There are countless roles in a marketing or communications team, each responsible for different tasks that feed the broader objectives of your company. But if you’re looking to streamline content management, hire someone who specializes in managing the content lifecycle. That role is called a website content manager.
A website content manager creates, edits, and manages the content published on your company’s website. The role also includes designing the content strategy that aligns with your company’s communication and marketing goals. A good website content manager will translate these strategic guidelines into operational activities across all digital channels, supervising the quality of the content before it goes live. In this role, you’ll ensure that the text, images, and formats of your content align with your brand’s tone of voice and identity.
Collaborating With Others
Your marketing or communications team may consist of several roles, including Copywriters, SEO Specialists, Social Media Managers, Art Directors, Graphic Designers, and Web Developers. As a content manager, you will be working with some or all of these people, helping them create content, editing what they’ve created, and ensuring the consistency of the content, language, and visual identity.
Content managers typically work as part of a creative team. Their role involves overseeing how their team works together in daily operations by managing the workflows between both creative and strategic roles. They must also maintain consistent brand standards while making sure the message remains intact, aligned with your overall marketing strategy.
The Full Lifecycle
As a content manager, you will oversee the entire lifecycle of content on your organization’s website, creating an end-to-end process from content creation through publication. You’ll manage everything from storing content, to establishing the right workflow, to editing, publishing, governing and controlling, and eventually removing content that no longer serves its purpose. Content removal (or retiring) isn’t necessarily about deleting; it can be about archiving or making content inaccessible so it doesn’t show up in searches or confuse customers.
If you do not manage your content effectively, it becomes unstructured and difficult to access. If you don’t have someone dedicated to managing the content, you might find yourself scrambling to make sure content is updated, removed, reorganized, and kept current. Structured management allows you to focus on what matters: your business.
Working Effectively
To work effectively, you need certain skills. John Becker, a B2B content manager at IMPACT, said three success factors help: build a process to stay organized, watch sales calls weekly, and know the end result before writing. These steps helped him publish over 40 articles within 90 days, even after he inherited 15 article requests “at stage zero,” where there were no titles or ideas.
“Organized” means knowing where the next article should come from. For example, Becker knows his clients are interested in the cloud, so he begins by developing content around that interest. To monitor the impact of his content, Becker watches sales calls each week. Knowing where to start before writing ensures the right topic is developed first. Once the subject has been identified, Becker develops the article, starting with the title, then the outline, followed by the body. He reviews everything once more and submits it to the client.
Becker uses Google Analytics and HubSpot to track performance and identify what’s working well.
The Tools
At the heart of any content management strategy is the CMS. A CMS is a software system that lets teams of writers and editors collaborate efficiently. A CMS enables users to create, edit, organize, and publish content without requiring coding skills. It also supports collaboration and workflow management among multiple people, plus media management and real-time updates. CMS systems reduce reliance on developers and save time and money on operations. While a CMS provides the framework, companies must integrate it with analytics tools that measure user behavior and asset management tools used to store and retrieve content quickly.
Measurable Results
Structured content management delivers tangible outcomes. Automated content workflows save operating costs by reducing the amount of manual tasks needed. Companies that use structured content see increased online visibility because search engines prefer websites that have consistent, relevant information that helps improve search engine ranking. Personalized delivery is another benefit: delivering the right content to your target audience, at the right time, can help your content resonate better with those people.
Types of Organizations That Hire a Website Content Manager
A website content manager is in demand. Many large companies hire a content manager, as well as agencies that support communication, like marketing or PR firms. Startups that operate in the digital space often rely on the expertise of a content manager. Digital startups that sell products online often employ a content manager who writes about their products and services. Content managers can also work for media companies, cultural organizations, and traditional businesses and industries such as education, government, manufacturing, or retail.
Career path into this role usually starts with a Copywriter, Editor, or Social Media Specialist position. However, your career path evolves as you move forward, gaining coordination and editorial strategy management experience. Eventually, your role might become one of managing editorial strategies, either internally or as part of an agency.