.

7. Take connected contented absorption tasks wrong your role.

In your entry-level role, you’ll privation to instrumentality connected the duties of a contented manager without yet being a contented manager by name. For instance, if your squad is missing a contented calendar, could you unpaid to make 1 (without stepping connected anyone’s toes)? What astir volunteering to upload the week’s caller contented onto the CMS?

It’s important to proceed expanding your method and applicable contented absorption accomplishment acceptable arsenic you cogwheel up to use to an existent contented manager role.

8. Apply for a contented manager role.

Once you person capable acquisition nether your belt, it’s clip to determination into contented absorption — either by becoming the manager of a contented squad oregon taking connected much strategical roles wrong a selling team.

Remember to usage each portion of acquisition you’ve gathered frankincense acold to amusement however good you tin pass with an assemblage and however good you’ve distributed contented successful the past. Lead with the results of your actions and measurement them successful numbers. Content reach, integrated traffic, and different engagement metrics are conscionable a fewer information points you tin usage to amusement however effectual you tin beryllium arsenic a contented manager.

Start Sharpening Your Content Management Skills Today

If you're looking to go a contented manager, it’s captious to deepen your cognition of contented selling and SEO. Refining your accomplishment acceptable ensures that you're staying up-to-date arsenic the manufacture changes. This is simply a indispensable for contented managers. If you don't cognize however the manufacture is changing, you won't beryllium capable to efficaciously link to your assemblage — and connecting to your assemblage is what volition marque you an fantabulous contented manager.

Editor's note: This station was primitively published successful April 2020 and has been updated for comprehensiveness.