Learn Content Marketing Basics to Become a Content Manager

If you work in marketing or closely follow industry updates, you may have heard the term content manager with increasing frequency. But what exactly does this role entail? What qualifications do you need to become a content manager? How much does a content manager in India make?

Read on to know the answers to these questions answered and to get an in-depth understanding of the content marketing basics required to be a content manager.

Who is a Content Manager?

A content manager is a professional responsible for managing and organizing digital content for a company or organization. Their primary responsibilities include creating, curating, and publishing content that aligns with the organization’s goals, objectives, mission, and brand identity. They are also responsible for developing content strategies, managing content calendars, and ensuring that all content is optimized for SEO and user engagement.

Source

Content managers often work closely with writers, designers, and other stakeholders to produce high-quality content that resonates with the target audience. Additionally, they may oversee content distribution and promotion efforts across various channels, including social media, email marketing, and paid advertising.

Whether you have just chanced upon content management roles that you may want to take up, or you’re actively looking to become one – the first step is understanding the skills you need to develop to succeed within this role.

Skills Required to Succeed as a Content Manager

To become a successful content manager in 2023, you must develop a winning combination of analytical, technical, and soft skills. Here are some essential skills you should consider acquiring before you can apply for content manager roles:

1. Content strategy: Understanding how to create a comprehensive content strategy that aligns with business goals and objectives is key for any successful content manager.

2. Search Engine Optimization (SEO): SEO is among those content marketing basics that every content and copy person should be well-versed in. You must have in-depth knowledge of SEO principles to ensure that content is optimized for search engines and that it brings in greater ROI.

3. Writing and editing: The ability to write content that is engaging, error-free, and meets the brand’s voice and tone is crucial. To strengthen these skills, make sure you practice writing and keep updating your editing and proofreading skills.

4. Analytics: Good content managers can analyze content performance data using tools like Google Analytics and make data-driven decisions to improve content strategy.

5. Project management: Strong project management skills ensure that content is delivered on time, within budget, and to the expected quality standard – whether it is crafted by you or someone else within the content team.

6. Social media management: Knowledge of social media platforms is crucial in this day and age, where content consumption on such platforms is at an all-time high. Make sure that you stay abreast of the best practices that will help you develop social media content that resonates with the target audience.

7. Communication: Excellent communication skills will not only help you collaborate with team members, stakeholders, and management but will also help you reach out to more learning and career opportunities.

8. Design: While content managers don’t need complete proficiency with designing software, basic knowledge of design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite or Canva can aid you in creating visually appealing content.

9. Research: Strong research abilities can help you unearth industry trends, keep tabs on competitor content, and track target audience interests to ensure high content relevance within your strategy.

10. Creativity: A creative mindset will help you be a more agile problem solver, and can ease the process of developing innovative content ideas that stand out in a crowded digital space.

A Content Manager’s Job Description

A content manager’s job description can vary depending on the company or organization, but here is a general list of responsibilities you can expect to fulfill within the content marketing team.

• Content managers are responsible for developing and implementing content strategies that align with the company or brand’s goals and objectives.
• They are required to create, write, edit, and publish high-quality content for different communication channels, including social media, email marketing, blogs, and websites.
• These professionals should be well-versed in content marketing basics and should be able to optimize content for search engines (SEO) to increase visibility and drive traffic to the website.
• They also need to actively monitor and regularly analyze content performance metrics, such as website traffic, engagement, and conversion rates, and adjust the content strategy accordingly.
• Content managers are also required to manage the monthly editorial calendar to ensure that all content is published on time and aligns with the objectives outlined in the content strategy.

Source

• They must collaborate with other departments, including but not limited to marketing, sales, business development, and design, to develop content that follows all brand-related and content mandates.
• Research industry trends, competitor content, and target audience interests to ensure that the content remains relevant and engaging.
• Manage relationships and take ownership of ensuring seamless communication with freelancers and relevant vendors to produce high-quality content and deliver projects on time and within budget.
• Stay up-to-date with the latest content marketing trends, technologies, and best practices. The candidate should be able to keep tabs on any new content formats and industry developments that may impact their brand or organization and adjust content strategy accordingly.
• Maintain the company’s brand voice and tone across all content and social platforms, while ensuring that it adheres to the company’s style and branding guidelines.
• Content managers also need to identify and execute content that allows their brand to get a share of voice when it comes to moment marketing – trending audios, interesting formats, viral memes, trending topics, etc.

A Content Manager’s Job Requirements

Now that you understand what a day in the life of a content manager looks like, let us review all the requirements needed to land this role.

• Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, journalism, or a related field. Postgraduate degrees in content strategy, digital marketing, and communications can help you find higher-paying jobs.
• Proven experience as a content manager, content supervisor, senior copywriter, or similar role.
• Excellent writing, editing, and proof-reading skills with a keen eye for detail.
• Knowledge of SEO, content marketing basics, and best practices.

Source

• Experience with open-source content management systems (CMS platforms) such as WordPress, Drupal, or HubSpot.
• Strong project management skills with the ability to prioritize and manage multiple projects simultaneously, often with tight timelines.
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills to collaborate with team members and stakeholders.
• Familiarity with social media platforms and knowledge of best practices for social media content creation.
• Understanding of basic design principles and experience with graphic design tools such as Adobe Creative Suite.
• Ability to work independently, take initiative, and ownership to drive projects forward.

According to sources, a content manager in India makes anything between ₹2.4 Lakhs to ₹15.0 Lakhs per annum, with an average yearly salary of around ₹6.0 Lakhs. However, with the growing demand for skilled and agile content managers, the take-home pay offered by large organizations is also increasing.

Key Takeaways

• To become a successful content manager in 2023, you must develop a winning combination of analytical, technical, and soft skills.
• Good content managers must have strong skills related to content strategy, SEO, analytics, project management, social media management, creativity, communication, design, research, writing, and editing.
• While a Bachelor’s degree in marketing, communications, journalism, or a related field can help you get started, pursuing a post-graduate degree in content strategy, digital marketing, and communications can help you find higher-paying content manager jobs.
• It is important to have sound knowledge of SEO, content marketing basics, and best practices, as well as experience with open-source content management systems (CMS) such as WordPress, Drupal, or HubSpot.
• In India, Content Managers earn between ₹ 2.4 Lakhs to ₹ 15.0 Lakhs per annum, with an average yearly salary of around ₹ 6.0 Lakhs.

In Summary

With the right training, skills, and attitude, there is no reason why you cannot become a content manager. We hope this article gave you a clear understanding and a roadmap to begin your journey toward becoming a content manager.

FAQs