I started my college career as a political science major. I quickly realized that a job in politics was not in the cards for me, and I was scrambling to figure out where to go from there. It was through watching YouTube that I began getting an idea of what my dream job would be.
One of my favorite YouTube channels are the Theorist channels. This consists of the Game Theorists, the Film Theorists, the Food Theorists and GTLive. It was through the last of those channels that I heard about the consulting business that the creators of those channels also run.
YouTube and other digital platforms have been growing rapidly over the last decade. Hundreds of thousands of channels broadcast each week to an audience of millions. And, a lot goes into creating successful YouTube channels, beyond just the onscreen personality. That’s where a digital strategy consultant comes in.
Think of your favorite YouTube channels. It might be Safiya Nygaard, The Try Guys, or a smaller channel, Super Carlin Brothers, to name a few of my personal favorites. All of these channels, and most channels with over a million subscribers, have a team surrounding them. These teams can consist of editors, production managers and, in some cases, digital strategy consultants.
What is a Digital Strategy Consultant?
So we’ve thrown this title around a lot, but what is a digital strategy consultant? What do they do?
Theorist Media, a media and consulting firm started by YouTubers Matthew Patrick (MatPat) and his wife Stephanie Patrick, defines consulting in their LinkedIn profile as, “[working] with clients across entertainment and technology to develop cross-platform content strategies, achieve long-term audience growth, and manage their brand identity through data-driven decision-making.”. Digital strategy consultants act as a bridge between content creators and advertisers/brands.
On the content creators’ side, consultants help creators build their brand. This involves developing a content strategy. Creators need to distinguish themselves among a sea of people putting out content. Digital strategy consultants can help find the balance between the content a creator wants to create and the content that their audience wants to watch. By understanding the platform’s algorithm, digital strategy consultants will highlight aspects of the content. This allows the content to spread more widely across platforms. They do this using search engine optimization (SEO) tactics, employing current trends and looking at the channel’s analytic data in order to build brand awareness. The goal here is to build successful YouTube channels and media brands. Theorist Media, for example, has worked with over 150 YouTube channels, according to their LinkedIn profile.
However, when working with advertisers, digital media consultants try to help these companies understand this new digital landscape. Consulting companies partner with these brands in order to help them feel comfortable spending money advertising on digital platforms. Theorist media has previously partnered with over ten different brands since 2016, including Google, Warner Bros., Walmart, and Ubisoft. Digital strategy consultants help these brands understand the trends and viewership statistics on digital platforms.
What skills are needed to excel as digital strategy consultant?
Digital strategy consultants need to be confident using a variety of social media platforms. Building a brand can be done using more than one platform. Utilizing different social media platforms is a great way to advertise your content to wider audiences and build brand awareness. Additionally, digital strategy consultants help creators learn how to do this. Therefore, it is necessary that they understand the platforms and their differences.
Digital strategy consultants need to excel at both written and verbal communication. This field requires participants to give presentations on the data collected or give notes on what is or isn’t working. Whether this is done over email, over video chat or in person, it is imperative that the message is delivered as concisely as possible. If brands don’t know what they are dealing with they won’t invest in digital media. If creators don’t understand what they’re doing wrong they won’t know how to improve.
Another important skill in digital strategy consulting is the ability to work well in a team setting. Whether it is with the brands and creators you are consulting for or fellow consultants who are working on a case with you, consulting is an interpersonal field requiring a lot of interaction with others.
How much do digital strategy consultants get paid?
According to Glassdoor.com, a job recruiting site, digital strategy consultants can make anywhere from $45,000 a year to well over $100,000 a year. The reported average falls at about $98,000 per year. This, of course, varies heavily with your experience and the company you work for.
Digital content strategists are needed wherever creators are. That means most major cities, and Los Angeles, for example, is a hotspot. Additionally, this industry provides flexibility. You can work remotely, and the work may involve traveling for meetings.
Where to start?
If you’re here, you’re already in the right place!
If pursuing a career as a digital strategy consultant interests you, a degree in media and culture is a great start! Having foundational knowledge and skills in production or in effective communication and search engine optimization (SEO) can give you a real leg up in this new and evolving market.
