By 2019, content marketing spend will be $319 billion, and content marketing job listings have grown 350 percent since 2011—which means you need to know how to staff a content team. No matter your company’s size or strategy, this guide will help you hire the right talent. You’ll learn about: — The hiring trends top brand newsrooms are embracing — How to align your hiring plan with a strong content strategy — Best practices for scaling your team over time — What to look for in each role, from strategists to editors to multimedia talent — How to secure and allocate your content budget

1. The CMO’s Guide to
Hiring for Content

2. 2
Webinar Host
Marketing Editor, Contently
@erincnelson
enelson@contently.com
Erin C. Nelson

3. 4
Some Facts:
Content marketing job listings
have grown 350% since 2011
(Fractl and Moz 2015).
In 2011, content marketing spend
was $100 billion. In 2019 it’s
expected to reach over $313
billion (PQ Media 2015).

4. 5
I. Trends
II. Staffing for a Content Strategy
III. Hiring Criteria per Role
IV. Budget
Content Methodology: A Definition
What will we talk about today?

5. 6
i. Trends
Late last year, Cisco laid off over 100 marketing
staffers.
The shift? A focus on storytelling.
But what trends—across industries—do we see? And
who are the primary adopters?

6. 7
Multimedia Newsrooms
Why a Content Methodology Is Needed

7. 8Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
JPMorgan Chase
In “Revitalizing Brownsville,” Chase examines the
justice system, local entrepreneurship, and more
in its documentary style videos and longform
essays.

8. 9Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
Marriott
Dubbed “M Live,” Marriott’s content control room is run by a team of media
veterans—two from Disney and one from CBS—who monitor nine screens
that track Marriott’s social media campaigns, international bookings, and
editorial calendar.

9. 10Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
athenaHealth
While the B2C world might seem like a more
natural fit for a multimedia newsroom, B2B
brands are also following suit.

10. 11
Freelance Creative Teams
Coca-Cola’s Audience
Coca-Cola’s online magazine, Coca-Cola Journey, has amassed an audience
of millions of readers each month and launched sites in 19 global markets
including the UK, Ireland, Germany, and Arabia.
Coca-Cola’s Writers
In the Coca-Cola Journey HQ in the U.S., the small editorial team taps sports,
food, lifestyle, and business reporters from the Contently network. Globally,
as the editorial operations expand, so too, do the publication’s freelance
teams.
Why a Content Methodology Is Needed

11. 12A Culture of Content
We’ve really tried to carve out a beat system with
our freelance writers. It’s nice to know who we can
go to for certain stories.
JAYS MOYE, COCA-COLA’S EDITOR-IN-CHIEF FOR US JOURNEY
”

12. 13Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
AARP
Freelance videographer to document a trip down the Pacific Coast Highway
(part of a native advertising project with its car rental partner, Avis)
athenahealth
Political and biomedical writers to cover shifts in health policy and medical
advancements
The Trade Desk
Consistent infographics with a freelance designer from Brazil
Better Weekdays
Career services writers publish more than 100 stories on the company’s
blog in one year

13. 14Chapter name
I’m an okay writer, but I don’t have the time, and
it’s not the same as people who do this for a
living. The thing ROI doesn’t account for is time—
and that’s the key point.”
CHRIS MOTLEY, CEO BETTER WEEKDAYS
”

14. 15
II. Staffing for a Content Strategy
One of the biggest mistakes a brand can make is to
hire someone for a content role without first
considering whether that person is equipped to
execute within the company’s larger content
strategy.
Here’s how to ensure you hire the right people for
the job.

15. 16
Step 1: Identify you key inputs.
Before companies dive into hiring, we recommend
that they first identify the four key inputs of their
content strategy.
Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
INTERNAL
NEEDS
DEVELOP
resources
3Cs
content
contributor
channels
create
connect
o
p
tim
ize
EXTERNAL
FACTORS
market
audienceobjectives

16. 17
The inputs.
Define objectives and KPIs.
Clear objectives and KPIs are the foundation of any content marketing
effort.
Conduct an audience definition and channel analysis.
Modern organizations need to identify where people spend their time, and
create content accordingly.
Identify market opportunity.
What are your competitors doing? What customer pain points can you help
address?
Evaluate processes and resources.
Smart organizations take a full inventory of their content resources before
they begin the hiring process.
Why a Content Methodology Is Needed

17. 18
Step 2: Staff your team.
Why a Content Methodology Is Needed

18. 19Chapter name
Hiring to Crawl
Internal Resources
0.5 FTE (full-time employees) (e.g., marketing manager)
External Resources
0.5 FTE (e.g., freelance writer or editor)

19. 20Chapter name
Hiring to Walk
Internal Resources
1.5 FTE (e.g., director of marketing and content marketing manager)
External Resources
2.5 FTE (e.g., freelance writers, designers, strategists, and managing editor)

20. 21Chapter name
Hiring to Run
Internal Resources
3.5+ FTE (e.g., director of marketing, head of content, content marketing
manager, social media manager)
External Resources
5+ FTE (e.g., 7–10 freelance writers, designers, strategists, videographers, and
managing editors)

21. 22
III. Hiring Criteria
What are you looking for in each role?

