Many people who aren’t involved in marketing every day hear the word ‘Content Marketing’ and think it’s just another industry buzzword.
However, as a marketer, you understand that effective content marketing allows people to learn about your company and even trust your business.
But it goes beyond just storytelling and brand awareness. It’s about providing people with a solution to their problems in a way that stands out from the noise. Sometimes the most powerful and visible content is the simplest and the clearest. It’s up to the content marketer to understand the audience and craft an answer to satisfy their dilemma or desires.
Not every marketer is going to be a skilled at creating compelling content. There are certain characteristics of a content marketer that you should look for when hiring, or strive to have yourself if you want to be successful.
Creativity
It’s easy to craft great content for exciting companies like GoPro or RedBull. There seems to be an endless amount of videos with daring feats, photos of gorgeous images to work with, or exciting events to write about. However, most companies don’t provide adrenaline rushes and can be it can be challenging to come up with viral and stimulating content.
A great content marketer will be able to put themselves in the shoes of the prospect and find out how to best appeal to them. Just because your company is in an industry like file sharing or insurance doesn’t mean you can’t create persuasive content, and a skilled marketer will be able to figure out how.
Strong Writing Skills
The most powerful content is rarely filled with industry jargon or complicated explanations. It’s often the clearest and most concise content that readers connect with the most.
You can have all the right information in the article, but if you’re not able to communicate it in the right way, then the content is meaningless. Having a strong voice is essential to communicating with potential prospects and existing clients. It doesn’t hurt for the candidate to have great grammar and spelling too!
Prove ROI
One of the skills that often gets left out when looking for a creative, strong writer is someone with data analysis skills and the ability to prove content marketing ROI. Look for a marketer who can interpret website and marketing data and gauge campaign performance. If they’re not able to recognize if their content is successful or not, then how will they be able to improve or make necessary changes? Not all content is right for every audience and it takes testing and evaluation to figure out the best way to connect with your audience.
