CONTENT

MARKETING
SKILLS
FROM TUSHITA CHOUDHARY
INTRODUCTION
IN A WORLD THAT FOCUSES ON CONSTANTLY
USING TECHNOLOGY TO FIND INNOVATIVE
SOLUTIONS, DISMISSING KEY SKILLS FOR
MARKETING COULD BE THE DOWNFALL OF A
DIGITAL BUSINESS.
DIGITAL INFORMATION HAS BEEN PREVALENT
FOR MANY ORGANISATIONS – ESPECIALLY IN
THIS PAST YEAR. HOWEVER, IT’S IMPORTANT TO
UNDERSTAND THAT PAYING FOR TECH AND
TOOLS WITHOUT NAILING THE BASICS FIRST
SIMPLY WON’T WORK. THAT’S WHY HAVING A
STRATEGY AND FRAMEWORK IN PLACE IS
IMPORTANT – AND EMPLOYEE UPSKILLING
SHOULD BE A PART OF THIS.
ENSURING EMPLOYEES HAVE THE SKILLS
NEEDED FOR MARKETING IN 2021 – AND CAN
TAP INTO THE POWER OF TECH – IS A RECIPE
FOR SUCCESS.
ONGOING TRAINING AND SKILLS REFRESHERS
ARE ALSO KEY FOR KEEPING UP WITH
EVOLVING ASPECTS OF MARKETING. THE
INDUSTRY IS EVER-CHANGING – FOR EXAMPLE,
SEO RULES ARE DEVELOPING ALL THE TIME.
IN THIS ARTICLE, WE HIGHLIGHT A LIST OF
MARKETING SKILLS THE PEOPLE IN YOUR
BUSINESS NEED IN ORDER TO NAVIGATE 2021
AND BEYOND. WE ALSO TAKE A LOOK AT HOW
TECHNOLOGY AND DIGITAL TOOLS PLAY A
ROLE. PLUS, WE CONSIDER WHETHER IN-HOUSE
MARKETING COULD BE JUST WHAT YOU NEED.
 1.CONTENT
STRATEGY
2.PROJECT
MANAGEMENT

7.BLOG WRITING
8 CONTENT
MARKETING
3.SEO FUNDAMENTALS
8.CONTENT
4.CREATIVE ASSET
ANALYTICS AND
MANAGEMENT
TRACKING

SKILS

5.COPYWRITING
6.EDITING

01
CONTENT
STRATEGY:

YOUR BUSINESS COULD CREATE UNLIMITED

CONTENT. BUT YOU DON’T HAVE UNLIMITED
CONTENT RESOURCES. SO WHAT SHOULD YOU
PRIORITIZE? A GREAT CONTENT MARKETER
WILL HELP YOU IDENTIFY YOUR LOWEST LIFT,
HIGHEST IMPACT CONTENT
OPPORTUNITIES.“CONTENT MARKETERS SHOULD
ALWAYS BE STRATEGIZING AND IDEATING,”
DONATI TOLD MARKETERHIRE.
TYPICALLY, THEY’LL START WITH A THOROUGH
DISCOVERY PROCESS, ACCORDING TO OUR
PANEL OF EXPERTS — DIVING DEEP INTO
ANALYTICS, READING YOUR COMPANY’S
EXISTING CONTENT AND INTERVIEWING
CLIENTS.THE TYPE OF CONTENT THEY DECIDE
TO CREATE IS ULTIMATELY BASED ON A DEEP
UNDERSTANDING OF A BRAND AND ITS
AUDIENCE.
“IF YOU’RE TRYING TO GET THE ATTENTION OF
15-YEAR-OLDS, WE’RE GOING TO NEED TO LOOK
AT TIKTOK,” NEUMARK SAID. BUT IF YOU'RE A
B2B MARKETER TRYING TO REACH TOP
EXECUTIVES, "MAYBE WE’RE GOING TO DO A
WHITE PAPER.”
EXPERT CONTENT MARKETERS CAN HELP YOU
FIGURE OUT WHAT KIND OF CONTENT IS RIGHT
FOR YOUR BUSINESS, SO YOU DON’T GET
OVERWHELMED BY INFINITE POSSIBILITIES.

