If you’re a content marketer, pat yourself on the back — it’s not an easy job.
Content marketing continues to flourish and is predicted to hit the $269 billion mark by 2024. It’s no wonder companies and brands are constantly looking to hire content marketers.
While writing the job description is the easy part, finding the best content marketer can be challenging for several reasons:
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- Companies demand a lot more skills than a typical content marketer (or any human being) has
- You have limited resources to work with
- Underwhelming compensation
- Direction from leadership that’s out of sync with the content efforts
On top of that, some companies require you to do an unpaid project to apply for the job. And once you’re in, they expect you to come up with creative and unique ideas and projects that will deliver maximum results on all the company’s online platforms.
All these challenges can be hugely disheartening for a content marketer who wants to deploy deep, engaging campaigns. You probably have a similar story to tell. You’ve got a long list of responsibilities and corresponding KPIs to achieve. So, you fire on all cylinders trying to get all the different parts of your job working at the same time.
But the pressure does not go away.
In the last two decades, the marketing manager was primarily concerned with media planning and orderly advertising campaigns. Today, so many stimuli from various digital media are coming at us that the risk of overload (and related job stress) is more than it was before.
In this article, we’ll look at how companies expect a content marketer to be a jack-of-all-trades and master of most. And then we’ll show you how you can save your content marketers from the insanity.
Job Descriptions of Content Marketing Roles
If you’ve been looking for a content marketing job recently, chances are you’ve stumbled on a few impossible postings with insane demands. You know, the type that lists mile-long requirements that leave you shaking your head in disbelief.
Here’s one:
“Progressive employer seeks a Head of Content. Must be a graduate with a thorough technical understanding of SEO, Java, HTML, CSS, XHTML, and web publishing. Must be fluent in web analytics and social media marketing tools. Minimum 10 years experience as a respected leader in SEO-optimized multi-channel content creation that converts.”
The job ends up being more than just creating content, but also doing web design, SEO, email marketing, social media management… you get the idea.
Here’s another one:
“We’re looking for a seasoned content writer/editor, part strategist, and part storyteller. Minimum experience of 10 years, a passion for technology, able to work independently and partner with in-house specialists to create amazing, integrated campaigns that drive incredible results. Should be agile and have experience working with large global technology organizations.”
Yet another job description reads:
“We’re looking for an enthusiastic specialist to help in our overall marketing efforts. We expect you to be a competent professional, well-versed in specialized marketing concepts, principles, and tactics. Must have a BSc/BA in Marketing, Communications or equivalent, with demonstrable experience in marketing data analytics and tools, knowledge of HTML, CSS, and web development tools (e.g. Dreamweaver).”
It’s almost laughable the list of demands being placed on one person.
Brands post jobs asking for an all-arounder and high-quality work. As the content marketer, you understand how the expectations laid on you are unrealistic, to say the least. But the people outside of your role don't necessarily get it.
They don’t value your input and make you wear multiple hats. They don’t seem to understand that you can’t do three or four people’s jobs.
Sadly, these types of postings seem to be more prevalent than ever.
The Insane Expectations Foisted on Content Marketers
“Can we add another weekly article to our content strategy?”
“How about increasing the frequency of our social media posts?”
“What do we need to expand our email campaigns to include xx more touches?”
As a content marketer, you’re constantly receiving requests for “more, more, more” content, right? We hear you.
You’re not the only one in the company that feels the pressure to do more in less time. But you’re often in a unique position as you might work in a small team to meet the larger needs of many other parts of the company.
It’s not uncommon for you to produce 10x more work. Yesterday’s companies could get off with one ad campaign spread over fewer mediums. Today’s companies produce content that serves multiple channels, and there are so many ways to market things.
There’s also a lot of creative work to do but companies don’t necessarily staff up to meet the demand. You’ve got briefs to chase, projects needing approval, and administrative tasks to complete. Add to that the grueling long nights and weekends often billed as the price of admission for your labor of love.
But there’s a fine line between exploitation and sacrifice. Companies and/or clients pile on projects and condense deadlines just because they can.
In short, they expect you to be a unicorn but treat you like a donkey.
How to Save Your Content Marketers from the Insanity
As a content marketer, you wear countless hats. One day you’re a data journalist, the next, a storyteller. And if you’re in a fast-paced agency, you get to work across dozens of different businesses. So, you’ll always be busy.
However, it’s hard to feel like you have a stake in a company that adds to your workload without providing extra resources. You’re probably even reading this and thinking, “there’s no other way.” How could you possibly meet your content marketing teams’ needs without burning the candle at both ends?
Let Casted help. We developed the Amplified Marketing Playbook that’ll make your work easier and streamline your content marketing efforts.
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- Amplified Marketing puts expert interviews and conversations at the center of your content strategy and amplifies those voices into your marketing strategies.
- Instead of using the SEO-keyword-riddled content marketing playbook of yesteryear, the playbook makes you commit to conversations. It also helps you make your content marketer’s job more manageable and enjoyable.
- We also show you how to use podcasts to show your brand’s personality, get insights from multiple experts across different industries, and connect with your audience through authentic conversations.
With these powerful tools, your content marketers get expert opinions they can wring out into amazing content that will meet your company’s and customers’ needs.
Want to know more? Schedule a demo today.
