Key Responsibilities and Required Skills for Marketing Communications Manager

🎯 Role Definition

The Marketing Communications Manager is responsible for developing and executing integrated communications and content strategies that build brand equity, drive demand, support product launches, and strengthen audience engagement across owned, earned, and paid channels. This role blends strategic planning, creative storytelling, PR/media relations, digital marketing, and measurement — working closely with product, sales, design, and executive leadership to align messaging, optimize performance, and protect brand reputation.

Key focus areas: brand messaging, content strategy, public relations, social media, email marketing, marketing automation, SEO and web content, campaign management, analytics, stakeholder engagement, and internal communications.

📈 Career Progression

Typical Career Path

Entry Point From:

Marketing Coordinator or Marketing Specialist
PR / Communications Specialist
Content Marketing Specialist or Copywriter

Advancement To:

Senior Marketing Communications Manager
Director of Marketing Communications or Director of Corporate Communications
Head of Brand or VP of Marketing

Lateral Moves:

Product Marketing Manager
Brand Manager
Content Strategy Lead

Core Responsibilities

Primary Functions

Develop and own the integrated marketing communications strategy and editorial calendar that aligns with corporate objectives, product roadmaps, and sales cycles — ensuring consistent brand messaging across all customer touchpoints (website, email, social, PR, events, and partner channels).
Lead end-to-end campaign planning and execution for product launches, demand-generation initiatives, seasonal promotions, and brand-building programs, coordinating creative, digital, PR, and paid media partners to deliver on time and on budget.
Craft clear, persuasive, and on-brand copy for a broad set of deliverables including website pages, landing pages, email campaigns, press releases, executive bylines, case studies, customer stories, and thought leadership articles.
Manage media relations and PR programs: build press lists, pitch stories, secure media coverage, brief spokespeople, coordinate interviews, and measure PR impact relative to business goals.
Serve as brand guardian: develop and enforce messaging frameworks, tone of voice guidelines, and creative standards to maintain consistency across internal and external communications.
Oversee owned digital channels (corporate website, blog, social profiles) including content planning, SEO optimization, content updates, and conversion-oriented copy that supports lead generation and funnel progression.
Drive email marketing and marketing-automation programs: design lifecycle campaigns, nurture sequences, segmentation strategies, A/B tests, and performance optimization using platforms such as HubSpot, Marketo, or similar.
Collaborate with product marketing and sales enablement to translate product value propositions into compelling sales collateral, one-pagers, battle cards, and training materials that improve win rates and shorten sales cycles.
Measure and report on communications performance with clear KPIs: web traffic, organic search rankings, lead quality, email open/click rates, social engagement, PR impressions, and campaign ROI — using analytics tools like Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, or platform-native dashboards.
Manage external agencies, freelance writers, designers, and vendors: set briefs, negotiate scopes and budgets, review creative work, and ensure deliverables meet brand standards and performance objectives.
Lead cross-functional communications for major company announcements, executive transitions, M&A activity, pricing changes, or crisis events — partnering with legal, HR, finance, and leadership to ensure messaging accuracy and compliance.
Execute integrated social media strategy that builds brand awareness, supports lead generation, and drives community engagement across LinkedIn, Twitter/X, Facebook, Instagram, and emerging platforms; develop content calendars and performance tests.
Develop and maintain a robust repository of customer stories, testimonials, and case studies — overseeing interviews, narrative development, approvals, and multimedia production.
Create thought leadership programs for executives and subject matter experts: briefings, bylined articles, conference speaking opportunities, podcasts, and webinars to increase credibility and inbound interest.
Optimize content for organic search and discoverability: perform keyword research, implement on-page SEO best practices, coordinate technical SEO fixes with web teams, and measure organic traffic growth.
Manage marketing communications budget: forecast spend, allocate resources across channels, track costs, and optimize investments based on channel performance and business priorities.
Coach, mentor, and manage direct reports or matrixed communications resources; establish performance objectives, provide feedback, and support professional development for writers, coordinators, and agency partners.
Lead creative brief development and review for visual assets, UX copy, video scripts, and interactive content — ensuring creative aligns to messaging strategy and campaign goals.
Coordinate event communications and experiential marketing: pre-event promotion, onsite messaging, speaker coordination, collateral development, and post-event follow-up to convert attendees to pipeline.
Build and execute internal communications programs that align employees to brand purpose, product launches, policy changes, and executive priorities — using intranet, all-hands, newsletters, and manager toolkits.
Ensure regulatory, legal, and industry compliance in external communications by coordinating message approvals, disclosures, and claims verification with legal and compliance teams.
Design and run ongoing testing programs (A/B tests, content experiments) across subject lines, CTAs, landing pages and ad creatives to continuously improve conversion rates and engagement.
Analyze competitor positioning and market trends to refine messaging, identify whitespace opportunities, and recommend tactical pivots to leadership.
Lead crisis and reputation management communications: prepare holding statements, coordinate stakeholder communications, and support rapid response protocols.
Maintain high-quality documentation of processes, brand assets, templates, and measurement frameworks to scale communications activities and streamline handoffs.

