In today’s fast-paced digital landscape, the importance of producing high-quality content can’t be overstated. If you’re trying to position your company as the go-to authority in your industry, content must be a priority. This is where the role of a content manager comes in—a role that’s vital but often misunderstood.
The content manager is the cornerstone of your content strategy. They are not just there to pump out articles or throw together a few blog posts. Instead, they act as the orchestrator of your brand’s voice, the mediator between your team’s expertise and your audience’s need for answers. Understanding the importance of this role and why it should be a dedicated, full-time position can dramatically elevate your business's content production and its overall success.
Content Is a Full-Time Job
If you’re familiar with the They Ask, You Answer approach, you know that the success of this framework is contingent upon your ability to consistently produce relevant, helpful content that addresses your audience’s questions. The modern buyer is more informed than ever, and they have no shortage of questions. According to the TAYA methodology, to become the trusted voice in your industry, you need to answer these questions better and faster than anyone else.
However, producing high-quality content regularly is a monumental task, and it simply cannot be treated as a side project or one of many responsibilities within your marketing department.
You need someone who wakes up every day thinking about content—someone who is solely focused on capturing the expertise of your team and transforming it into engaging, value-driven resources for your audience. That’s the job of the content manager.
Capturing Expertise, Not Perfection
A common misconception when it comes to content creation is that everyone involved needs to be a brilliant writer or an expert videographer. But that’s not what’s required. What you need is to extract the knowledge from your team members—the product experts, salespeople, and customer service representatives—and translate that into digestible, actionable content.
The content manager’s primary responsibility is to facilitate this process. They are the liaison between your subject matter experts (SMEs) and your audience. They know how to ask the right questions and can identify the types of content that will resonate most with your prospective customers. Importantly, the content manager doesn’t have to be an expert in your industry; instead, they should approach content with the mindset of an informed buyer, asking the kinds of questions that will lead to informative and useful content.
Why It Needs to Be a Dedicated Role
Many companies make the mistake of assigning content creation to someone who’s already juggling other responsibilities—whether it’s a marketing manager, a social media coordinator, or even a salesperson. While this might seem like a logical step to save resources, it’s a critical misstep.
Content production requires not only time but focus and ownership. A content manager who isn’t spread thin across multiple tasks will be able to develop a deeper understanding of your brand’s voice and build the consistency needed to create a real impact.
Outsourcing content might seem like a good alternative, but embedding a content manager within your team ensures that the content is more aligned with your brand’s goals. When they work directly with your team, they can establish stronger relationships, leading to richer, more authentic content.
The Ideal Content Manager
So, what makes a great content manager?
Many companies have found success by hiring recent journalism graduates. These individuals are typically skilled in writing, interviewing, and storytelling—core competencies for the role. But more importantly, a great content manager has a curious mindset. They are excellent listeners who can dig deep into your team’s knowledge and identify the most valuable insights for your audience.
A content manager should also possess a strong understanding of the content formats that perform best in today’s market—whether that’s long-form blogs, video, podcasts, or social media content. With the growing importance of multimedia content, having a content manager who’s comfortable with video production or editing can also be a huge asset.
Building Trust with Consistent, Quality Content
The goal of a content manager is not just to churn out content, but to build trust. The more questions you answer for your audience, the more you’ll position your company as a thought leader. This is critical for building the kind of trust that leads to conversions and long-term loyalty.
Search engines like Google reward consistent content creation. A steady stream of well-optimized content will help improve your search rankings, driving more traffic to your site. But to achieve that level of output, you need someone whose sole focus is making sure the content pipeline is full and functioning effectively.
A content manager ensures this happens. By owning the content strategy, they can focus on producing materials that not only rank well in search engines but also resonate with your audience and provide real value.
The Domino Effect of Good Content
When you have a content manager in place, the impact on your business can be profound. Not only will you produce more content, but the quality will improve over time as your team gets into a rhythm. Your subject matter experts will become more comfortable sharing their insights, and your audience will notice the increased consistency and depth of your content.
The effects of having a dedicated content manager are far-reaching: your SEO will improve, your sales team will have better tools to close deals, and your brand will become synonymous with trust and expertise in your industry.
So, why a Content Manager?
In the end, a content manager isn’t just another role within your company—they are the driving force behind your content strategy. If you’re serious about adopting the They Ask, You Answer approach or simply want to improve your digital presence, a content manager is non-negotiable.
By making this a full-time position, you’re ensuring that your company stays on track to produce the volume and quality of content necessary to answer your audience’s questions, improve trust, and ultimately drive more revenue. If content is king, then the content manager is its essential steward, making sure your brand’s voice is heard loud and clear.
Ready to hire a Content Manager? Download the Job Description from here