8 Content Strategists You Should Follow
If you’re new to Content Strategy, there are some people you just have to follow. On Twitter, YouTube, at conferences, by reading their books. They just have too much wisdom to dispense.
I’ve learned a ton from practicing Content Strategists who generously share their knowledge. I thought I’d highlight a few of them here.
Here are 8 Content Strategists I’ve learned a lot from. I highly recommend you read whatever they write about Content Strategy!
Kristina Halvorson
Founder, Brain Traffic & Confab Events
Twitter: @halvorson
Book: Content Strategy for the Web, 2nd Edition
Why follow her? Kristina was one of the first to prominently explain and tout the benefits of Content Strategy, and she wrote what most of us consider to be “the book” on the topic. (The Second Edition, co-authored with Melissa Rach, is required reading for anyone who wants to do Content Strategy.)
Jonathon Colman
Content Strategist, Facebook
Twitter: @jcolman
Why follow him? A frequent keynote speaker at conferences and events, Jonathon has a winning way of explaining complex concepts in compelling terms. He’s a tireless champion of Content Strategy and especially beginning practitioners, at times even volunteering to help less experienced speakers prepare conference talks.
Rahel Anne Bailie
Chief Knowledge Officer, Scroll LLP
Twitter: @rahelab
Book: Content Strategy: Connecting the Dots Between Business, Brand, and Benefits
Why follow her? Another long-time Content Strategist, Rahel has been a part of the practice since before most folks knew what Content Strategy was. Her book (co-authored with Noz Urbina) provides several useful case studies that demonstrate the concrete business value of Content Strategy.
Meghan Casey
Lead Content Strategist, Brain Traffic
Twitter: @meghscase
Book: The Content Strategy Toolkit: Methods, Guidelines, and Templates for Getting Content Right (Voices That Matter)
Why follow her? As Lead Content Strategist at Kristina Halvorson’s agency, Meghan has amassed a wealth of knowledge about the practice. Her book offers examples of tons of useful deliverables you can use in your projects.
Colleen Jones
CEO, Content Science
Twitter: @leenjones
Book: Clout: The Art and Science of Influential Web Content (Voices That Matter)
Why follow her? Colleen and her agency, Content Science, use principles from rhetoric and psychology to help people create compelling content. She offers in-person training in writing and Content Strategy, and her ContentWRX product helps quantify the effectiveness of content.
Rachel Lovinger
Content Strategy Director, Razorfish
Twitter: @rlovinger
Book: Nimble: A Razorfish Report on Publishing in the Digital Age
Why follow her? No book on Content Strategy has perhaps ever been printed without including Rachel’s iconic explanation: “Content strategy is to copywriting as information architecture is to design.”
Lisa Welchman
President, Enterprise Digital Governance Solutions, ActiveStandards
Twitter: @lwelchman
Book: Managing Chaos: Digital Governance by Design
Why follow her? In a world where “Content Strategy” is defined by most people as the ability to churn out as much content as possible, Lisa helps us all refocus on the other end of the content lifecycle—the often-neglected governance phase.
Erin Kissane
Editor and Director of Content, Knight-Mozilla Open News
Twitter: @kissane
Book: The Elements of Content Strategy (Brief Books for People Who Make Websites, No. 3)
Why follow her? Erin’s book provides an intelligent, illuminating background to the story of Content Strategy’s emergence in the digital media realm. She delivers plenty of context to anyone wanting to know more about the discipline.
I wish I had time and room to talk about 50 more Content Strategists, but this list will do for now.
What Content Strategist would you put on your list of the most influential?
Links to Amazon in this post are affiliate links, but these are all books I have read myself and recommend!