02
PROJECT
MANAGEMENT
GREAT CONTENT MARKETERS ARE SYSTEMS
THINKERS WHO KNOW HOW TO MANAGE
CONTENT IDEATION, PRODUCTION AND
PROMOTION.
THE BEST CONTENT MARKETERS USE CONTENT
CALENDARS — BUILT IN SPREADSHEETS, OR
PLATFORMS LIKE TRELLO AND ASANA — TO
AVOID LAST-MINUTE SCRAMBLES. THEY USE
THESE CALENDARS TO KEEP TRACK OF
CONTENT WORKFLOWS AND DUE DATES, AND
TO STORE NOTES AND KEYWORD RESEARCH. A
CALENDAR ON ITS OWN ISN’T ENOUGH,
THOUGH.
“SOME BRANDS HAVE COHESIVE CALENDARS
AND REALLY INVENTIVE IDEAS,” CLARK SAID.
“BUT MAYBE THEY'RE STARTING ON COPY JUST
A WEEK BEFORE [PUBLISHING].”
EXPERT CONTENT MARKETERS USE CONTENT
CALENDARS TO PLAN AHEAD, AND ENSURE
THAT WHEN THE TIME COMES TO PUBLISH,
EACH PIECE OF CONTENT HAS GONE THROUGH
EDITING AND OPTIMIZATION.
THEY DON’T JUST PUBLISH THINGS AS SOON AS
THEY’RE FINISHED AND THEN GO BACK IN
LATER TO CATCH MISTAKES. THOUGH A LOT OF
AMATEURS DO.

03
SEO
FUNDAMENTALS
HOW-TO GUIDES, INFOGRAPHICS, AND
CHECKLISTS CREATE THE MOST VALUE FOR
COMPANIES AT THE TOP OF THE FUNNEL,
ACCORDING TO A SEMRUSH STUDY — AND EVEN
YEARS DOWN THE ROAD, CUSTOMERS TEND TO
FIND THOSE POSTS VIA GOOGLE SEARCH.IT
PAYS TO MEET CUSTOMERS WHERE THEY ARE.
(LITERALLY.) HENCE THE IMPORTANCE OF
SEARCH ENGINE OPTIMIZATION (SEO).
“A LOT OF COMPANIES WILL PROVIDE A LIST OF
SEO TERMS THAT THEY'VE ALREADY SOURCED,”
CLARK SAID. NOVICE CONTENT MARKETERS
TAKE THOSE KEYWORDS AND STUFF THEM INTO
BLOG POSTS INDISCRIMINATELY. EXPERTS
THINK CRITICALLY ABOUT THE TERMS AND THE
IDEAL PROSPECT’S SEARCH INTENT TO CRAFT
CONTENT THAT ACTUALLY SOLVES PEOPLE’S
PROBLEMS.
ESPECIALLY AMIDST ANNUAL GOOGLE CORE
UPDATES AND PRIVACY UPDATES THAT MAKE
PAID ADS HARDER TO MANAGE, SEO EXPERTISE
IS INCREASINGLY ESSENTIAL FOR CONTENT
MARKETERS.
IT HELPS THEM NAVIGATE GOOGLE’S
CONSTANTLY-CHANGING ALGORITHM SO THEIR
CONTENT GETS IN FRONT OF THE RIGHT
AUDIENCES — EVEN IF THEY CAN’T TRACK THAT
AUDIENCE’S EVERY MOVE THE WAY THEY ONCE
COULD.

