Does your business have a content team - and have you touched base with them today? If you answered “no” to either question, it’s time to take some action. Trust me, your brand will thank you later.
A winning content team can take your business from unknown to totally buzzing, with first-page search engine rankings, tons of social media engagement, and an email mailing list that’s bursting at the seams.
But how does a team like this look, how do you put it together, and what do they need to get started?
In this article, we’ll go through the basic structure of a content team, talk about the roles and responsibilities involved, and give you some advice on apps and productivity software that will make managing the team a breeze.
Ready to take your digital branding and marketing to the next level? Let’s roll.
What does your dream team look like?
If this is the first time you’ve considered putting a content marketing team together, you’re probably wondering who to hire, what to order and where to start.
Here’s how it works.
To produce awesome content for your website, social media accounts, and mobile apps, you’ll need three marketing pros: an SEO analyst, a content writer, and a social media and outreach specialist.
Each of these roles is specialised - and though some pros claim to be able to do all three, it’s rare to find someone who does all three WELL.
Let’s take a look at each member in your content team and find out more about how they spend their day and what resources they need to excel at their jobs.
SEO analyst - the genius you can’t do without
SEO is short for Search Engine Optimisation. Basically, it’s the specialised skill that gets people to visit your website by understanding how Google works.
And trust me, that’s no easy thing to understand.
Your SEO analyst will need to have strong quantitative skills - loving numbers is always a good sign - but will also need to understand the human factor that drives traffic to your website.
The ideal SEO analyst is a mix between geek and people person - but don’t tell them I said that…
So, what will your SEO analyst do all day? It’s simple - they will track all of your online marketing efforts and find out exactly how many people visited your site, read, liked and followed your social media posts, and used your mobile apps.
- A good SEO analyst always has their finger on the pulse of your online presence.
- They’ll be able to tell you how many people follow your brand online, and how that number has changed over the past day, week, month, and year.
They’ll also be able to tell you what keywords your audience used to search for your brand, where your audience is located, how old they are, what income level they fall into, and even what other brands they follow.
Now, all of this sounds awesome - and impressive. But what good is all of this data? By knowing exactly who follows your brand online, you’ll be able to answer a few game-changing questions:
- Is my brand reaching the people I want it to reach - ie. my ideal customer or target audience?
- Even if it isn’t, are the people it’s actually reaching turning into customers? If so, how can I serve them better?
See, sometimes we head out there in the online space trying to reach the people we think are our ideal customers - but we could be ignoring a big chunk of the market that really loves our brand and is willing to buy.
On the other hand, if the people following our brand are just going along for the ride and not actually buying, those impressive audience numbers may not be that impressive after all.
These are the type of things that your SEO analyst will be able to explain to you when you meet with them - and if you’ve got the right analyst on your team, you could boost your customer base incredibly.
Any good SEO analyst will be familiar with Google tools like Keyword Planner. This tool literally knows the right search keywords to use in your content so that your brand meets with good potential customers online.
Ahrefs is another awesome tool for SEO analysts. It allows your analyst to track your brand’s online presence, and compare it with competitors in your niche. The monthly subscription fee is well worth it for the traffic you could generate.
Content Writer
If you’re still reading this article, it’s safe to say that you’re enjoying our content. That’s exactly what every content writer likes to hear!
Writing that entertains, informs, and inspires will keep your audience coming back to your blog and social media accounts - but if your content is boring, you’ll lose visitors super-fast.
That’s where a great content writer comes in. They’ll research, write and edit content for your website, blog, social media accounts and apps - and that content will help you to attract new customers every day.
Your content writer will work closely with your SEO analyst and social media outreach specialist, producing content that’s written with your target audience in mind.
So, what should you look for in a content writer - besides great writing skills of course?
- Experience writing for the internet is really important, because the way people read blogs and social media posts is totally different to the way they read news articles, books, and other printed materials.
A writer can have loads of experience as a journalist or academic and still not produce content that’s going to get noticed, clicked and shared.
- Another thing to keep in mind is that a content writer working on a team has got to have good social skills, even if they are more introverted than the other team members.
If your writer works remotely or prefers to work in their own private space, they still need to have good collaboration skills and be willing to shape their content to your brand’s needs.
One of the most important skills your writer needs to have is the ability to research topics quickly and accurately. Content writing is about educating your audience and giving them useful info and tips for success - and if your facts are wrong, your credibility will suffer.
A good content writer should be able to explain complicated ideas and processes in a simple, fun way that inspires your audience to read on. If their writing is awesome and full of flavour, that’s even better!
Headline Analyzer by Sharethrough is a great tool for writers, because it helps them to perfect the most important part of every article: the headline. That’s the hook the draws readers to your content, and it needs to pop!
Hemingway is a cutting-edge app that uses AI to simplify language and make it powerful and effective. By stripping the complicated sentences, passive voice and other boring elements out of your writer’s content, you’ll be left with beautiful, simple copy that sells!
Social Media and Outreach Specialist
So you’ve got an SEO analyst to keep an eye on the numbers and trends, and a writer to produce compelling content - but someone needs to publish the content, build an audience, and keep them engaged.
That’s where your social media and outreach specialist comes in.
A social media and outreach specialist is responsible for setting up and managing your blog, social media accounts, email marketing campaigns and more.
If you communicate with your audience online, your outreach specialist will be the one to do it.
An outreach specialist does so much more than posting updates on Facebook and scheduling Tweets - they maintain contact with your audience and make sure that your brand looks its best.
By keeping your audience excited and eager to experience your content, a good outreach specialist will help ensure that your brand gains followers every month.
They’ll also work closely with your content writer to make sure that your brand’s content is on message, accurate and pitched at the right audience.
By working with your SEO analyst, they’ll make sure that your content is published at the right time and on the right platforms for maximum engagement.
BuzzSumo is an innovative solution that lets your outreach specialist find online influencers to promote your brand. These kings and queens of YouTube, Facebook and Instagram have millions of followers - and they may be willing to partner with you and promote your brand.
Buffer is an all-in-one social media marketing solution that will make your outreach specialist’s work easier and more efficient. Producing, researching and posting social media posts in one place will save them time and let them focus on what’s important: your brand.
Putting it all together
Now that you know what a great social media team looks like, and what kind of apps they need to excel, don’t you think it’s time to invest in the growth of your brand? It doesn’t need to cost you a fortune.
If you’d prefer an outsourced branding and marketing solution, contact Cloudfusion today. Our team of designers, writers, SEO specialist and social media geniuses is on hand to build your brand.
