Over the past decade, content has become more and more strategic in an organization’s value creation. This had led to the creation of more executive roles that lead everything that approaches content.

Lately, we’ve been getting more and more work from clients that are looking to grow and improve their internal content operations.

From making sure they have the right people on-board, to putting processes that will facilitate communication between various teams that touch a brand’s content marketing efforts, our experts are seeing firsthand the strategic importance that content has become to be over the last 10 years.

Building and documenting a content marketing strategy is one thing. Executing it is a whole other ballgame, and it requires leadership that not all organizations have in-house.

In some cases, it might be relevant to call external teams (content strategists, content creators, content writers, etc.) that can support the internal expertise the inevitably exists in every organization we come across (content marketing managers, content editors, etc.). This can lead to coaching managers, building a custom editorial calendar that a marketing team will be able to work with, creating a great creative cadence that will allow content planning to be less reactive and more proactive, etc.

In other cases, we clearly see the need for the appointment of a Chief Creative Officer. It does not have to be that exact title, but the idea is there.

As Robert Rose puts it in his “The New Chief Content Officer: Why the Job Description Must Change” article: “The chief content officer is a key member of the senior management team. The CCO leads the administrative, operational, and creative functions of content as a strategic marketing and communications function in the business.”

Struggling to get performance out of your content? If your content team is living through content chaos on a daily basis, schedule a quick call with us to discuss Content strategy and content operations. We can help you get all your ducks in a row.

Does your organization have such a person on staff? Should it? These are questions that CMOs and executives must ask.

And having such a role defined and clearly labelled is not to create or produce better content, or have a more impactful content strategy. Those are tactical actions. What a Chief Content Officer does is to make sure that then ENTIRE customer experience is coherent and drives results for the brand.

What is the difference between a CMO and a CCO?

A CCO should act like a publisher’s posture, while a CMO should act from a sales perspective. Both roles require a deep understanding of the company’s business objectives, audience needs, and competitive landscape. But the goals of each position differ significantly. For example, a chief content officer must focus on attracting new audiences, converting those who find your site, and retaining existing ones. Meanwhile, a chief marketing officer focuses on convincing potential buyers of the value of your products or services.

If you’re wondering what this means for you, here are some of the things that a Chief Content Officer should do:

  1. Lead the way towards a more integrated approach to content
  2. Be responsible for the overall quality of all types of content produced by the company
  3. Ensure that content is aligned with the brand’s goals
  4. Make sure that content is being used effectively (from the planning of the content calendar to that actual activation of a piece of content)
  5. Build a content marketing team structure that combines creativity and analysis to drive content production

With more brands looking for ways to produce high-calibre content, the Chief Content Office (CCO) position has emerged as an important one in the C-suite.

Does my content team need a Chief Content Officer?

If the role of content is increasing in year-over-year, you might want to consider it.

Want to get your content team up to speed on this? Organize a team workshop or one-on-one coaching with an expert of our team. You can also book Alexandre to come and speak at your event!

Even if you’re not able to invest in a new C-suite member right now, asking the right questions and planning for a more robust structure for content in your organization is key.

If you don’t have the budget for a full-time CCO, you can seek outside help to support your team from a high-level executive-on-demand approach. This is an example of the role Toast has been playing with some content teams we work with.