Why Execution is the Hardest Part of Content Strategy, and How to Fix It

Mo Perry
The Writing Cooperative
4 min readJul 12, 2017

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Odds are good that I don’t have to convince you of the value of a robust content strategy. It’s a key feature of every halfway decent marketing plan out there, whether for sole proprietors, small businesses, or major lifestyle brands.

Developing and distributing compelling stories and insights keeps your brand front-of-mind for your audience, builds trust and communication, and establishes you and/or your company as a thought leader in your field. Providing authentic value to your readers in a likeable, sincere voice is the surest way to create engagement and turn readers into fans and fans into customers.

Indeed: What else is there in your marketing toolkit that can inspire such feelings of familiarity, gratitude, and loyalty in your target audience? (I’m here to tell you, it’s not your coupons.)

Content strategy is usually defined as the planning, creation, delivery, and management of content — and plenty of people seem to buy that. Job postings come across my radar every single day calling for a content strategist or specialist who can single-handedly plan, create, and manage a robust content strategy.

And that’s where I say whoa, Nelly.

Here’s a little thought exercise for you: Do the people who plan city infrastructure upgrades put down their laptops halfway through the workday and go pick up a hydraulic power pack on the closed lane of an interstate highway? (Maybe they should, at least this summer in Minnesota, but I digress.)

Do artistic directors who plan and schedule a theatrical season of shows usually play the leading roles in those shows?

No. Because planning and executing are two different skills. They use different muscles. And while it’s entirely possible that the city planner and artistic director are capable of drilling and acting, it’s not really the smartest or most efficient use of their time to toggle between such wildly disparate tasks.

This is why I’m always slightly amused by these job postings that are essentially seeking a city planner with mad hydraulic power pack skills.

Planning and running a robust content strategy is one thing. Creating the most artful, skilled, and compelling content (whether written, filmed, photographed, or displayed by aerial banner) is another.

The skills aren’t mutually exclusive (I’m sure plenty of content strategists are decent writers/photographers/designers), but delegation of responsibility is no less important for creative departments than for city planners.

Things a good content strategist needs to focus on include:

  • Developing an editorial calendar
  • Determining key messages
  • Employing a good mix of channels and mediums
  • Managing and tracking engagement metrics
  • Creating style guides, metadata frameworks, and content migration plans
  • Staying on budget
  • Assisting with technical integration of content

Things content developers (writers, designers, editors, video producers, etc.) need to focus on include:

  • Developing and utilizing an authentic, immediate brand voice that connects emotionally with the target audience
  • Mastering rhythm, flow, structure, and style to communicate key messages with power, heart, and integrity
  • Finding the audience-friendly hook or angle in every story or message that will enable it to deliver authentic value (and therefore be shareable)
  • Focusing relentlessly on the actual creation of the work outlined in the editorial calendar — and making it sing every time

Now, scrappy startups and solopreneurs may have to cram all these duties under a single umbrella. But the moment your company or brand has the resources to separate these tasks into their rightful, respective buckets — to let those who thrive and excel in each area drill down and focus on that exclusively — you owe it to yourself and your audience to do it.

For many brands and organizations, there’s no need to take on another full time position dedicated solely to content development. With companies like Logosphere Storysmiths offering on-demand and ongoing writing and editing services, generating killer content that resonates and connects is as simple as subcontracting, whether for a one-off project or regular post generation.

Everyone will thank you — from your audience to your content strategist to your engagement metrics and bottom line.

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Mo is a writer, editor, and actor in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Follow her on LinkedIn, Twitter, and at www.logosphere.us.

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Health and wellness through a functional, integrative lens. Exploration > Lecturing. Contributing editor @Experience Life. @Momoperry on Twitter.