I was at a conference recently that provided a workshop on becoming a content strategist. I hadn’t heard of this title before and I wanted to share what I learned. While content writers focus on creating individual pieces of content—like articles, blog posts, and social media updates—a content strategist looks at the bigger picture. They plan, develop, and manage content that aligns with an organization's long-term goals to ensure consistency, relevancy, and audience engagement across all platforms.
As a nurse with a deep understanding of patient education and health communication, you already possess valuable skills that can help you transition into content strategy. This role allows you to use your expertise in a more strategic way, influencing how content is created and distributed to meet specific objectives, whether it’s for healthcare companies, educational platforms, or health-focused brands.
In this post, we’ll explore what it means to be a content strategist and how you can leverage your nursing background to succeed in this field.
What a Content Strategist Does
A content strategist begins by aligning the client’s business goals, content objectives, and strategy goals to ensure cohesive planning. Their role is to conduct thorough audience research and analysis, as the strategy must be built around understanding the target audience’s needs, behaviors, and preferences. The content strategist audits the client’s current content and evaluates competitors to identify gaps and opportunities. They then analyze search engine optimization (SEO), to support the strategy. After gathering and analyzing data, the strategist takes what they’ve learned about market trends and audience responses, then develops a tailored content strategy with actionable recommendations and a clear plan for execution.
Leveraging Nursing Skills
Nurses have a unique set of skills that may translate to a content strategist role. Your ability to communicate complex information in an understandable way makes you adept at creating audience-centered strategies. Nurses are skilled at assessing patient needs and outcomes, which is similar to analyzing audience behavior and tailoring content to meet their needs. Your critical thinking and organizational skills help in auditing content, identifying gaps, and developing actionable plans. Also, nurses are familiar with evidence-based practices, which aligns with data analysis and using market research to inform strategic decisions. These skills make you a strong candidate for content strategy roles.
Steps to Become a Content Strategist
A nurse writer can transition into a content strategist role by building on their foundational skills in communication and patient education, while expanding their expertise in content planning and strategy. First, they can start by learning how to align content creation with broader business goals, such as improving engagement or generating leads. Gaining knowledge in areas like SEO, audience research, and data analysis is also important because these are vital for crafting effective strategies. Nurse writers can also leverage their critical thinking skills and experience in breaking down complex health information to create strategic content plans. You should also follow some content strategists on social media to learn more about what they’re doing and how to navigate offering this service to your clients.

In Summary
Adding a content strategy role to your services may be a great way to diversify your income in the writing world. Nurses already possess many of the critical skills needed, such as clear communication with patients and people on a multidisciplinary team, critical thinking, and the ability to understand complex information. With the healthcare landscape going increasingly digital, this is an exciting opportunity for nurses to explore.
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