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Content Marketing Team: Understanding & Building A Team That Drives Business Results

Published August 23, 2023
/ Updated January 15, 2024

In today’s fast-paced digital world, a strong content marketing team drives your brand’s success and customer engagement.

As users increasingly seek valuable and engaging content, you, as a business, must rise to the challenge of delivering impactful messages across various channels. A well-structured and skilled team can help you navigate this dynamic landscape, creating compelling content that resonates with your target audience and drives meaningful results.

In this article, you’ll explore everything you need to know about content marketing teams, from different roles within the team to efficient structuring and hiring tips.

Understanding A Content Marketing Team

A content marketing team is responsible for creating, managing, and distributing content through various channels like blogs, social media, and paid advertising.

Since the purpose of content marketing is to drive profitable customer actions, the team works on developing and implementing a content strategy that aligns with their organization’s marketing objectives.

The content marketing team usually consists of:

  • Content strategists
  • Writers
  • Editors
  • Graphic designers
  • Social media managers
  • SEO specialists
  • Analytics experts

Content Marketing Teams Are Essential

Content marketing teams are essential for any business looking to succeed in today’s digital landscape. These teams are crucial in creating and distributing valuable content that attracts, engages, and retains customers.

Increased brand visibility, organic traffic, inbound lead generation, and customer loyalty are just some benefits content marketing teams can bring to the company.

Organization Of A Content Marketing Team

We can organize a content marketing team in two ways – by product or by function.

Organizing a content marketing team by product or by function graphic

By Product

Organizing a content marketing team by product means it’s organized based on the specific products or services the company offers.

In this setup, you should assign each team member a particular product or product category. And they should focus on creating content that promotes and supports that specific product’s marketing efforts.

This structure allows for specializations and a deep understanding of the product and its target audience.

By Function

In this setup, you organize the team based on specific functions or roles within the content marketing process.

For example, this could include roles like content strategists, graphic designers, writers, SEO specialists, and social media managers. Each team member has a specific area of expertise and contributes to the content marketing efforts from their respective roles.

This structure promotes collaboration and ensures that all aspects of content creation and distribution are well-managed.

Build A Content Marketing Team

Building a successful content marketing team requires a combination of various roles and skill sets. Let’s review what each role on a content marketing team involves.

Roles On A Content Marketing Team

 

Roles Within a Content Marketing Team

  • Content Strategist
  • Content Marketing Manager
  • SEO Manager
  • PPC Manager
  • Copywriter
  • Content Writer
  • Editor
  • Graphic Designer
  • Social Media Manager
  • Video Producer/Editor

Content Strategist: The content marketing strategist’s responsibility is to develop the overall content marketing strategy. They conduct market research, analyze target audiences’ behavior, identify content opportunities, define content goals, and create a roadmap for content creation and distribution.

Content Marketing Manager: The content marketing manager oversees overall content strategy, planning, and execution. They coordinate the team, set goals, manage budgets, and ensure the content aligns with the brand’s objectives and target audience.

SEO Manager: The SEO manager is responsible for optimizing the content to improve search engine visibility and organic traffic. They conduct keyword research, optimize on-page elements, monitor rankings, and implement SEO best practices to drive organic traffic.

PPC Manager: The PPC manager focuses on paid advertising campaigns to drive targeted traffic and conversions. They manage pay-per-click (PPC) campaigns on platforms like Google Ads or social media ads, monitor performance, and optimize campaigns for maximum ROI.

Copywriter: The copywriter creates compelling and persuasive short-form written content for various marketing channels. These may include social media captions, social media ad copies, email newsletters, and sales page copy. They craft engaging copy that captures the brand’s voice, communicates key messages, and drives audience engagement actions.

Content Writer: While copywriters focus on crafting short-form copies, content writers create long-form content. This type of content provides value to their target audience by educating, informing, and offering solutions to their problems. Long-form content may include blog posts, e-books, case studies, and whitepapers.

Editor: The editor is responsible for reviewing and refining content before publication. They ensure the content meets quality standards, is error-free, and aligns with the brand’s style and tone. Editors also provide feedback and collaborate with writers to enhance the overall content.

Graphic Designer: The graphic designer creates visually appealing and impactful visuals, like infographics, illustrations, or social media graphics, to accompany the written content. They use design tools and techniques to create eye-catching visuals that amplify the overall storytelling and engagement of the content.

