Why Megan Morreale Thinks Content Marketing As We Know It Is Dying (And What’s Next) (Interview) - Animalz

🌈 Abstract

The article discusses the changing landscape of content marketing and the evolving role of content marketers. It features an interview with Megan Morreale, a former content marketing executive, who shares her perspective on the "death" of traditional content marketing departments and the need for content marketers to adapt their skills and career paths.

🙋 Q&A

[01] Career Transition from Journalism to Content Marketing

1. What skills from journalism are useful for content marketers? According to Megan, the key skills from journalism that are useful for content marketers include interview skills, investigative skills, fact-checking, and the ability to understand and convey the emotions behind what someone is saying.

2. What did Megan have to unlearn when transitioning from journalism to content marketing? Megan had to unlearn the habit of focusing solely on timely, news-driven content. In content marketing, the focus is more on SEO and evergreen content that can continuously drive results, rather than just reacting to current events.

3. How did Megan's experience at Reddit shape her view on the future of content marketing? At Reddit, Megan observed the marketing team restructuring, with paid and organic teams working more closely together. This led her to the realization that traditional standalone content marketing departments are likely to disappear, as digital marketing becomes more integrated across an organization.

[02] The "Death" of Traditional Content Marketing Roles

1. What factors contributed to Megan's realization that content marketing is "dying"? Megan noticed a ceiling for content marketing roles, with limited opportunities for growth beyond senior manager or director levels. She also observed that larger enterprise companies often don't have dedicated content marketing roles, as digital marketing functions become more specialized and integrated across the organization.

2. How does Megan see this trend playing out at different company sizes? Megan suggests that smaller startups may still have content marketing roles, but they often lead to burnout due to the catch-all nature of the role. Larger enterprises, on the other hand, are more likely to have specialized digital marketing functions, rather than a standalone content marketing department.

3. What are the two main paths Megan recommends for content marketers to develop their careers? Megan suggests that content marketers can either focus on the strategic, channel-specific side of digital marketing (e.g., as a channel manager on a growth team) or the creative, narrative-building side (e.g., on a product marketing or audience team).

[03] Advice for Marketing Leaders

1. What are the key considerations for marketing leaders when structuring their content teams? Megan advises marketing leaders to clearly identify the most important business goals (e.g., awareness, consideration, retention) and then structure the content team to focus on the specific areas that support those goals, rather than trying to cover the entire marketing funnel.

2. How can marketing leaders help their content teams be more effective? Megan suggests that marketing leaders should avoid giving content teams too many conflicting goals and instead focus the team on the specific areas that are most critical for the business at that time, whether it's SEO, social media, lifecycle marketing, etc.

[04] Megan's New Business

1. How is Megan helping content marketers with her new business? Megan's new business is focused on helping content marketers with the job search process, including providing guidance on networking, resume optimization, and leveraging social media to get noticed by potential employers.

2. What is Megan's perspective on the future of content marketing skills? Megan believes that content marketing skills are still highly valuable, but the traditional "content marketing" role is evolving. She sees content marketers as being highly marketable for specialized digital marketing roles, as organizations recognize the importance of content-related skills across different functions.