How Marketers Can Explain Content Strategy to Stakeholders

Content strategies can stall when the people responsible for funding, approving or carrying out the work do not understand why it matters. An article on the Neil Patel Blog argues that gaining support requires a different skill from developing the strategy itself: explaining the rationale to people outside marketing.

The communication gap can involve executives, sales leaders, clients and legal reviewers, each of whom may assess a proposal through a different lens. A recommendation that appears straightforward to a content strategist may look like an expense or a liability to someone with other responsibilities. The article points to Content Marketing Institute research in which 21 percent of B2B marketers identified collaboration across departments as a leading content marketing challenge.

Rather than opening with marketing terminology, the article recommends starting with the measures stakeholders already use. Depending on the audience, that can mean explaining how a proposal relates to organizational cost, risk or speed. The aim is to make the reasoning understandable enough that a stakeholder can defend the strategy when the marketer is not present.

The article also advises marketers to raise problems or weak performance themselves. Addressing an issue early gives the person presenting the strategy an opportunity to correct mistaken conclusions and offer solutions. That approach shifts the discussion toward what should happen next, rather than leaving stakeholders to interpret the problem on their own.

When proposing a change, marketers should first identify what will remain consistent. Introducing unfamiliar tactics alongside established elements can make the recommendation easier for a non-marketing audience to understand. The article also warns that broad advice is unlikely to be put into practice on its own. Specific action items, collected in a checklist or one-page document that stakeholders can take away, give the audience a clearer basis for follow-through.

What this means for marketers

Before presenting a content plan, identify the priorities of the people who must approve or execute it. Explain the proposal in those terms, acknowledge performance concerns and leave stakeholders with a concise set of actions.