How to hire a content strategist

Skilled content strategists help your business connect with its audience, drive engagement and conversions, and enhance brand awareness. However, identifying the perfect content strategist can be challenging. 

These professionals need a careful balance between hard and soft skills to succeed in their roles, and it’s sometimes tricky to determine which skills to focus on when reviewing applications and evaluating candidates. Plus, it can be difficult to know where to find talented content strategists to recruit in the first place. 

We’re here to help.

We’ll explain everything you need to know about hiring great content strategists – including what you need to know beforehand, where to find the best applicants, and how to assess them.

What you need to know before hiring a content strategist 

Before you begin searching for a content strategist, you’ll need to know these five things:

1. Your company goals 

First, you must understand what your organization aims to achieve with its content – for instance, strong brand awareness, high sales conversions, or great customer engagement. 

By defining your goals, you can assess candidates based on their ability to create strategies that meet your company objectives. Knowing your goals also lets you set clear expectations for potential applicants so they can evaluate whether they’d be a good fit for your organization. 

2. Your target audience 

Knowing your target audience – including their pain points and preferences – ensures the strategist you hire can tailor content effectively to resonate with them. 

For example, when targeting a younger demographic that prefers short-form video content, you’d benefit from having a content strategist develop eye-catching videos on platforms like TikTok and Instagram. 

3. Your company voice and brand identity 

Understanding your organization’s unique voice and brand ensures you hire a strategist who can align with your vision and maintain consistent messaging across content.

When you're clear about your brand's voice and identity, you can also quickly onboard and guide your new hire, reducing the learning curve and enabling them to produce impactful content sooner.

4. Attractive compensation for content strategists

Offering competitive compensation and benefits shows that you value content strategists’ skills and can help you attract highly qualified applicants. 

To learn average salaries and benefits for the role, monitor popular job boards and listings, and study industry salary surveys that provide benchmark compensation figures. For example, Glassdoor lists the total pay for a content strategist in the US as more than $85,000 per year, with an average annual base salary of around $79,000.

How to write an effective job description

A great job description will include a clear overview of the role, a list of essential duties, and required and preferred experience and qualifications. It will also have salary and benefits information and a list of required skills and competencies.

The strongest job descriptions are skills-based, so in yours, emphasize the skills and abilities you seek over degree requirements and years of experience. 

You should also communicate your company culture – highlighting creativity, collaboration, and continuous learning, which content strategists tend to value. 

Including these elements will give you a solid job description that sets clear expectations for the role and attracts the right applicants. 

Skills and qualifications to look for in a content strategist

Content strategists need a unique blend of hard and soft skills to succeed. They can also benefit from having specific qualifications. We break these down below.

Hard skills 

SEO plays a significant role in content strategy, so your candidates must understand and follow SEO best practices to ensure your content ranks well on search engines. 

They should also have proficiency in platforms like WordPress, Ahrefs, and HubSpot to publish and manage content.

In addition, candidates should have strong data analytics skills and know how to use tools like Google Analytics and SEMrush to track content performance and drive actionable insights. 

Skills in photo, video, and audio editing are also a plus. These allow strategists to present information in various formats to reach a wider audience and increase engagement.

Soft skills 

Technical skills help content strategists execute role-specific tasks, but content strategy also requires soft skills like communication, adaptability, empathy, and problem-solving. 

Talented content strategists can convey ideas clearly, collaborate well with various teams, and tailor messaging for different audiences. They can also adapt to an ever-changing digital landscape, pivoting strategies based on trends and audience feedback to ensure content stays relevant. 

Empathy plays a central role in content strategists’ success, too. Understanding and connecting with the audience's needs, behaviors, emotions, and pain points leads to more impactful and relatable content.

Finally, challenges often arise when building a content strategy. Strategists can face shifting algorithms or content not performing as expected. Strong problem-solving skills help them identify issues and implement effective solutions.

Qualifications

Although formal qualifications don’t guarantee a candidate will be a perfect fit, they can help you identify applicants with the basic knowledge and skills required for the role.

Content strategists might have a bachelor’s degree in marketing, journalism, or a related field, combined with experience in content strategy or digital marketing.

Where to find skilled content strategists 

Demand for talented content strategists is high, as businesses need them to grow their audiences and maintain strong brand identities. That’s why casting a wide net and attracting as many skilled individuals as possible is essential. 

However, posting your open role to LinkedIn, Indeed, and other online job boards is only one method you should use. Consider using the creative methods below.

