Ok, I need to rant, but maybe once I'm done, I'll feel better.
A content strategist is not a "clever Internet marketer." Nor are they an "excellent Web copywriter." Or any of the other bizarre labels we seem to be getting.
There are, on my last count, 4 types of content strategists:
1. Technical documentation specialists who can help you with an enterprise content strategy that makes use of a content documentation tool. They like things like meta data, workflow guidelines and governance issues.
2. Content marketing geniuses can help you in your planning and creation of content. They also will help you think of ways to deliver and publish your content, and can give you advice about governance and archiving. But they are focused on creating relationships with customers through the content itself--the words, pictures, videos, etc. They are former journalists, copywriters, digital communication specialists and marketing experts.
3. Editorial experts who will help you think through a news desk, editorial team and guidelines for how, when, what and who to publish to and for. They usually have backgrounds in journalism, writing, communications and the like.
4. Marketers who don't necessarily create content strategies, but implement them and follow them, adding to the particulars of their own team. They probably bring in content marketers so they can round out an excellent content team.
Content Strategies are Repeatable Cycles
Content strategies are supposed to be repeatable cycles for planning, creating, publishing and governing your content. That means they function like a washing machine; for each content type you run through the strategy, you should be able to follow the same steps and framework that work to get you to your goals, which are:
1. Aligning your business strategy with your content
2. Helping your customers accomplish their goals
So stop calling us "sophisticated Internet marketings" or "Web-savvy writers." We are rock stars and we've got our own moves.
I'm with you - "content strategist" shouldn't be the equivalent of "Web writer III" or some other role. What content strategy "really is" is going to vary by the type of client, the business/communication goal(s) at hand, and the strategic vision of the practitioner.
ReplyDeleteThe confusion arises from the virtue(?) of (most) content strategists having a lot to offer when it comes to Web marketing / editorial strategy / content management systems / sourcing and distribution / governance / etc.
Maybe what a content strategy (really) is isn't the only thing that a content strategist does.
This post is like Vicodin to my weary content strategist soul. Thank you.
ReplyDeleteI agree that content strategy is different for every organization, but when limited to content development, it's no longer content strategy.
ReplyDeleteThere's a lot of change management in CS, as well as therapy about how to structure teams for best output. Plus, I think we overlap with so many other disciplines that the definitions tend to become blurry.
Great post, Ahava. Isn't it the truth, though, that while we each have specialties, we also have to do all these things to some degree?
ReplyDeleteThe one thing I would add to your list is content analytics and optimization specialists. These are the folks who add a feedback loop to the content workflow and help set up tests of content that are part of the continuous process of creating, publishing and maintaining content. They tend to have backgrounds in SEO and statistics.
@John--that's an excellent point and good to add to my "matrix". I do agree that we all wear those hats, and to a certain degree wear other UX hats, like IA or usability. I had a teacher who once said, "You should know something about everything and everything about something." That certainly applies to UX and content strategy!
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