Find out Why a Content Strategist is a Valuable Addition to Your Organization

TL;DR

A content strategist sets the plan that guides creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content. Bring one in when you need audits, brand rules, SEO guidelines, and ongoing ROI tracking rather than only more posts.

Why it matters: without that plan, teams react to competitors and publish without a clear path to leads or revenue.
How it works: competitive analysis, content audits, gap analysis, governance standards, SEO rules, channel choice, then post-launch monitoring.
Zoom in: Kristina Halvorson frames content strategy around creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content.
The bottom line: treat the role as senior strategy that stays after launch to keep voice, SEO, and results aligned.

One of the biggest marketing assets today is content.

While this content is essential to promoting a brand and reaching a vast audience, it also needs to be strategic.

Instead of just reacting to what competitors put out or topics you hear about in your industry, businesses need to create a content marketing strategy to guide their efforts.

This guiding strategy includes the planning, creation, delivery, and overall governance of content that will not only be valuable to readers but can raise a brand’s visibility, result in more conversions, provide more leads, and increase revenues.

To accomplish all this, you’ll first want to consider bringing on board someone who specializes in devising such a valuable strategy. In other words, you need a content strategist.

Keep reading to learn more.

4. Get to Know the Competition

A study of the competition and what is already successful online can provide valuable information for the development of a content marketing strategy, so you can expect a strategist to conduct a thorough competitive analysis.

5. Conduct a Content Audit

A review and analysis of all content of the organization’s marketing efforts to date will take place early on.

This content audit analyzes your existing content, identifying what is working effectively, what needs revising, and what needs to be removed.

6. Conduct a Gap Analysis

A gap analysis is essential for locating what is missing among your existing content. It will answer questions such as:

Are you meeting the needs of your customers at each stage along the buyer’s journey?
Is your content written for existing customers only, or does it include compelling content to reach new audiences and potential customers?

Most people get tripped up here, honestly. It’s easy to underestimate how much actually falls through the cracks—either because nobody’s formally checking or because everyone is too in love with what’s already been published. In reality, stepping back and mapping your content against what customers actually need (instead of what you think they need) turns up more holes than you’d guess. And it’s kind of humbling. Sometimes you’ll realize entire audience segments are being ignored, or that your most-read pages barely support what you want people to do next.

As a result of what is found, the strategist may create a content matrix as a framework to follow going forward.

7. Establish Brand Governance Measures

Consistent branding is essential, especially for your content across multiple channels.

A content strategist will establish content governance guidelines for all staff to follow, with the ultimate goal of ensuring consistency of brand voice and tone across all content.

These will most likely include:

Content standards.
Brand guidelines.
Editorial and style guidelines.
Editorial calendars.
Content marketing tools and software.

8. Develop SEO Strategy Guidelines

SEO will be imperative to any content marketing strategy.

The strategist will establish SEO strategy guidelines to optimize all online content, including keyword research, metadata creation, and even local SEO measures if required.

It’s worth pausing a moment on SEO, since every organization swears they’re “doing SEO” until you really dig into the day-to-day. The difference comes down to rigor and follow-through. Having strategy guidelines looks nice on paper, but someone has to sweat the details—updating old content, researching keyword shifts, tweaking meta tags, and generally living in Google Search Console more than feels healthy. Good strategists will track performance and test assumptions regularly, not just preach about rankings and then let the whole thing slide out of sight once it’s set up.

9. Recommend Content Types

A strategist may recommend content types valuable to your targeted audiences based on research and analysis of customer behavior and successful content trends.

The goal is to engage your online audience more, such as with the inclusion of blog posts, videos, infographics, and interactive content.

10. Select Marketing Channels and Platforms

In addition to the importance of your content is the placement of that content for maximum effect.

The content strategist will research marketing channels and platforms and select those that will provide the most value for content delivery.

11. Continue Post-Strategy Development Monitoring

Even after a content marketing strategy is created and implemented, the job of the content strategist doesn’t end.

Post-strategy development tasks may include:

Continuous monitoring of analytics (including content traffic and engagement, leads, and conversions).
Tracking of content ROI.
Ensuring the content strategy continues to meet business objectives.
Finding ways to improve content delivery and its promotion.
Identifying what is working and what needs revising.

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Why Would You Need a Content Strategist?
Who Should Your Content Strategist Report To?
What are the Skills and Traits of a Good Content Strategist?
How Can One Become a Content Strategist?
Wrap Up: A Content Strategist is a Valuable Asset to Your Organization

Why Would You Need a Content Strategist?