Social Media Manager: The social media manager manages and executes the organization’s social media strategy. They create and schedule content for social media platforms, engage with the audience, monitor trends, and analyze metrics. They also optimize social media campaigns to increase brand visibility, engagement, and conversions. They may also collaborate with other team members to ensure consistent messaging across all online channels.

Video Producer/Editor: With the rising popularity of video content, marketing teams often include individuals responsible for producing, editing, and optimizing video content. They handle tasks like scripting, filming, editing, and adding graphics or effects to create compelling video content for various platforms. In large enterprises, the video production team may involve multiple individuals all focusing on specific tasks.

Hiring A Content Marketing Team

An effective content marketing plan requires you to assemble a robust content marketing team. This process begins by identifying the specific roles you need to fill and finding team members with the right skill set and experience.

Here are some tips that can help you hire a content marketing team for success:

5 Tips to Hire a Content Marketing Team

  1. Define Your Team’s Goals
  2. Look for Industry Experience
  3. Assess Portfolios
  4. Conduct Behavioral Interviews
  5. Prioritize Strong Communication Skills

Clearly Define Your Team’s Goals: Establish clear goals and objectives for your marketing team before starting the hiring process. This will help you identify the specific skills and expertise you need in candidates, ensuring that you hire individuals who can contribute to achieving those goals effectively.

Look For Industry Experience: Seek candidates who have relevant experience and knowledge in your industry. Familiarity with the market, target audience, and industry trends can bring valuable insights and help create more impactful marketing strategies.

Assess Their Portfolio: Request candidates to provide samples of their previous work, such as content campaigns, social media strategies, written content, or graphic designs. Review their portfolio and evaluate the impact of their past projects. Look for evidence of creativity, strategic thinking, and measurable results to gauge their potential contribution to your marketing team.

Conduct Behavioral Interviews: In addition to evaluating a candidate’s skills and qualifications, conduct behavioral interviews to assess their soft skills and cultural fit. Ask situational questions that require them to demonstrate problem-solving, collaboration, adaptability, and communication capabilities. This will help you gauge their ability to work effectively within your team and adapt to your company’s changing marketing needs.

Prioritize Strong Communication Skills: Effective communication is essential in any marketing role. So look for candidates who can articulate ideas clearly, write compelling copy, and engage with different stakeholders. Strong communication skills will ensure that your marketing messages are effectively delivered and resonate with your audience.

Size Of A Content Marketing Team

The ideal size of a content marketing team can vary depending on the size of the business and its content needs. Here are some general guidelines on marketing team sizes based on business size:

Sizes of a content marketing team ranging from small businesses at 1 to 3 members, mid-sized businesses at 4 to 7 members, and large enterprises at 8+ members

Small Businesses: Small businesses typically have a lean content marketing team due to limited resources. So their team may consist of 1-3 members who handle various responsibilities like content creation, social media management, and digital marketing. In some cases, the content marketing function may be handled by one or two individuals who wear multiple hats.

Mid-sized Businesses: Mid-sized businesses often have slightly larger marketing teams to support their growing marketing needs. They may have a content marketing team comprising 4-7 members, including roles like content strategists, copywriters, social media managers, graphic designers, and SEO specialists. This team can handle content creation, campaign execution, and audience engagement across multiple channels.

Large Enterprises: Large enterprises typically have more extensive marketing departments with specialized teams. The content marketing team in a large enterprise can consist of 8 or more members, including content managers, editors, content writers, SEO experts, data analysts, graphic designers, social media managers, and project managers. These teams manage complex content strategies, oversee multiple campaigns, and ensure consistent brand messaging across various platforms.

Content Marketing Team FAQs

Who Creates Content In A Marketing Team?

In a marketing team, content creation is typically a collaborative effort involving various roles like content strategist, content manager, content writer, and graphic designer. The specific individuals involved in content creation may vary depending on the organization and its resources.

What Is The Goal Of A Content Marketer?

The goal of a content marketer is to create and distribute relevant and valuable content to acquire new customers and retain existing ones.

What Skills Are Needed For Content Marketing?

Content marketing requires diverse skills to effectively create, distribute, and optimize content that resonates with the target audience. Content strategy, SEO, keyword research, writing, creativity and storytelling, and data analytics are some of the most important skills needed for content marketing.