Many companies use a content marketing strategy to promote their business and draw more people to their website. One of the most important cogs in this machine is the content manager, who oversees the entire process. While supervision and oversight is the main role of a manager, they also have a major impact on the content itself.
Responsibilities of a Content Manager
Planning
Content requires planning to ensure that deadlines are met and that a variety of topics are covered. Managers will spend lots of time managing the content roadmap, which is a document that plots out a regular schedule for content publication. This document is vital: you can’t just wake up in the morning and decide what needs to be written after your coffee kicks in.
You will need to keep the roadmap up to date while also updating it when necessary. Breaking news or current events may require a complete overhaul of the roadmap. You have to be flexible yet organized if you want your content to be meaningful and fresh.
If you manage several content creators, you’ll also need to plan who does what. In small organizations, the manager is often another content creator and will be directly involved in content production. Therefore, this job is actually an essential component of any content writer’s skill set. Everyone should know how to manage content.
Supervision and Editing
As a manager, your role is to oversee others’ work for the most part. If you have content writers under you, you’ll need to keep them on task and avoid falling behind on deadlines. This involves leadership skills and knowledge of how to motivate others. Remember that incentives are always more effective than discipline.
You may also act as a sort of editor-in-chief. One of your functions is to establish some parameters and basic rules for your company’s content and create an in-house style guide. With that in mind, you’ll need to make sure your writers are following those guidelines. While some of this can seem like nitpicking, SEO rules in particular need to be followed to the letter.
It’s often easier for you as a manager to make edits and upload content directly. However, you should also encourage your creators to learn from mistakes by giving feedback and having them rewrite problematic content. Try to strike a balance between constantly returning work to your writers and fixing everything yourself.
Content Writing
You’ll never reach the position of content manager if you can’t produce content on your own. Nobody gets to start out as a manager. You’ll likely need to work your way up by writing content and proving that you have a strong grasp of best practices. Once your employer knows they can trust you, you become a strong candidate for a managerial position.
However, becoming a manager doesn’t mean that you stop writing content and get to put your feet up and boss others around. You’ll still need to put in your fair share of keystrokes. After all, if you’re one of the best writers on the crew, your contributions are valuable. Consider how you can add some value to others’ work or help a writer who falls behind on their tasks.
Life presents plenty of surprises. As a manager, you’ll be the next person up if someone falls ill or has technical difficulties. Keep lines of communication open so that you can step in when you’re needed. You’ll always be a writer, even if your job title says manager.
Content Management
What does it mean to manage content? Content management systems like WordPress are how we keep track of what we’ve done and how we publish content to the world. You need to have knowledge of these systems, especially WordPress as it’s the most widely used platform for written content.
Can you set up a WordPress server? Do you know how to resolve certain issues like plugin incompatibilities or how to prevent a swarm of spambots? In addition to solving and preventing problems, you also have to know how to optimize content for SEO. Some knowledge of HTML can be beneficial here, although there are plenty of third-party plugins that can do most of the heavy lifting for you.
As you can see, technical skills and writing skills form the base of content management. People skills are also a crucial component for success as a manager. Do you think you have what it takes? If so, you should reach out to us at SteadyContent. We’re always looking for talented writers, editors, and managers.
Looks much more complex than it sounds