A well-planned and effective content strategy can make all the difference in how successful you are online in reaching more customers and driving conversion rates.

It’s no wonder then that focusing on the development of that strategy is paramount for organizations today.

You want to get this right and maintain it to achieve the highest positive results.

For this, a content strategist will be a valuable addition to your marketing team, not just in the creation stages, but as a continuous presence, ensuring you are doing everything you can to reach your targeted audiences and meet their needs over the long term.

Who Should Your Content Strategist Report To?

A content strategist position is usually a more senior role in the organization or marketing department. They can be a full-time employee or an independent contractor, depending upon your organization’s needs.

While every organization is different, the content strategist will need to report to someone with authority.

The most common practice is to report to either a Director of Marketing or a VP of Marketing. In some situations, they may even report to the CEO of the company directly.

What are the Skills and Traits of a Good Content Strategist?

While the backgrounds of content strategists may differ, there are common skills and traits to be on the lookout for.

For example, a content strategist needs to be a high-level thinker, seeing the big picture and knowing how to compartmentalize for higher effectiveness.

They also need to be effective communicators at various levels, including with executive management and individual marketing teams.

In addition, a good content strategist will have the following.

Problem-solving skills.
Analytical and research skills.
Knowledge of SEO strategies and best practices.
Familiarity and comfortability with technology and web analytics.
Exceptional writing skills.
Project management experience, including budget tracking.
Knowledge of content presentation and delivery best practices.

While this is not considered an exhaustive list of the traits and skills of a good content strategist, it can give you an idea of what to expect and look for in your own search.

Luckily, you can find skilled content strategists on specialized freelancing platforms. With a large network of vetted professionals, you can build the dream content marketing team with little effort.

How Can One Become a Content Strategist?

For those considering a career as a content strategist, job opportunities will continue to rise as organizations more and more see the value in what such a role has to offer.

To become a content strategist, you may need any or all of the following, depending upon the organization you apply to.

A university degree in Marketing, English, Communications, Information Management, or other related areas.
3-5 years of experience in a content-related marketing position.
Strategic knowledge of SEO best practices.
Experience creating, editing and promoting content.

In addition, observe what a content strategist does and compare your skills to identify what you can improve upon to better your chances.

Wrap Up: A Content Strategist is a Valuable Asset to Your Organization

When it comes to the success of your organization today, content plays an extremely important role.

To ensure this content is providing you with the highest possible benefits, you need a content management strategy devised specifically for your needs and that of your targeted audiences.

The best way to accomplish this is by working with an experienced content strategist who can research, analyze, plan, deliver, and monitor the strategy and keep stakeholders updated on its progress.

A good content strategist can also ensure that your brand’s voice and tone stay consistent across all marketing channels.

What does a content strategist handle beyond writing posts?

Halvorson defines content strategy as guiding creation, delivery, and governance of useful, usable content. Strategy work includes audience research, content ecosystem analysis, stakeholder interviews, frameworks, and success metrics. Specialists rarely own every task, but strong strategists can explain how those pieces connect. This article also covers competitive analysis, audits, gap analysis, brand governance, SEO guidelines, and ROI monitoring after launch.

How much do content strategists earn in the United States?

Coursera's November 11, 2025 career guide cites Glassdoor estimated median total pay of $109,000 per year for US content strategists. That figure typically includes base salary plus additional pay, which may cover bonuses, commissions, or profit-sharing. Treat it as a market snapshot from that guide. It is not a guaranteed offer, and pay still varies by seniority, industry, and company.

What background do hiring managers typically look for?

Coursera says hiring managers typically prefer a marketing, communications, or advertising background and a relevant degree, and cites Zippia that 78.7% of content strategists hold a bachelor's degree. People can also move in after copywriting or other marketing roles. The article adds related degrees, often 3-5 years in content marketing work, plus SEO and promotion experience. A portfolio with calendars or reports helps show strategy output.

How is content strategy different from day-to-day content production?

Production writes and ships assets; strategy decides which useful, usable content to create, how to deliver it, and how to govern it over time. Halvorson puts audience goals, ecosystem analysis, frameworks, metrics, editorial standards, SEO guidelines, and operations models under that tent. In this article, the strategist also builds the content matrix, brand and style rules, and the monitoring loop after the plan launches. Without that layer, publishing volume rises while consistency and ROI stay unclear.