M04-07 · AI + Content & Marketing Strategy

Marketing Strategy and Client Advisory

Teaches students to develop and present marketing strategies, manage client relationships at the strategic level, and handle the advisory responsibilities that differentiate a content strategist from a content producer. Covers content audits and strategy development, client pitches for new business, content playbook creation, startup marketing strategy, paid media experimentation basics, and content crisis management.

25 Hours

7 Learning objectives

Evaluate Bloom's ceiling (?)

5 Competencies

What You'll Be Able To Do

Learning Objectives

Objectives

Depth

Create a comprehensive content strategy for a business including keyword cluster mapping, editorial calendar development, channel prioritization, and 6-month milestone targets Create
Evaluate a company's existing content through a structured audit (crawl analysis, traffic analysis, competitive gap analysis) and present actionable findings with revenue impact estimates Evaluate
Design content playbooks that enable any team member to produce on-brand content, including voice guides, content type templates, publishing workflows, quality checklists, and prompt templates Create
Apply client advisory communication including presenting strategy, defending recommendations with data, managing scope creep, and handling difficult conversations Apply
Analyze a startup marketing scenario to prioritize the highest-leverage actions when building marketing from zero with limited budget and no team Analyze
Evaluate the potential ROI of a paid media experiment ($500-1,000) by selecting targeting parameters, defining success metrics, and establishing kill criteria Evaluate
Apply content crisis management procedures when published content contains errors, receives public criticism, or creates brand reputation risk Apply

Levels: Remember · Understand · Apply · Analyze · Evaluate · Create — highest demands most original thinking.

Core Competencies

What You'll Master

Strategy Development

Content audits, keyword cluster strategy, editorial calendar architecture, channel selection, milestone setting, competitive positioning.

Content Playbook Creation

Brand voice documentation, content type templates, workflow standardization, quality checklists, onboarding new writers, AI prompt template libraries.

Client Advisory

Strategy presentation, data-backed recommendation defense, scope management, difficult conversation handling, retainer justification, growth proposals.

Startup Marketing Prioritization

Highest-leverage-first approach, website messaging before blog content, customer language as copy foundation, building with constraints, proving ROI quickly.

Crisis & Reputation Management

Error correction protocols, public response drafting, editor's notes, fact-checking process improvements, maintaining client trust through transparency.

Portfolio Artifact

What You'll Build

Marketing Strategy Pitch Deck — Student develops a complete strategy pitch for a prospective client: a content audit with traffic analysis and competitive gap findings, a 6-month content strategy with keyword clusters, editorial calendar, and channel priorities, a content playbook with brand voice guide and production templates, a paid media experiment proposal with targeting, budget, and success criteria, and a recorded strategy presentation (10-15 minutes) as if pitching to the client.

Tools You'll Use

Industry Tools, Not Toy Projects

Ahrefs / SEMrush

SEO platforms for content audits, competitive analysis, and keyword strategy development.

Google Slides / Notion

Presentation and documentation platforms for strategy decks, playbooks, and client deliverables.

Google Sheets

Editorial calendar planning, budget modeling, and ROI projection spreadsheets.

Screaming Frog

Website crawler for comprehensive site audits supporting content strategy recommendations.

Google Analytics 4

Web analytics platform for establishing performance baselines and tracking strategy impact.

Claude

AI assistant for audit analysis, strategy drafting, and presentation preparation.