Shelby Hill is a freelance writer and content strategist currently working with Purple Carrot, among others. You can follow her adventures on Instagram.
Okay, maybe I’m biased, but over 200 content professionals assembled in the same room speaking the same language, sharing ideas freely, and believing that they can change the world — or at least make their company’s community better, stronger, and tighter — gives me the goosebumps.
Yeah, you’re right. I’m definitely biased.
But the June Boston Content event, which unveiled its new era and introduced its new leadership committee (including new executive directors Katelyn Holbrook and Katie Martell), was exactly the kind of gathering that makes me feel all the good feels.
See photos from the event here.
I would sit in that room all day every day anyway, but it didn’t hurt that I took away some awesome tidbits from the night, too. The key learning was that in order to thrive as a content professional in today’s market, both you and your content have to be versatile. Something I think we all know deep down, but should be written in big, bold letters on a sticky note stuck to all of our monitors.
Our first speaker, Elle Woulfe, VP of marketing at LookBookHQ, got the ball rolling by sharing how she gains “Independence From Mediocrity: Creating Fireworks in a World of Content Duds.” Elle drove home how important creating versatile content and repurposing it is — especially when it’s performing well. Because when your content is versatile, whether it’s an infographic, article or e-book (like in Elle’s case), you’re getting the most bang for your buck.
Next up was Brendan Cournoyer, VP of corporate marketing at Brainshark, Inc., who spoke to the importance of diversifying your skillset to be super marketable in his “Start a New Revolution: Content Career Hunting and Skills Selling” chat. His three “gotta have ‘em” skills? Curiosity, versatility, and instinct. He encourages his team at Brainshark to continue diversifying their skills by taking marketing tool and strategy classes online through Marketing Profs.
Samantha Dulac, director of brand voice at Rue La La, took a slightly different angle on our theme of versatility. Normally the arbiter of brand voice doesn’t bend or change for anyone, but Samantha shared how sometimes, when the big bosses are really gung-ho about something, your communication and reaction tactics have to be versatile. As a content professional, you have to know when to stick to your guns and when it’s okay to let not-totally-on-brand content go live — especially content that has the lifespan of a mayfly.
Jess Marble, marketing manager at Care@Work, part of Care.com, strengthened Brendan’s points by regaling us with her tales of being a content army of one — and sharing one heck of a workflow roadmap. Jess literally does it all; from strategy and production to building relationships with her audience and proving her content is working. She could never do all that she does if she wasn’t versatile, and if she wasn’t producing versatile content with legs for days.
So ICYMI, word on the content street is that you and your content have to be versatile. Now go and get out there. Take on a side hustle that will expand your skills, accept a project that’s out of your comfort zone, or continue your professional education at a place like General Assembly (who just happened to be our event host!).