Content is king when it comes to digital marketing for businesses. And it is undoubtedly even more important for small businesses. This is because smaller businesses frequently lack the marketing resources that larger businesses do, and content marketing offers some of the highest total returns on investment (ROI). Additionally, it is a long-term tactic that can continue to pay off for a very long time after it is implemented.

Most large businesses have marketing directors, CMOs, and Vice Presidents as a part of their internal marketing team. However, small firms lack the resources to hire a team of experienced and expert internal marketing talent. Hiring a fractional director can be quite helpful in such scenarios.

This article explores how hiring a fractional director can help small businesses scale their marketing strategy.

What Is A Fractional Content Director

Fractional directors are experts in their area who keep up with current marketing trends and are knowledgeable about the subtleties of marketing.  Their main duties revolve around conducting research, organizing, and supervising the implementation of marketing initiatives that aid in the steady expansion of their client’s company.

In addition to establishing strategy, they aid in team selection and training, facilitate interdepartmental collaboration, and mentor workers who require assistance.

How Can A FCD Help?

A fractional content director would provide a structure to the content department. You will likely receive a clearer, more accurate picture of how to create an effective marketing plan from fractional directors. Additionally, they add objectivity and a new viewpoint to your marketing initiatives.

They may divide a content strategy into the following categories:

• SEO Team: To increase organic search traffic to the brand’s web domains, the search engine optimization (SEO) team is in charge of enhancing on-page SEO, off-page SEO, and technical SEO.
• SEM Team: Paid search advertising is a component of search engine marketing (SEM). Due to SEM’s capacity for producing quick traffic and split-testing messaging, it will play an early and ongoing role in the majority of marketing campaigns.
• Content Creation Team: Content is needed for marketing. Rarely do businesses have the personnel necessary to devote the volume of content development necessary for a brand’s successful marketing. Whether the material is produced internally or externally, a content development team is responsible for producing the written, audio, and video content required to carry out marketing initiatives.

Why Should You Hire A FCD?

You need a seasoned strategic marketer to develop a vibrant strategic brand. Fractional directors have the experience to view the broad picture and quickly pinpoint faults and pain points. After identifying these potential areas for improvement, they can assume control over your marketing initiatives. They will also aid in appropriately implementing your marketing best practices and guidelines. Other benefits of hiring fractional content directors are:

Setting Up Procedures

A fractional content director will put up the procedures and have a plan in place so your team can continue functioning even after they are gone. They will be familiar with creating briefs and have the templates on hand. They can also provide information and instruction to staff members who wish to learn more about content marketing.

Customized Strategy

Your company needs someone who can establish connections and plan campaigns effectively. Content marketing is an excellent way to generate leads. However, you don’t need generic SEO content. To truly stand out and carve an identity for your business, your content needs to be unique and customized to your overall mission.

The person you hire must comprehend the inner workings of your sector if you want them to be able to produce original and compelling content for your brand. A fractional content director has years of experience and acquired knowledge. They will therefore be able to target audience efficiently.

Cost-Effective

If you don’t have enough money to engage a full-time employee or an agency, the most obvious reason you might want to consider hiring a fractional content director is because of budget constraints. Many agencies demand upfront payments and contracts that barely last a month.

A fractional content director can not only fill the gap of effective leadership but also obtain fast results within your budget.

Efficiency

In addition to saving you time and effort and maintaining quality control across all projects at every level of development, fractional directors are specialists at producing high-quality content that generates results. Additionally, they stay up to date with emerging trends so they can assist you in developing compelling content campaigns that will draw in new readers, leads, and clients.

What To Look For When Hiring FCDs

Hiring someone with experience in many marketing platforms and a background in content is a good general rule of thumb. While an FCD is not required to have a tactical understanding of every marketing channel, they must be familiar with SEO, email marketing, social media, and traditional marketing channels.

A good marketer should be able to steer you in the appropriate direction if necessary, even if they do not have much knowledge in other fields. Some other characteristics to look out for are:

• Strategic Thinker: Your FCD must develop a vision for your company, capture it in a plan, and turn it into a workable marketing strategy.
• Analytics: To meet your demands for goal-setting and monitoring, your FCD must be able to locate and interpret the pertinent “big data.”
• Problem Solver: An FCD must be able to analyze issues, look into solutions, and firmly settle them.
• Experience: An excellent FMD knows how to use the right channel to optimize the user experience and prompt the desired user action.
• Project Manager: Planning, defining responsibilities, monitoring performance, and measuring outcomes are all necessary to turn your organization’s vision from an idea into reality.

Final Thoughts

Housing a dedicated marketing staff within a mid-sized or large company makes sense. The team has an internal understanding of the company’s brand, messaging, and mission at that level, and it’s frequently less expensive than outsourcing.

By hiring fractional content directors, small companies can access seasoned marketing professionals with a track record of success at an accessible price point.