Content Strategist

A content strategist decides what content an organisation should produce, for whom, and why - then plans how it gets made, published and measured. That might mean website page structures and wording, blog and video plans, email campaigns, or the help documentation inside a product. They work for marketing teams, digital agencies, in-house product teams, charities and public sector bodies, usually alongside writers, designers, SEO specialists and developers rather than producing everything themselves.

Approximate graduate salary

Typically around GBP 24,000-32,000 to start, though this varies widely - London and large in-house teams sit at the upper end, while smaller agencies, charities and regional employers often start lower. Public sector content design roles follow published pay bands.

What you'd actually do

Auditing existing content - going through a website or content library page by page in a spreadsheet, recording what each page is for, whether it still performs, and whether it should be kept, rewritten, merged or deleted
Doing keyword and search research using tools that show what people type into search engines, then turning that into a list of topics worth covering
Writing or editing content briefs: a document telling a writer or freelancer what a piece should cover, who it's for, what question it answers, what to link to, and roughly how long it should be
Sitting in meetings with stakeholders - product managers, subject experts, sales or clinical/legal reviewers - to work out what a page or campaign actually needs to say and to get sign-off
Maintaining a content calendar and chasing pieces through the pipeline: draft, edit, design, legal or compliance review, publish
Pulling performance data from analytics and search tools and writing a short summary of what worked, what didn't, and what to do next
Writing copy yourself when needed - at smaller employers a strategist is often also the main writer

How graduates get in

Marketing or communications graduate schemes at larger companies, where you rotate through areas like brand, digital and content before specialising - common at big consumer, retail, telecoms and financial services employers
Direct entry into a junior role with a different title - content executive, content marketing assistant, junior copywriter, digital marketing executive, SEO executive - and moving into strategy after a year or two. This is the most common route; 'content strategist' is rarely a first job title
Agency route: joining a digital, content or SEO agency as a junior and learning across several client accounts quickly. Agencies hire a lot of graduates and the learning curve is steep
Coming from journalism, publishing or editorial work, where you already know how to plan and commission content, and adding the digital and analytics side
Moving across from UX (user experience) or service design into content design - a closely related job, more common in government, health and large product organisations, where the focus is on the words inside interfaces and services rather than marketing content
Internships, placement years and student media or society communications work, plus freelance writing, are the usual way to build the portfolio that gets you shortlisted

What employers ask for

A degree in almost any subject. English, journalism, communications, marketing and history are common because they involve a lot of writing and research, but employers care more about writing samples than subject. Some employers require a degree only nominally, or not at all
A portfolio or samples of writing - published articles, a blog, student newspaper work, society or charity content, freelance pieces. This matters more than grades for most content jobs
Grade requirements vary a lot: structured graduate schemes at large employers often ask for a 2:1, while agencies and smaller in-house teams frequently don't set a classification and screen on a written task instead
Evidence you understand digital basics: how search engines rank pages, what a content management system (CMS - the software used to publish and edit web pages) is, and how to read website analytics
No mandatory professional qualification. Optional credentials that some employers view positively include CIM (Chartered Institute of Marketing) qualifications, free analytics and ads certifications from search platforms, and short courses in SEO or content design
Almost all employers set a practical exercise - rewriting a page, drafting a content plan, or critiquing an existing website - so being able to perform under a timed task matters

Skills that matter

Editing other people's writing

Much of the job is improving drafts from freelancers, subject experts and colleagues who write badly but know the subject, without rewriting from scratch or offending them.

Structuring information

Deciding what belongs on which page, in what order, and under which heading is the core strategic skill - poorly structured content fails even when the writing is good.

Reading analytics and search data

You need to justify content decisions with evidence about what people search for and which pages actually get read, rather than personal taste.

Stakeholder management and diplomacy

Senior people often want content that serves their department rather than the audience, and a lot of the job is negotiating that down politely and with evidence.

Spreadsheet fluency

Content audits, keyword lists and publishing calendars are almost always spreadsheets with hundreds of rows, and you'll live in them.

Working with generative AI tools critically

Many teams now use AI for first drafts and research, so knowing where it helps, where it produces inaccurate or generic output, and how to edit it is increasingly part of the role.

Where it leads

Junior/executive level: producing and publishing content to someone else's plan, running audits, learning the tools. Typically the first year or two.
Content strategist or senior content strategist: owning the plan for a product area, brand or client, briefing others, presenting recommendations to stakeholders. How long this takes varies widely - faster in agencies with high turnover, slower in large in-house teams.
Content lead, content manager or head of content: managing writers and freelancers, owning budget, setting editorial standards and governance across an organisation.
Broader routes out: into SEO leadership, brand or marketing management, content design and UX in product teams, or freelance and consultancy work - freelancing is very common in this field once you have a track record.

What people get wrong

“It's a writing job, so it's mostly writing.”

At mid level and above, a large share of the week goes on audits, spreadsheets, briefs, meetings and getting sign-off. Some strategists write very little themselves - though at small employers you'll write a lot.

“It's the creative, non-analytical option in marketing.”

It's data-heavy. You're expected to justify decisions with search data and page performance, and to explain in a meeting why a page should be deleted.

“AI writing tools are making the role redundant.”

The demand has shifted rather than disappeared: drafting is cheaper, so the value sits in deciding what's worth publishing, checking accuracy, and stopping organisations flooding their own sites with low-quality pages. Volume-writing roles are more exposed than strategy ones.

“'Content strategist' means the same thing everywhere.”

In marketing teams it usually means planning campaigns and blog/social content to attract customers. In product and government teams, the near-identical title 'content designer' means writing the words inside an app or service - button labels, error messages, form guidance - and sits closer to UX than to marketing. Read the job description carefully; the two require different portfolios.

Where this varies

The role differs sharply by setting. In a digital or content agency you'll juggle several clients, work to tight deadlines and learn fast, with less depth on any one subject. In-house at a large company you go deep on one brand, deal with more internal politics and often more compliance review - in financial services, healthcare and legal, every piece may need approval from a regulated review process, which slows everything down. In government and the NHS the equivalent job is usually 'content designer', follows a defined style and accessibility standard, and is judged on making complex services usable rather than on marketing performance. At startups and small charities the title often covers strategy, writing, social media and email all at once. Job titles in this field are unusually inconsistent, so compare duties rather than titles when applying.

General guidance about the role across the UK market, not about any specific employer. Entry routes and requirements vary — always check the individual job advert.