Engage with online content communities 

You might also participate in online forums, groups, and platforms dedicated to content, like Contently, ProBlogger, or Reddit's r/ContentStrategy and r/content_marketing subreddits. 

These communities attract professionals passionate about their craft, often resulting in concentrated pools of expertise. By engaging with these communities, you can directly access strategists with niche-specific skills who frequently share, discuss, and showcase their specialized knowledge. 

Start by creating an account and joining channels and communities focused on content strategy and creation. Then, you can post your thoughts, engage with content strategists, and discuss your current job openings. 

Explore freelance networks

Tapping into freelance networks uncovers candidates who are already accustomed to various projects and industries and can offer fresh perspectives and approaches to content strategy. 

Upwork, for example, is one of the largest freelance platforms – with millions of freelancers spanning various specialties, including content strategy. Explore the platform and find both emerging talent and seasoned professionals.

For a more vetted talent pool, Toptal is a great option. It boasts a rigorous screening process, accepting only the top 3% of applicants. This ensures you connect with only the most qualified professionals.

How to select the best content strategist candidates 

After you’ve posted your position and gathered applications, it’s time to identify and assess top candidates in your talent pool. You can do this by using a combination of pre-employment tests and structured interview questions. 

TestGorilla is the perfect platform for both. It has a library of 300+ tests – including role-specific, personality, and cognitive ability tests. You can combine up to five tests and add custom questions to build a custom, comprehensive assessment.

Our Content Strategy test, for example, assesses candidates’ skills in connecting with a target audience and increasing traffic that leads to conversions. Evaluating your candidates with this test can help you find and hire content specialists with strategic expertise.

Additionally, you can use TestGorilla’s Enneagram Personality test to evaluate candidates’ core beliefs and perspectives and see how these shape their personalities. As a result, you’ll better understand your candidates’ motivations, strengths, and potential fit within your team.

Once you receive candidates’ test results, consider interviewing the top performers. Ask questions that evaluate their technical knowledge, experience with marketing tools, and ability to overcome complex challenges. 

For specific examples, check out these 45 content strategist interview questions. You can add these questions to your assessments, or use TestGorilla to conduct one-way video interviews.

Common mistakes when hiring a content strategist 

Here are three common pitfalls to avoid when hiring a content strategist: 

1. Not clarifying role expectations 

Many organizations fail to differentiate between a content creator, editor, and strategist. A content creator primarily produces content, and an editor refines it. But a content strategist oversees content planning, development, and management, ensuring it resonates with the intended audience.  

By not clarifying this during hiring, you risk bringing on someone whose expertise doesn't match what the role truly demands. In your job description and as you conduct interviews, clearly describe what your content strategist will be responsible for so you can avoid a mis-hire.

2. Overlooking personality and culture add 

While technical skills are essential, a content strategist’s ability to integrate into and thrive within a company's unique culture is equally important. Strategists who don’t align with the company’s values, communication style, and working methods may prevent collaboration, decrease morale, and negatively impact project success.

To avoid these issues, use personality tests to learn about candidates’ motivations, values, and behavioral attributes. TestGorilla’s DISC Personality test, for example, can reveal candidates’ personality types and their impact on team dynamics. 

You should also seek content strategists who can bring something new to your company culture – boosting innovation, productivity, morale, and more. Use TestGorilla’s Culture Add test to evaluate what candidates can offer your organization. 

3. Ignoring adaptability 

The digital content landscape is always evolving, with shifting algorithms, emerging platforms, and changing consumer behaviors. Content strategists must be able to adapt to these changes and learn new technology as needed. 

You can assess candidates’ adaptability by asking interview questions that prompt them to describe how they’ve navigated changes in previous roles. Listen for answers that reflect their ability to learn new technologies and quickly adjust to a new audience preference. 

For more guidance, follow these best practices for hiring adaptable employees. 

Hire the right content strategists with TestGorilla 

Hiring the right content strategist for your organization can be a challenge without a strong grasp of your company’s goals, identity, and target audience. It’s also crucial to understand the key hard and soft skills your candidate needs to succeed, where to find top talent, and how to assess their competencies effectively.

TestGorilla makes this easy. You can mix and match tests to create assessments that reveal candidates’ skills, personalities, and cognitive abilities, so you can find the right content strategist for your organization.

Get started with TestGorilla today by checking out our product tour, signing up for a live demo, or creating a free account.