As the digital landscape evolves, so does the structure of content marketing teams. According to a Content Marketing Institute report, a significant 72% of B2B marketers now utilize AI tools for content creation, though 61% lack proper guidelines for these technologies.
This underscores the necessity for a well-defined team structure as nearly half (49%) report challenges with new members acclimating to existing workflows. Additionally, persistent challenges like aligning content with the buyer’s journey (48%) and resource limitations (58%) highlight the critical need for strategic roles within the team.
In search of the most effective way to structure a content marketing team, we’ve gathered insights from ten industry leaders, including CMOs and marketing directors. From taking a dual approach to content creation to leading with strong strategic direction, these experts share their strategies for assembling a team that delivers optimal benefits and can be helpful to you.
Discover 10 Ways to Structure Your Content Marketing Team for Maximum Effectiveness:
1. Take a Dual Approach to Content Creation
Based on my experience, I’d recommend structuring a B2B content marketing team to focus on two main areas.
First, build an in-house team to create “bottom-of-the-funnel,” product-centric content. This team should have deep knowledge of your products and can create detailed, persuasive content that helps convert leads into customers.
Second, have one or two people manage outsourced “top-of-the-funnel” content. This content is more about general best practices and industry insights. Outsourcing allows you to cover a wider range of topics without overburdening your core team.
This structure balances in-depth product knowledge with broad industry perspectives, maximizing the benefits of your content marketing efforts.
Joe Kevens, Founder and Director of Demand Gen, B2B SaaS Reviews
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2. Orchestrate Specialized Marketing Roles
Nine years of experience have taught me that an ideal content marketing structure should be like an orchestra; everyone knows their instrument but harmoniously contributes to the team’s success.
A content marketing team should have four key players: a content strategist who maps the content calendar, content creators who bring ideas to life through blog posts, infographics, and videos, an SEO specialist who ensures the content is discoverable on search engines, and a social media marketer to ensure the content reaches the target audience at the right time. At Promodo, our content strategist ensures our content aligns with the latest digital marketing trends to give us a competitive edge.
As part of the team, content creators are supported by an SEO specialist, and the team also includes a social media marketer. We use this structure because it encourages cross-collaboration. Since every team member has a specialty, every piece we produce is high-quality, SEO-friendly, and efficiently promoted.
Valerie Lavska, CMO, Promodo
3. Adopt a Customer-Centric Team Structure
I’ve seen success with a “customer-centric” structure, and I recommend that you try it in your team as well. In this structure, we have “empathizers,” who deeply understand our customers’ journeys and pain points. Next, we have “storytellers,” who craft compelling narratives around our solutions.
Finally, we have “optimizers,” who continuously refine our content based on performance metrics. This approach ensures our content resonates with customers and achieves our business objectives.
Laia Quintana, Head of Marketing and Sales, TeamUp
4. Build a Global Team with Diverse Skills
Look for a diverse set of skills. These days, you can choose between having an in-house team or a remote one. In my agency, I’ve put together a completely remote content marketing team with people from all around the world. To keep things running smoothly, we talk a lot using Skype or Slack, work together using project management tools, and set clear deadlines and goals.
It’s important to remember that not all writers are the same. Some are really good at writing technical blog posts but might not be as good at writing funny scripts for animated videos. Also, some team members are great at working with influencers and setting up expert interviews, while others are better at just focusing on creating content.
The trick is to have people with different skills so you can do all kinds of content marketing. From what I’ve seen, it’s often better to hire freelancers for specific projects instead of full-time employees. That way, you can match the right skills to each project more easily.
Precious Abacan, Marketing Director, Softlist
5. Hire Team Members with Industry Expertise
Choose people with real expertise in your business and industry. Rather than hiring pure generalist content marketers, choose a few people on your team who have experience and expertise in your business and industry.
In my experience, this has worked well because they have hands-on experience and insider knowledge of how the business runs and what the latest industry trends are. While we still have flexible generalists, our internal specialists ensure that our content marketing efforts are consistent and on point.
