Content strategy is about far more than strategy. We tend to get caught up in deliverables: Content audits, competitive analyses, tone of voice guidelines, workflows, great website content…the list goes on and on. At their best, these deliverables work together as part of a cohesive strategy.

Problem is, all these deliverables only matter, if they’re put into practice.

Being a content strategist is about more than crafting a brilliant strategy

It’s about creating the environment where that strategy can come to life.

The hardest thing I’ve learned over the last couple years is the excruciating and exhilarating process of winning people within an organization over to a strategy. After all, it’s my clients who will be on the hook once I’ve moved on to the next project. If they don’t believe in what I create, they won’t succeed in implementing it.

I have tried to win them over by going over each detail. But that’s when their eyes gloss over. The thing is, many of my clients don’t care about the deliverables…unless they know the bigger picture. That’s when the value of each deliverable comes to life. It’s our job to paint that picture for them.

We get to help clients achieve their full potential. At our best, we get to help clients dream big about what their full potential could be. Now that’s a fun job.

I finish with a short quote from one of my favorite authors, Antoine de Saint-Exupery. If you haven’t read his The Little Prince, you need to. But, for now, just remember this one quote:

“If you want to build a ship, don’t drum up people to collect wood and don’t assign them tasks and work, but rather teach them to long for the endless immensity of the sea.”

Strategy is only half the battle. The rest consists of helping others see what they could achieve, when that strategy becomes reality.

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