22. 23Chapter name
Writers
The Golden Rule when hiring writers:
Avoid the temptation of plucking a marketer from his department and
forcing him to write. Tap experts and journalists who have the skill set to
write stories your audience will actually read.

23. 24A Culture of Content
It all comes down the the basics of journalism,
which is curiosity, the ability to tell a story, general
fluency with the language, and being able to
interview and write.
JOANNA WEISS, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR FOR ATHENAINSIGHT, ATHENAHEALTH’S DIGITAL PUBLICATION
”

24. 25Chapter name
Editors
The ideal brand editor has great storytelling instinct,
demonstrates a keen understanding of the brand’s
audience, and knows how to use content to help the
brand reach its overall goals.
Like all good editors, brand editors know that
brands have to give their audiences content worth
consuming. What’s more, they have to have the
spine and the latitude to provide a balance against
the marketing team’s urge to push products.
That’s a fine line to walk, but if they don’t, a
brand’s content efforts will be over before they
start.
RYAN GALLOWAY, DIRECTOR OF BRAND SERVICES FOR CONTENTLY
”

25. 26A Culture of Content
We realized it was time to think about how we
could scale the content and be even more cost-
effective.
ADAM TANGUAY, HEAD OF ORGANIC GROWTH FOR WEEBLY
”

26. 27Chapter name
Multimedia
Multimedia producers within brands come from
diverse backgrounds.

27. 28Chapter name
The transition from public television to corporate isn’t
necessarily obvious. The fact that we are all here is partly
because of [senior leadership] and partly because we
have freedom in terms of how we do things creatively.
LAURA LONGSWORTH, ONE OF ATHENAHEALTH’S LEAD VIDEO PRODUCERS
”

28. 29Chapter name
Strategists
Content strategists need strong communication skills
to be able to handle the frequently conflicting
demands of editorial and marketing leaders.
The role of the content strategist is to be bilingual.
ARI KEPNES, LEAD CONTENT STRATEGIST FOR CONTENTLY
”

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IV. Budget
In our 2016 content marketing study, 73 percent of
respondents said they produced more content in
2015 than in 2014.
However, two-thirds devoted less than a quarter of
their marketing budgets to the production,
management, and distribution of this content. And
63 percent of marketers spent less than one-tenth
of their budgets on content marketing technology.

30. 31Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
We have to be thinking about business and sales
and how we can bring something to those
objectives. If you don’t know what business
objectives are, ask. If you’re a CMO, print them out
and put them on everyone’s wall.
TRISHA WINTER, THE CMO FOR AMPLIFINITY
”
Step 1: How to get buy-in
A. Tie content strategy to specific goals.

31. 32Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
B. Pitch brand experience.
of customers feel more positive about a
company after reading custom content82%
are inspired to research a product after
reading about it60%
of millennials expect to engage directly
with brands80%

32. 33Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
It’s not as easy as dollar spent, dollar earned. As a
CEO, what I’m interested in are broader principles.
How will this impact brand? Relationship? How do
I get the biggest gain?
JEFF DAY, THE CEO OF BLUEWATER TECHNOLOGIES
”

33. 34Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
C. Present technology as a way to compete in disruptive markets and
empower your team.
New technologies provide us with greater insights
into customer behaviors and aspirations.
BRIAN SOLIS, A PRINCIPAL ANALYST AT ALTIMETER GROUP
”

34. 35Why a Content Methodology Is Needed
D. Reinforce the compounding impact of content.
When developed as part of a larger publication strategy, content meets
these goals:
Awareness (top funnel)
Educational (mid funnel)
Conversion (bottom funnel)
And, when used as part of a customer-retention strategy, content can
increase ROI up to 15x.

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Step 2: How to allocate your budget
Why a Content Methodology Is Needed

36. Thank you.
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37. Content
that
works
The CMO’s Guide to Hiring for Content
SEPTEMBER 28, 2016
contently.com