Mark Damsgaard, Founder, Global Residence Index
Related: 7 Fun and Effective Ways to Keep Your Team Motivated
6. Craft a Comprehensive Marketing Team
Your content marketing team should not consist of just creators, editors, and designers. You will also need a team trained in marketing and development.
Some of the important roles that you need to include are analyst, strategist, and SEO specialist. These roles are what will make sure that your content is seen by the right people. Even the best content will be ineffective if it is not reaching your consumers. Analysts and strategists need to come up with a comprehensive brand image. Utilizing a data-driven approach will give you the best marketing results.
James Owen, Co-Founder and Director, Click Intelligence
7. Implement a Scalable Team Structure
The main specialists that constitute a content marketing team are writers, editors, managers, SEO experts, social media strategists, and graphic designers.
Depending on the team size and requirements, it can be prudent for the content manager to oversee client deliverables and internal collaboration while letting the editor control the content creation process and quality.
Writers and social media specialists can report to the editor, whereas the editor, SEO expert, and graphic designer can work directly with the manager to set the content, digital marketing, and visual strategy of the campaigns, respectively.
One designated team member, preferably the editor, can work with contractors and vendors to procure additional deliverables. This structure is easy to scale up or down, establishes clear roles and accountability, and aligns the flow of information. If the organization grows very rapidly, you can have multiple content managers running different projects and reporting to the Chief Marketing Officer.
Sam Roberts, Digital Marketing Manager, Connect Vending
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8. Select the Right Managing Editor
For structuring a content marketing team, picking the right managing editor is crucial. They’re the ones who tell your stories every day. The managing editor has to make the content interesting and engaging.
Your editor is really important for your content marketing—you have to choose this person very carefully. You need someone very careful about details, organized, can meet deadlines, and is good at writing. This way, they can make the work of your other writers even better, not worse.
They mustn’t have a big ego because that doesn’t mix well with editing. They should be able to give feedback fairly and constructively, without making other writers feel bad about their work.
Jonathan Merry, Founder, Moneyzine
9. Integrate Data Analysis into Content
The data analyst’s role is often overlooked. While there’s a lot of focus on content quality and branding, integrating a data analyst can significantly enhance your team’s effectiveness. They can enrich content with relevant data analysis, making it more scientific, objective, and professional. This is particularly valuable for B2B and enterprise audiences, where data-driven insights can set your content apart.
A data analyst is key in evaluating the performance of your content marketing efforts. It turns out our audience really digs content about family-friendly restaurants—way more than we expected.
So, we shifted gears and started focusing more on that—think articles about places with awesome kids’ menus and play areas. And guess what? It totally paid off. We saw a real jump in people visiting our site and engaging with our content.
Elijah Puzhakov, CCO and Project Manager, Restaurantji
10. Lead with Strong Strategic Direction
An effective content marketing team revolves around strong strategic leadership. The primary responsibility of this position is to establish the team’s long-term objectives, short-term targets, and key performance indicators. Knowing your company’s goals, your target market, and your competitors inside and out is essential.
The head honcho must know how to tie the company’s content strategy to the bigger picture of marketing and commercial objectives. Collaborating with other departments like sales, product development, and customer support is a common element of this function to ensure everything is working smoothly.
Tim Allen, Director, Oberheiden P.C.
See Also: How Does a 4-Day Workweek Increase Productivity?
Conclusion
Crafting an effective content marketing team structure is vital for success in the digital era. This article has explored essential strategies from industry leaders, highlighting the significant impact of AI and strategic planning in overcoming common challenges such as resource constraints and alignment issues. We invite you to apply these insights and reevaluate your team’s setup to optimize performance.
Please share your experiences or any additional strategies that have worked for you in the comments below. Your feedback is invaluable and contributes to a richer discussion for all our readers.
Let’s learn and grow together!
