Perks of being a Content Allrounder
To work in content, you need a whole lot of different skills. The requirements profile quickly becomes a wild string of abbreviations. You need knowledge about SM, UX, SEM, SEO, GA, CMS…WTF?
Building a solid knowledge base across all the different areas takes some experience and training. However, does all the hard work result in being a jack of all trades and master of none?
A Jack of all Trades is someone who is decent at everything, but not especially adept at any one thing. — Urban Dictionary
My personal experience
I have been working in digital marketing for several years — content has always been the focus of my work. My career path led me from an e-commerce assistant to content manager and on to social media manager. Today, I combine all these areas as a content creator. At the same time, I study Content Strategy at the FH Joanneum in Graz. Swiss army knife much?
Every day I learn about new tools, new skills, new sub-areas. The only thing I know for sure at this point is that, as in life, you never stop learning in the field of content.
I am interested in many things. Videography, social media platforms, online communities, blogs, storytelling — you name it. For quite some time, I thought I had to specialize in a certain field of knowledge. Being a ‘swiss army knife’ sounded negative to me. In the meantime, I realized that the accumulated knowledge in all these areas already makes me an expert:
A content expert.
Skillset for working in content
The skillsets and knowledge between individual sub-fields in the field of content are highly intertwined. Let us take writing a blog article as an example. Writing on the web requires a wide range of knowledge you probably don’t even think of at first.
Keyword research, user needs, image editing, maybe even video, Google Analytics, and of course the hard skill web writing are only the tip of the iceberg.
When the article is published, you will have to create social media postings, write captions, and advertise your content, which will be measured by pre-defined KPIs.
This broad skillset and the ability to think cross-channel- and user-oriented are essential components in the world of content.
I have already noted that many sub-areas are interwoven in content. A fellow student, Beate, writes about this. Read up on how content strategy and UX design fit together.
Pros of being a Content Allrounder
+ Seeing the big picture. You have an overview
+ Adaptable. Your skills can be applied to many tasks. You can switch hats as needed. Invaluable especially for smaller companies.
+ Internal communication. You can communicate at eye level with all departments of your company.
+ Many options when changing jobs. The doors of the world of Content are open for you.
+ Continuing education is easier with a broad base of knowledge.
That is all well and good, but what if I feel inadequate about not being a specialist in one field? Stella, another fellow study colleague, recently wrote a blog article about ‘Imposter Syndrome’.
This is about a phenomenon in which sufferers strongly doubt their own talents or skills. You should definitely have a read!
In conclusion, let us revisit the term ‘jack of all trades, master of none’. Working in content, I would argue that you can be a jack (or jill) of all trades and at the same time a master of many. Keep developing your broad knowledge and skillset and eventually become the best of both worlds!
With the words of Bruce Springsteen:
I’m a jack of all trades — we’ll be alright.
Related articles you might be interested in:
Why Being A Jack Of All Trades Is Essential For Success — Forbes
Why generalists are key for successful marketing work — Thunderfoot
