content marketing training

Today, the interest and investment in content marketing are at an all-time high. Within the last two years, it has reached peak search interest on Google and continues to hover near that mark (in the graph below, the “100” line represents peak interest): That’s exciting. Content marketing is a hot industry to get into in 2018 – and it’s only going to get better moving into the future. Getting your feet wet in content marketing training couldn’t be a better time. Job opportunities are hopping, and roles are continuing to expand as businesses of all kinds start to truly understand the value of content. Just look at the diverse array of content marketing positions from a cursory search of Indeed.com – and this is just from the first page! And, according to PayScale, entry-level content marketing managers make an average median pay of about $59K per year. Entry-level content marketing freelancers, on the other hand, have a yearly income that depends largely on dedication and location. But, PayScale estimates that the average freelance writer nets about $24/hour, while the median income for content writers is about $42K annually (and plenty make much, much more). Finally, according to Marketing Profs and Conductor, the average annual salary for a number of content marketing roles all look pretty darn good: With the promise of a decent paycheck and innovative, creative, exciting work, it’s truly an incredible time to dive into this field. Of course, to become a savvy, skilled content marketer and nail that hot position (or net desirable clients!), you need the right content marketing training. If you agree, you’re in the right place. First, we’ll run through key skills you need to go far in content marketing. Then, we’ll cover application tips and tricks to help you win an incredible job or high-paying clients. Let’s get into it. Content Marketing Training Bootcamp: Hone These 5 Critical Content Wizard Skills To succeed in this industry, there are skills you need that remain constant, no matter your role or experience level. For example, the skills a content strategist needs closely intertwine with those of a content manager, content writer, and social media marketer. Sharpening the skills listed below could help you stay relevant and help you maintain the ability to wear many hats in the industry, whether you’re strategizing content, managing content, creating content, or all of the above. Content Marketing Training Skill #1: A Relentless Drive for Results Whether you work for a company or for individual clients, they will all have the same goal: They want to see results from content marketing. They want that ROI pie-in-the-sky. However, most have no clear idea how to measure it. In Content Marketing Institute’s 2018 research on trends in B2B content marketing, only 3% of those surveyed said their organizations were doing an excellent job aligning their metrics with their goals: That means you have to be driven to align metrics + goals so your clients or bosses can see those results. Every action you take has to reflect back on eventual return-on-investment, and you have to prove that connection. The ROI has to be quantifiable. You must know how to measure your content success, gather and analyze data, map it to goals, and present it to your clients or company in a way that’s easy to understand. Content Marketing Training Skill #2: Creative Problem-Solving If you want to be a top content marketer, get ready to hone your creative problem-solving skills. Depending on who you work for, you’ll be presented with challenges as varied as implementing fresh content strategies for businesses who don’t have them, researching the best keywords and blog topics for specific niche industry brands, and figuring out how to improve a company’s content so they hit high rankings for their best keyword opportunities. You’ll have a lot of challenges thrown your way, each their own particular color and flavor. As a content marketer, you’ll need to thrive on each individual hurdle. Content Marketing Training Skill #3: Thorough and Meticulous Communication Good communication is an essential skill for success in most industries. Content marketing is no different. You’ll particularly need thoroughness and meticulousness when relaying ideas and data back and forth to your higher-ups, clients, and other stakeholders. This isn’t just about writing, either. You also need to be a skilled presenter, a good collaborator, and a team player. If you work for a company, you’ll need compelling communication to help you get buy-in for your content marketing initiatives. If you work as a freelancer, your clients may need some data-backed examples to get on board with what you propose for their content. If you work with a team and have a great idea for driving engagement forward for a brand, for instance, you have to be able to explain your vision. Content Marketing Training Skill #4: An Instinct for Audience Defining and Storytelling A huge part of being a content marketer is the content creation aspect. You have to understand how to tell stories that will win over a vast array of different audiences in different industries. Your job will be to define these audiences and tailor content just for them, using the right keywords, tone, language, and topics to get them interested and invested. Your storytelling skills will definitely come into play, here. You’ll have to think about the right delivery for each group of people you’re creating content for, making sure you’re telling stories they need or want to hear. This involves part instinct, part research, and part creativity. Content Marketing Training Skill #5: A Savvy Promoter As a content marketer, you need to be internet-savvy to promote and distribute content as effectively as possible. You also need to understand techniques to get your content the widest possible audience. This means you have to: Know best-practices for posting to social channels, including optimal times, types of posts, word count, hashtags, and image types Understand how to speak to and target different audiences on social media, including the best platforms … Read more