How To Hire A Content Strategist

A Content Strategist is the architect behind meaningful, results-driven content. They blend storytelling, SEO, branding, and audience research to craft content strategies that attract, engage, and convert. Whether you’re building a content marketing engine, revamping your website, or launching a new brand, hiring the right Content Strategist ensures your message connects and delivers measurable business value.

Understanding The Role & Responsibilities

Content Strategists are responsible for planning, creating, and managing content initiatives that support your company’s goals. They work across departments, often with marketing, product, design, and sales, to ensure consistent messaging, voice, and customer experience.

Key responsibilities include:

• Developing and owning a content strategy aligned with business goals
• Conducting content audits and identifying gaps in messaging or SEO performance
• Defining content calendars, distribution plans, and success metrics
• Creating brand voice, tone, and editorial guidelines
• Collaborating with writers, designers, and SEO teams to execute campaigns
• Analyzing content performance to inform future strategy
• Mapping content to customer journeys, personas, and lifecycle stages

Depending on your company’s size, a Content Strategist may be hands-on in content creation or lead a team of specialists.

Skills To Look For In A Great Content Strategist

The strongest candidates combine creative thinking with data fluency, brand awareness, and project management.

Strategic Thinking

They should be able to see the big picture - how content supports demand generation, SEO, brand awareness, customer retention, and more.

SEO & Analytics Expertise

Look for familiarity with keyword research, search intent, and tools like Google Analytics, SEMrush, or Ahrefs to measure content performance.

Audience & Persona Development

Great strategists understand the importance of customer segmentation and tailoring messaging for different audiences or channels.

Content Planning & Editorial Oversight

They should be adept at creating content calendars, setting workflows, and managing teams or freelancers to deliver on time and on brand.

Copywriting & Storytelling

While not always the primary writer, a strategist should have strong writing chops and an eye for narrative flow, clarity, and voice.

Cross-Functional Collaboration

They often serve as a content liaison between marketing, product, and sales, so look for candidates with strong communication and alignment skills.

Other Transferable Titles

If you're open to broader candidate profiles, consider those with the following backgrounds:

Content Marketing Manager

These professionals typically have experience managing content across channels, collaborating with writers, and tying strategy to marketing goals.

Brand Strategist

Brand strategists bring voice, tone, messaging frameworks, and storytelling experience, great for companies focused on top-of-funnel or thought leadership.

SEO Specialist

If your focus is content performance, SEO specialists with editorial oversight can bring a strong technical perspective.

Editorial Manager

Experienced in managing tone, grammar, and consistency across assets, they often bring strong process and team management skills.

UX Writer

For digital-first teams, these professionals bring expertise in user journeys and structuring content that’s intuitive and accessible.

Interview Questions

These questions can help you evaluate strategy, creativity, and communication:

1. Walk me through a content strategy you developed. What were the goals, and how did you measure success?
2. How do you balance SEO optimization with compelling storytelling?
3. Tell me about a time you uncovered a content gap. What did you do about it?
4. How do you prioritize topics or formats for different stages of the funnel?
5. What tools do you use for content planning, SEO, or analytics?
6. Describe your process for developing or maintaining editorial guidelines.
7. How do you collaborate with writers, designers, or product marketers?
8. What’s one piece of content you’re most proud of, and why?

Evaluating & Making The Final Decision

When narrowing your decision:

• Review a portfolio or sample content strategies to evaluate clarity, creativity, and structure
• Ask about measurable results (e.g., increased organic traffic, improved engagement rates, or lead generation)
• Look for an understanding of content’s business impact, not just wordsmithing
• Consider brand fit, voice alignment, and collaboration style
• Evaluate their ability to flex across different formats: blog, email, social, web, video, etc.

For hands-on roles, a short writing or strategy assignment can provide additional insight into their process and execution.

Partner With Premier

Hiring a Content Strategist means investing in your brand’s voice, visibility, and impact. At Premier, we connect companies with experienced strategists who know how to turn content into a growth engine, whether you need top-funnel awareness, improved SEO, or scalable editorial systems.

Let Premier help you build your next great content hire. Contact us to get started today.