Team Spotlight: Meet Emily Thompson, Our Senior Content Strategist

An interview with Emily Thompson, Content Strategy | Marketing Message/Strategy

Question: Tell us about what you do for Centric Squared.

Big picture: I help our clients answer the question, “What needs to be said and how do we say it?” I love helping small businesses tell their story and put their best foot forward. My experience is that most people and businesses are so good at what they do that they often don’t even know that it’s a unique value the world lacks and needs.

More granular: I’m a senior content strategist and get nerdy amounts of joy from writing social media posts, website pages, emails, and blog content. 

Question: What kind of skill set do you have to do this role?

Answer: I’m an editor at heart, desiring to make good things better and to break things down in a way that’s easier to understand. I’m thankful to have spent all of my career working under astute editors who have fine-tuned my skills for content strategy, writing, and proofreading. 

Question: What’s something you’d love to share with others about content strategy?

Answer: I need this advice as much as anyone: Start talking, keep talking, and don’t worry about reaching perfection before pushing publish or send. Not every single social media post or piece of content is going to be a grand slam, but there’s so much room to study results, adjust, and build on the things that work. 

Can you describe the path that led you to Centric Squared?

Answer: I spent the first 10 years of my career working at an advertising agency and doing web content management for a healthcare organization. I took a step back from writing for about five years to focus on my small children and the community we were living in. But my soul missed my field. Like most of the world, the pandemic caused me to rethink my goals, and I was over-the-moon delighted to discover an opportunity to get back into marketing work remotely. Coming to Centric Squared feels a bit like breathing again.

What’s a lesson you’ve learned since joining the team?

Answer: Because my experience in marketing has always been content driven, I deeply appreciate teammates like Weng who understand the technical, backend piece of websites. I still barely understand it, and appreciate being able to partner with her. That’s the strength of working with an agency. No one person who works in marketing can possibly master each piece of the puzzle, but we together provide it. 

What advice would you give to someone who is interested in becoming a senior content strategist?

Answer: Become a voracious reader. Apart from the editors who have shaped me, reading is the single most helpful thing I’ve done in my career. You don’t have to read about marketing – pick a genre you love and dive all in on it. Over time, you will naturally pick up on the questions that make a senior content strategist an asset: What types of writing are compelling? What word pairings cause you to pay attention versus tune them out? Who taught me something and how did they do it? What entertained me? What stood apart?

When you’re not working, what are you doing?

Answer: My family loves hosting people for meals around our big farm table. My goal is that someday this table will be beat up, stained, falling apart and maybe even crusty gross –  but it will tell many stories.

What’s one book on your bookshelf right now? 

Answer: “This Is Where You Belong: Finding Home Wherever You Are,” by Melody Warnick – an excellent read about how to set down deeper roots in your community, especially if you’re new there. Our family recently relocated to Fargo, North Dakota, and we’re having fun exploring the city with gusto. (Follow along on our adventures on Instagram @sofargo_sogood)

Are you interested in the joining our team? Please visit our about page to learn more and apply!