The Best Content Marketing Team Structure

If you are wondering about the best possible structure for your content marketing team, you’ve come to the right place.

In today’s article, we discuss what kind of people and skills you need to create a foolproof content marketing strategy, assemble a content team, and have a content marketing team structure that turns your coworkers into high performers.

Why do you need a content marketing team?

Today’s marketing is more complex than it seems. We have various media and channels to distribute and promote products. It’s hard to keep up.

Consumers are also wary of conventional advertising methods, so a content marketing team can assist you in reaching your target audience when traditional banner advertisements just won’t do.

The wrong content team structure can weigh down your content efforts and your ability to generate qualified sales and leads.

It may appear to be a huge investment to develop a team. However, it is typically in your best interests: content marketing initiatives may cost up to 62 percent less than traditional marketing campaigns while producing up to three times as many leads.

You might be tempted to hire a content marketing agency instead of the recruitment process.

However, they aren’t your employees. In addition, you might have issues with deadlines, as agencies typically have several clients and projects besides yours.

Additionally, some agencies may not have experience in your niche and won’t be able to deliver as in-depth content that will align with your content strategy.

On the other hand, an in-house content team will have a deeper understanding of your company’s goals, products, culture, and competition.

Also, because all their working hours are dedicated to your company’s projects, they can give updates on short notice.

The most cost-effective and efficient solution is outsourcing certain roles and deliverables to agencies or freelancers and getting an agency to fill the gaps in your content marketing efforts.

Check out What Is Content Syndication? A Guide To Content Syndication!

How to structure your content marketing team

First, let’s categorize main roles to better understand how to structure your team.

1. Content Strategist – Drives strategy for audience targeting, SEO, and promotion
2. Content Manager – Executes the strategy by assigning tasks to the right creators and implementers
3. Content Creator – Writes blog posts, creates videos and social media content

In terms of responsibilities, the most common content marketing jobs include management and creativity. A social media manager, for example, may perform both managerial and creative tasks. The head of content marketing should interact with the strategist and the creators and orchestrate all the marketing actions.

You can avoid the need for manual, time-consuming work such as data entry and duplication and distribution of information into many channels if you’re using the proper software.

Below, we showcase all of the main roles in a content marketing team.

The most important content marketing roles

It’s not simple to create content marketing campaigns. Readers will be turned off if you make it too commercial. You may waste money on advertising if you focus on entertaining your potential customer rather than converting them into a buyer. There’s also the issue of establishing a content marketing team structure, which adds to the complexity.

It’s crucial to determine what tasks need to be completed and who should do them once you’ve identified the ideal content marketing team members. Each position has its own set of required personality traits and abilities. Furthermore, each employee requires assistance for their work to be done properly.

Content Marketing Manager

First, you need a content marketing manager or chief content officer. This person should be able to manage content end-to-end.

The content marketing manager should be fully aware of the goals and targets of the sales team. This way, they can make sure the marketing team creates strategies and content that supports this goal. The content marketing manager should also keep up with other company leaders to help move the company in the direction they want to go.

A content manager is in on every content development phase, from planning to promotion. They are also in charge of the full content strategy and reporting results.

Other things that a content marketing manager can be in charge of:

• Creating a content marketing strategy with company leaders
• Giving out assignments to writers, graphic designers, photographers, etc.
• Write or create company-centric announcements and updates
• Manage publishing and distribution
• Promote the content
• Track conversions and other metrics
• Monitor results and make changes to strategy

A content marketing manager must be highly organized and responsible. They must pay close attention to detail and strategically use the CEO and senior marketer’s goals.

They must also be ego-free. They’ll be interacting with coworkers daily and inside, and outside the company, so interpersonal skills are critical.

Check out The Difference Between B2B And B2C Content Marketing!

Writers & Content Creators

The content manager needs to have someone to manage.

Writers are the people that tackle day-to-day content creation, especially blog posts. Ideally, you would have writers who are experts in topics related to your industry.

Writers should have some experience creating content related to your niche. However, writers might not necessarily have any direct experience in the industry.

But if they’ve written content for similar companies in your niche, you can be sure they’ve done enough research to have extensive knowledge about the field.

You also need the right people for the right types of content. Apart from writers, these can be videographers, photographers, or graphic designers.