 04
CREATIVE ASSET
MANAGEMENT
FROM VIDEO AND PODCAST CREATION TO
GRAPHIC DESIGN, EXPERT CONTENT
MARKETERS HAVE EXTENSIVE FOLDERING
SYSTEMS TO KEEP ASSETS STRAIGHT —
AND COLLABORATIVE SKILLS FOR
WORKING WITH DESIGNERS, WRITERS,
VIDEOGRAPHERS, AND MORE.
THEY MAKE IT EASY TO SHARE ASSETS
AND TEMPLATES ACROSS TEAMS.
WITHOUT A THOROUGH DIGITAL ASSET
MANAGEMENT (DAM) SYSTEM IN PLACE,
COMPANIES CAN LOSE TRACK OF THEIR
ASSETS, WHICH IS A WASTE OF TIME AND
MONEY.
IT OFTEN HAPPENS WHEN IN-HOUSE
CREATIVE TEAMS GET STRETCHED THIN.
“THEY’RE OVERWORKED, OR THEY’RE
JUGGLING A LOT OF DIFFERENT
PROJECTS,” CLARK EXPLAINED.
PROS GET MAXIMUM MILEAGE OUT OF
THEIR DIGITAL ASSETS, THOUGH —
WITHOUT LETTING THEM FALL THROUGH
THE CRACKS OR OVERUSING THEM.

05
COPYWRITING

TOP MARKETERS AGREE: COPYWRITING AND

CONTENT CREATION ARE DIFFERENT — BUT
RELATED — ENDEAVORS. BOTH COPYWRITING
AND WEB CONTENT CREATION REQUIRE WRITING
SKILLS, BUT THEY SERVE DIFFERENT PURPOSES.
THINK PROMOTED SOCIAL MEDIA POST VS. BLOG
POST, OR PUNCHY HEADLINE VS. INFORMATIVE
BODY COPY.COPYWRITING HAS A MEASURABLE
OBJECTIVE: CONVERSIONS. IT TAKES A KNACK
FOR WRITING HIGH-CONVERSION CTAS,
TARGETED LANDING PAGES, AND CATCHY
SLOGANS FOR DIGITAL MARKETING CAMPAIGNS.
IT HELPS IF THEY UNDERSTAND THE PLATFORM
THEY'RE WRITING FOR, TOO. “BEING ABLE TO
UNDERSTAND THE FACEBOOK AD MARKETPLACE,
INSTAGRAM ADS... IS SUPER IMPORTANT,” CLARK
SAID. CONTENT WRITING COMES INTO PLAY
HIGHER IN THE FUNNEL, AND ITS OBJECTIVE IS
DIFFERENT: PROVIDING VALUE TO THE
CUSTOMER, BY ENTERTAINING THEM OR SOLVING
THEIR PROBLEMS.TO DO IT WELL, A CONTENT
MARKETER NEEDS AN ABILITY TO EMPATHIZE
WITH AN AUDIENCE AND COMMUNICATE IN A
BRAND VOICE. IN FACT, CLARK THINKS OF
CONTENT AS “AN EXTENSION OF THE BRAND.”
THE BEST CONTENT MARKETERS CAN TOGGLE
BETWEEN CONTENT CREATION AND
COPYWRITING. OFTEN, LANG SAID, THEY HAVE
EXPERIENCE BEING “THE ONLY WRITER AROUND”
AT SMALLER BRANDS.

06
EDITING

EDITING OFTEN GETS CONFLATED WITH

WRITING. BUT AS COPYWRITING ISN'T
CONTENT CREATION, WRITING AND
EDITING SKILLS ARE SLIGHTLY
DIFFERENT.
WRITING MEANS INTERVIEWING,
RESEARCHING, AND GETTING
EVERYTHING DOWN ON PAPER SO
YOU CAN TELL A COMPREHENSIVE,
COMPLETE STORY.
EDITING MEANS ADJUSTING
STRUCTURE AND SYNTAX, CHOPPING
UNNECESSARY SECTIONS AND WORDS
TO SHOWCASE ONLY THE BEST.
“A LOT OF PEOPLE HAVE GREAT IDEAS
AND CAN STRING WORDS TOGETHER ON
THE PAGE WELL,” REYNOSO TOLD
MARKETERHIRE. “BUT THAT DOESN’T
MEAN THEY KNOW HOW TO ORGANIZE
THEIR THOUGHTS.”
TOP CONTENT MARKETERS HAVE
EXPERIENCE WRITING AND EDITING,
AND CAN ENSURE THEY PUBLISH
CONTENT ONLY WHEN IT’S READY FOR
YOUR AUDIENCE’S EYES.

