Here's how you can build and sustain a formidable content strategy team as an executive.

As an executive, building and sustaining a formidable content strategy team involves recruiting talented individuals who bring diverse skills and perspectives. I focus on creating a collaborative and inclusive culture where everyone feels empowered to contribute ideas. Providing ongoing training and professional development opportunities is crucial for keeping the team at the forefront of industry trends. I ensure clear communication of our goals and vision, fostering a sense of shared purpose. By recognizing and celebrating successes and addressing challenges transparently, I maintain high morale and commitment, driving the team towards sustained excellence.

Building and Sustaining a High-Performing Content Strategy Team Building the Team Skills and Expertise: Hire members skilled in content creation, SEO, social media, and project management. Look for passion in storytelling and audience understanding. Diversity of Thought: Ensure a team with diverse backgrounds to bring varied perspectives Sustaining the Team Clear Vision and Goals: Define clear content strategy goals and ensure everyone understands their role in achieving them, fostering a sense of purpose. Professional Development: Invest in ongoing learning through workshops, conferences, and courses. Open Communication and Feedback: Promote open communication and regular feedback to build trust. Recognition and Appreciation

Not clearly defining roles is one of the easiest mistakes to make, especially when headcount and resources are tight. Two things are simultaneously true: everyone on the team should be able to pitch in wherever necessary AND keeping ownership over specific areas clear is essential.

The quarterback is key here. Who is the person who will coordinate resources, track timelines, ensure everyone is on target and moving towards the stated goal at all times. Make sure you have one of these on your team.

Create a Skills Matrix: Develop a skills matrix to identify the strengths and gaps within your team. This helps in assigning roles more effectively and ensures balanced coverage of all necessary tasks. Outline Responsibilities Clearly: Draft detailed job descriptions for each role, outlining specific responsibilities and expected outcomes. This clarity helps in managing expectations and accountability.

Always explore hiring outside your industry bubble. For example, if you are in the tech or healthcare industry, why not look at people from the beauty or fashion industry to bring in fresh creative content ideas and perspectives to your strategy.

Content creation is a field of innovation and creativity. Without a creative mindset, fresh ideas, and strong research skills, you can't produce engaging content. When hiring, always aim for a mix of skilled and new talent. Fresh minds bring innovative ideas, while experienced professionals help execute those ideas into powerful branded content. Content strategy is all about testing and adapting. Experience can sometimes make change difficult, but fresh talent is more willing to take risks and turn amazing ideas into reality.

Hire both right-brained and left-brained people! When they work together and in cohesion, you can make magic! E.g. making sense of data, research, and creating a goal-based approach/pointers can be listed by one person and the actual writing of copy can be done by another

Cultural Fit Matters: Beyond skills, ensure the candidates align with your company culture. A good cultural fit can enhance teamwork and job satisfaction. Internship Programs: Consider implementing internship programs to bring in fresh talent and new perspectives. This also allows you to evaluate potential hires in a real-world setting.

Encourage them to read articles and online newspapers. They can use LinkedIn news pages for specific regions or platforms like Forbes, Fortune, and Wired to stay updated and broaden their knowledge on various topics. Arrange weekly training sessions with your team. Assign each member a topic they are familiar with to train others. This approach ensures that every member learns something new each week, encouraging continuous growth and knowledge sharing within the team.

Peer Learning: Encourage a culture of peer learning where team members share their expertise with one another. This can be in the form of short presentations or knowledge-sharing sessions. Mentorship Programs: Establish mentorship programs pairing seasoned professionals with newer team members. This facilitates knowledge transfer and professional growth.

La educación online es y seguirá siendo una de las mejores herramientas de crecimiento en cualquier área de trabajo. Actualizarse constantemente, saber filtrar la información y adaptarla a tu especialidad, hará que destaques entre miles de personas y obtengas mayores oportunidades profesionales.

Cross-Functional Teams: Create cross-functional teams for specific projects. This encourages collaboration across different departments and brings in diverse perspectives. Regular Social Activities: Organize regular team-building activities and social events to strengthen relationships and build trust among team members.

Make sure that your content strategy goals are SMART (specific, measurable, agreed, realistic, timebound) - it's easy for teams of all sizes to get out over their skis without this type of advance planning. Establish a regular reporting practice, and watch for failure as well as success. Failure is a massive learning opportunity.

Make sure you know which metrics to track, how often to track them, and what changes you will make if the data is not positive. As COO for an online startup, I had to understand what content was having a positive impact, but also how long it would take to see valid results. Identifying the positive success of a social media campaign had a much shorter timeframe than that of a blog post that relied on SEO and search engine rankings. For lead generation, understanding what the baseline metrics were of a landing page design was important. As we changed headlines, bullet points, body copy, etc. we needed to know what benchmark we were trying to beat.

Dashboard Tools: Use real-time dashboard tools to track key performance indicators. This allows for quick adjustments and keeps everyone informed about progress. Celebrate Milestones: Recognize and celebrate when key milestones are achieved. This boosts morale and keeps the team motivated.

To properly measure content marketing results, it's worth defining primary KPIs or emphasizing them under OKRs (objectives and key results). You can start with the following metrics: audience growth, ER, CR, Views, Clicks, Bounce Rate (email) You should also add UTM tags if you promote your products in your content or through targeting

Building and sustaining a formidable content strategy team as an executive requires a strategic approach focusing on recruiting the right talent, fostering a collaborative and adaptive culture, and continuously evolving to meet market demands. Here’s a list of some do's you can follow to achieve this. 1. Define the Vision and Goals 2. Recruit the Right Talent 3. Foster a Collaborative Environment 4. Invest in Continuous Learning and Development 5. Leverage Technology and Tools 6. Establish Clear Processes and Workflows 7. Measure Performance and Adapt 8. Encourage Innovation and Experimentation 9. Promote a Strong Brand Culture 10. Sustain Team Morale and Engagement

Regular Reviews: Schedule regular strategy reviews to assess what’s working and what isn’t. This keeps your approach dynamic and responsive. Encourage Experimentation: Allocate a portion of your budget and time for experimental projects. This fosters innovation and helps discover new approaches that could be beneficial.

In the dynamic world of content strategy, adaptability and evolution are key elements. As part of our marketing and strategy team, we prioritize in fostering a collaborative culture. Regular reviews and encouraging experimentation help us stay responsive and innovative. Tracking trends and implementing strategic changes ensures we meet KPIs and navigate fundamental shifts in content marketing. By continuously learning and adapting, we try to create impactful, relevant strategies that drive success. #ContentStrategy #Teamwork #Innovation #MarketResearch

First and foremost, the strategy should be applicable to the content team that is in place or will have to hire more highly skilled staff. Usually in an agency, we look at adapting the strategy as part of meeting KPIs or in cases where we have to fundamentally change the vector in content marketing. It is also necessary to track trends and implement them in strategy and in content

We often focus on building a team without considering the 'strategy'. A strategy is not just a plan; it doesn't recommend a specific course of action. Instead, it outlines guiding principles or objectives that influence our decisions. Before investing in a content team, ask yourself: 1. What are your goals? 2. What are your core competencies? 3. What skills does your team need? 4. Do you have the budget to hire a team? NB: Big budget does not guarantee success. I've seen many companies spend millions on building a large content team. They end up with an oversized team without direction. So as an executive, your first priority should be to define a clear and concise content strategy.