You can have both in-house and outsourced content creators depending on the businesses. But unfortunately, most content marketing teams rely on both.

Content creators do more than content creation. Their typical responsibilities include also:

• Helping implement the vision and move the company forward
• Pitching new content ideas that align with the strategy
• Sharing the resources such as professional contacts

The content marketing manager, or the VP of marketing /marketing director, is in charge of the company’s content efforts. They will report to the CEO in a small firm.

In the case of content creators, their talent is the main priority. Their portfolios, social media accounts, and testimonials should be at the base of the hiring decision.

Editors & Designers

Next, you need people who add the finishing touches and bring the content to life.

Even if your material is well-researched and well-written, a slew of grammatical mistakes may cause readers and subscribers to doubt the quality of your work, no matter how well-researched or even well-written it is.

The writers and editors are at the heart of your content strategy. They ensure that everything released is perfect and suitable for readers.

You choose the team structure you want, and either in-house editors report to the managing editor or freelance editors working on a project.

Content creators, editors, and designers can be in-house or outsourced depending on the needs of the business. Because there may be less work, outsourcing is likely.

However, if you intend to create material regularly, it’s better to hire at least one in-house editor.

There may be a variety of specialized talents required when numerous marketing channels and content kinds are employed. Several individuals, including video editors, will fill this role, audio editors, copy editors who check the material, and web designers and webmasters who create it.

Editors’ and designers’ responsibilities will differ depending on what kind of tweaking content needs. However, they’ll typically receive material from the content marketing manager and prepare it for publication.

Check out Content Marketing Strategy Examples That Deliver Leads!

SEO and Analytics Expert

An expert in search engine optimization (SEO) and analytics can be key in making sure your content marketing pieces are optimized. This person is in charge of keyword research to shape the content calendar and SEO-related tests and experiments.

An SEO and analytics expert is also responsible for staying on top of data that can inform future marketing strategies and tactics. For example, they might recommend to the managing editor to create more long-form posts about a particular topic if they find that said topic generates the most traffic and leads, or they can suggest creating lead magnets based on popular content.

This role is often outsourced or taken on as a consultant. But you may want to hire one in-house to train your team or make sure your company keeps a data-first approach.

Social Media Marketer

You need someone dedicated to the promotion to maximize your content efforts.

The content marketing manager will often be responsible for social media and content promotion at smaller companies. There is always an option to hire a freelancer or agency to help with this.

There might be a need for a full-time social media marketer at a bigger company. Also, the content marketing team structure will depend on how much your business relies on social media for sales and leads.

Social media marketers are responsible for:

• Increasing followings across your social media channels
• Building a community around your product
• Engaging with followers, responding to comments
• Connecting with influencers and other businesses
• Promote new content
• Drive traffic to evergreen content
• Set up paid ads to boost the visibility of content

The best social media marketers can build a community around your brand. They reply to comments and engage with followers. They build customer relationships and connect with other social media managers from other companies, and swap mentions and shares.

The best social media marketers produce a lot of material to promote. They enjoy exploring what’s already available and obtaining new visitors. They must also be well-versed in the brand voice so they may write with personality while remaining on-brand.

Content distribution specialist

Last but not least, some important roles you can consider hiring once you’ve scaled are people to handle the distribution of your content. Roles like email marketers and social media managers help you get your content out there and in front of a wider audience.

It’s possible to outsource these tasks to a marketing agency. Still, for companies who want the most control over their distribution channels, you can hire dedicated people to fill these roles.

Steps to Creating a Content Marketing Team

1. Choose between full-time employees and remote content marketers
2. Design a content marketing team structure that’s right for your company
3. Create a list of needed content team members
4. Take advantage of content marketing tools
5. Onboarding framework
6. Create a content marketing playbook
7. Use a content management system

Conclusion 

If you’re looking to scale your content marketing strategy, it might be time to think about adding an in-house content distribution specialist. This person is responsible for getting your content out there and into as many hands as possible through email or social media channels. But, again, it’s best to hire a full-time employee rather than outsourcing the task to a marketing agency.

Now that you know who to add to your team, it’s time to start thinking about what they’ll do. First, define the roles and responsibilities of each content marketer, then create an onboarding framework and content marketing playbook to make sure everyone is on the same page.