07
BLOG WRITING

YOU NEED TO BE ABLE TO WRITE TO BE

A CONTENT MARKETER. IT’S THE
BASELINE SKILL.
“EVERYONE — AND I MEAN EVERYONE —
THINKS THEY’RE A WRITER,” SAID
REYNOSO.
ANYONE CAN TAKE UP BLOGGING, BUT
VERY FEW OF THOSE WRITERS KNOW
THE INS AND OUTS OF GOOD CONTENT
THAT WILL RESONATE WITH READERS.
AND CONTENT NO ONE READS ISN’T
HELPFUL IN MARKETING — OR
ANYWHERE.
THE BEST CONTENT MARKETERS ARE
“THE SELECT FEW WHO CARE ABOUT
TONE, QUALITY, AND CREATING VALUE-
ADD ASSETS” WHEN THEY WRITE,
REYNOSO SAID.
THAT SHOULD SHINE THROUGH IN A
CONTENT CREATOR'S PORTFOLIO. IF
YOU WANT TO GO THE EXTRA MILE,
GIVE A WRITING ASSIGNMENT DURING
YOUR INTERVIEW PROCESS, TO SEE
WHAT KIND OF FIRST DRAFTS YOU’LL
BE GETTING.

08
CONTENT ANALYTICS
AND TRACKING
WHAT’S THE GOAL OF YOUR
CONTENT AND HOW ARE YOU
GOING TO MEASURE SUCCESS? A
GREAT CONTENT MARKETER CAN
TAKE THEIR STORYTELLING SKILLS
TO THE SPREADSHEETS.
ONCE YOU SET TARGET KPIS,
EXPERT CONTENT MARKETING
SHOULD BE ABLE TO MEASURE
THEM WITH TOOLS LIKE GOOGLE
ANALYTICS AND GOAL/TAG
TRACKING, AND CREATE MONTHLY
REPORTS THAT MIX QUALITATIVE
INFORMATION AND DATA
ANALYSIS.
SOME CONTENT MARKETERS MAY
ALSO BE COMFORTABLE
REPORTING DOWNLOAD NUMBERS,
WEBINAR ATTENDEES, ETC.,
USING CRM AND ESP SOLUTIONS
LIKE HUBSPOT.

CONCLUSION
EXPERTS PREDICT THE NEXT FEW YEARS
WILL BRING MORE EXPERIMENTATION
AND HUMANITY TO CONTENT
MARKETING.
“WE'RE SEEING MORE EMPATHY-LED
MARKETING BECOMING MORE
EFFECTIVE,” LANG SAID.
THAT MEANS CONTENT MARKETERS WHO
CAN COMBINE THE ABOVE SKILLS WITH
SENSITIVITY TO OTHER PEOPLE’S
PERSPECTIVES ARE IN HIGH DEMAND,
SHE EXPLAINED.
IF YOU’RE LOOKING FOR A SKILLED
CONTENT MARKETER WHO CHECKS ALL
OF THE BOXES ABOVE, MARKETERHIRE
CAN SAVE YOU HOURS SURFING
LINKEDIN AND DO THE VETTING FOR
YOU.
MARKETERHIRE ACCEPTS LESS THAN 5%
OF APPLICANTS INTO ITS NETWORK OF
MARKETERS — AND CAN MATCH YOU
WITH AN EXPERT WHO FITS YOUR NEEDS
IN AS LITTLE AS 48 HOURS.