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Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Content Manager

💰 $ - $

🎯 Role Definition

The Content Manager owns the end-to-end content lifecycle: strategy, creation, optimization, distribution, and performance analysis. This role shepherds brand and editorial voice across channels (website, blog, email, social, paid and owned media), aligns content to business goals and buyer journeys, and manages contributors and workflows. The Content Manager balances creativity with data-driven decision making, using SEO, analytics and content operations to scale high-quality content that drives traffic, engagement, and conversions.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

  • Content Writer / Copywriter with multi-channel experience
  • SEO Specialist or Content Strategist
  • Social Media Manager or Community Manager

Advancement To:

  • Senior Content Manager / Content Lead
  • Head of Content / Content Director
  • Director of Content Marketing / VP of Content or Marketing

Lateral Moves:

  • Editorial Manager or Managing Editor
  • Product Marketing Manager
  • Growth Marketing / Demand Generation Manager

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

  • Develop and own a comprehensive content strategy aligned to business goals, buyer personas, and the marketing funnel, including topic prioritization, keyword targeting, and content formats (blogs, guides, whitepapers, video, email, landing pages).
  • Create, edit, and publish high-quality, SEO-optimized content that drives organic search visibility, improves topical authority, and supports lead generation and retention objectives.
  • Manage the editorial calendar end-to-end: plan content themes, prioritize initiatives, assign tasks, set deadlines, and ensure timely delivery across teams and agencies.
  • Conduct keyword research, SERP analysis, and content gap analysis to identify opportunities and set measurable SEO targets (rankings, organic traffic, CTR, and conversions).
  • Maintain and enforce brand and editorial guidelines, ensuring consistent voice, tone, and messaging across all channels and content types.
  • Lead and coach a cross-functional content team (in-house writers, freelance contributors, designers, videographers), including hiring, performance reviews, and professional development.
  • Oversee content production workflow and content operations: briefs, style guides, asset management, version control, and quality assurance before publication.
  • Optimize on-page SEO elements (titles, meta descriptions, header tags, internal linking, schema markup) and collaborate with engineers for technical SEO improvements.
  • Coordinate with Product, Sales, Customer Success, and Design teams to translate product and customer insights into compelling content that supports conversions and retention.
  • Develop and implement content distribution plans across organic, paid, email, and social channels to maximize reach and ROI.
  • Own content measurement and reporting: define KPIs, build dashboards (e.g., Google Analytics, Search Console, GA4), run cohort analyses, and translate insights into action items.
  • Run A/B tests and content experiments (headlines, CTAs, formats, landing pages) to improve conversion rates and content effectiveness.
  • Manage external agencies and freelance networks: scope work, negotiate contracts, review deliverables, and ensure editorial standards and timelines are met.
  • Produce and manage pillar pages and topic clusters to support long-tail SEO strategies and improve internal linking and topical relevance.
  • Implement content repurposing strategies to extend reach and reduce time-to-publish, converting long-form assets into emails, social posts, videos, and infographics.
  • Develop gated and ungated content offers (eBooks, whitepapers, case studies) to support demand generation and lead nurturing programs, working with marketing automation (HubSpot, Marketo) to track conversion flows.
  • Audit existing content regularly, recommend pruning, consolidation, or refresh strategies to improve performance and reduce maintenance overhead.
  • Ensure accessibility, legal/compliance, and privacy considerations are incorporated into content processes (cookie banners, consent language, accessibility alt text).
  • Manage content budgets, prioritize initiatives based on expected ROI, and report on spend vs. business impact.
  • Act as an escalation point for crisis communications or time-sensitive content needs, coordinating fast-turnaround responses while preserving brand integrity.
  • Build and maintain relationships with influencers, subject matter experts, and PR to amplify content reach and credibility.
  • Drive cross-channel personalization strategies by segmenting audiences and tailoring content based on lifecycle stage, behavior, and intent signals.
  • Stay current on content marketing, SEO, analytics, content technology (CMS, headless CMS), and industry trends to recommend tools and process improvements.

Secondary Functions

  • Support ad-hoc stakeholder requests for content assets, data pulls, and performance summaries.
  • Contribute to the organization’s content governance, taxonomy, and metadata standards to improve discoverability and CMS efficiency.
  • Assist with onboarding and training other teams on content best practices, SEO basics, and content request processes.
  • Help evaluate and pilot content tools and integrations (SEO platforms, CMS plugins, content collaboration platforms).
  • Participate in sprint planning and cross-functional stand-ups to align content work with product launches and marketing campaigns.
  • Maintain a repository of competitor content intelligence and benchmark content performance across the industry.
  • Support events, webinars, and PR initiatives with speaker briefs, slide decks, and post-event content follow-ups.
  • Compile monthly/quarterly content performance reports and present actionable recommendations to marketing leadership.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

  • Content strategy development and execution with measurable KPIs (traffic, leads, MQLs).
  • Advanced SEO skills: keyword research, on-page optimization, technical SEO basics, SERP analysis, and backlink strategy.
  • CMS proficiency (e.g., WordPress, Drupal, Contentful, Sitecore) including content templates and publishing workflows.
  • Performance analytics: Google Analytics / GA4, Google Search Console, Looker Studio (Data Studio) or comparable dashboarding tools.
  • Familiarity with marketing automation and CRM platforms (HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot) and using them to measure content-driven conversion funnels.
  • Experience with SEO and content tools: Semrush, Ahrefs, Moz, Surfer SEO, Clearscope, or similar.
  • Strong copywriting, editorial, and proofreading ability for B2B or B2C audiences with experience optimizing for readability and conversions.
  • A/B testing and experimentation experience using tools like Optimizely, VWO, or Google Optimize.
  • Basic HTML/CSS understanding for formatting content, troubleshooting rendering issues, and collaborating with developers.
  • Content governance, metadata, and taxonomy skills to improve searchability and manage large content inventories.
  • Familiarity with multimedia content production workflows (video briefs, podcast outlines, visual storytelling).
  • Project management skills with tools like Asana, Trello, Jira, or Monday.com to manage content pipelines.

Soft Skills

  • Strong stakeholder management and ability to collaborate with cross-functional teams (Product, Sales, Design, Legal).
  • Leadership and people management: mentoring writers, setting goals, and driving accountability.
  • Strategic thinking and the ability to translate business objectives into measurable content plans.
  • Data-driven mindset and comfort with analytics to inform editorial decisions and ROI assessments.
  • Excellent written and verbal communication skills with attention to detail.
  • Time management and prioritization in a fast-paced environment with multiple competing deadlines.
  • Creative problem-solving and adaptability to shifting marketing priorities.
  • Persuasive storytelling and the ability to craft narratives that resonate across buyer stages.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

  • Bachelor's degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, English, English Literature, Media Studies, or related field.

Preferred Education:

  • Master's degree in Marketing, Communications, Business, or related discipline; or relevant professional certifications (Content Marketing Institute, HubSpot Content Marketing, Google Analytics).

Relevant Fields of Study:

  • Marketing
  • Communications
  • Journalism
  • English/Creative Writing
  • Digital Media
  • Business Administration

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range: 3–7 years of progressive content, editorial, or content marketing experience for mid-level Content Manager roles.

Preferred: 5+ years of content strategy and execution experience, including team leadership, proven SEO results, CMS ownership, and measurable contributions to traffic, lead generation, or revenue. Experience in the company’s industry (SaaS, eCommerce, B2B, fintech, healthcare) is a plus.

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