Content Is Key, But It Needs Editors

Nowadays the focus of marketers lies heavily on content – everyone is investing in it, but few are doing it well, says Econsultancy contributor Maximilian Tatton-Brown in an article posted on the website. Most marketing departments that are getting to grips with content strategies tend to produce trite, conventional content that fails in its primary purpose: to engage the target audience. Tatton-Brown notes that quality content needs to go hand-in-hand with quality editing. He even goes as far to say that there isn’t a need for more content, what is required is better editing.

Good editing professionals are capable of creating an interesting point of view in any piece of content they are working with, and keeping it consistent. Editors prioritise what goes in and what needs to be removed and set quality standards for the content. Although many marketing departments believe their current staff has the ability to come up with quality content, there is a reason why editing is a profession in its own right. Professional editors can bring a fresh, creative perspective to marketing departments as they know their subject and are therefore more experimental with content, something the content marketing world needs, according to Tatton-Brown.

Editors know how to turn the content produced by writers into something useful and relevant for the target audience. They also know how to measure the progress of a campaign and how to determine if it has been successful. In short, editors are one of the most underestimated but most valuable members of a content marketing team. Their presence could be the difference between success and failure.