Secondary Functions

Support ad-hoc market research, persona validation, and competitive audits to inform messaging, content priorities, and campaign targeting.
Maintain and refine the marketing communications playbook, style guide, and content templates to improve speed-to-market for campaigns.
Oversee the content approval workflow and governance, including stakeholder reviews and legal sign-offs.
Provide sales enablement support by creating and updating pitch decks, ROI calculators, and product one-pagers that reflect current messaging and positioning.
Coordinate with HR to strengthen employer branding and recruitment communications, including job descriptions, careers pages, and company culture content.
Collaborate with product and UX teams to ensure microcopy, in-app messaging, and onboarding flows reflect the brand voice and improve user activation.
Pilot and evaluate new channels, formats, and technologies (podcasts, interactive content, short-form video) to identify scalable opportunities for audience growth.
Manage internship or contract resources: define project scopes, provide guidance, and monitor outcomes against objectives.
Contribute to quarterly planning cycles and marketing OKRs by translating strategic goals into tactical communications roadmaps and measurable outputs.
Facilitate cross-functional workshops and messaging alignment sessions to ensure unified external narratives during multi-team initiatives.

Required Skills & Competencies

Hard Skills (Technical)

Strategic content development: content strategy, editorial planning, and multi-channel storytelling for B2B and/or B2C audiences.
Advanced copywriting and editing: persuasive, SEO-aware copy for web, email, PR, and executive communications.
Public relations and media relations: press outreach, media pitching, crisis comms, and earned media measurement.
Digital marketing tools: experience with HubSpot, Marketo, Pardot, or equivalent marketing automation platforms.
Analytics and measurement: Google Analytics, Adobe Analytics, campaign tracking, UTMs, dashboards, and ROI analysis.
SEO and content optimization: keyword research, on-page SEO, metadata, and content performance optimization.
Content Management Systems (CMS): WordPress, Drupal, or headless CMS experience for publishing and governance.
Email marketing best practices: segmentation, deliverability, A/B testing, and reporting.
Social media management: scheduling tools (Hootsuite, Sprout Social, Buffer), paid social basics, and community engagement.
Design and creative collaboration: familiarity with Adobe Creative Suite (Photoshop, InDesign) or Figma for briefs and reviews.
CRM & sales tools: Salesforce or similar CRM for alignment with sales pipeline and lead routing.
Project management tools: Asana, Trello, Jira or similar for cross-functional project coordination.
Measurement & experimentation: running A/B tests, conversion rate optimization (CRO), and using analytics to iterate.
Budgeting & vendor management: contract negotiation, scope management, and agency oversight.

Soft Skills

Strategic thinking and business acumen — translate business strategy into communications plans that drive measurable outcomes.
Exceptional verbal and written communication — clear, concise, and persuasive across audiences and channels.
Stakeholder management — influence and align cross-functional teams and senior leaders.
Storytelling and narrative design — craft compelling brand and product narratives that resonate with customers and partners.
Leadership and people development — coach direct reports and foster a high-performance communications team.
Project management and organization — prioritize competing deadlines and manage complex multi-channel campaigns.
Adaptability and resilience — thrive in fast-paced, ambiguous environments and respond to rapidly changing needs.
Attention to detail and editorial rigor — ensure brand tone, grammar, and consistency in all outputs.
Creative problem solving and experimentation mindset — embrace testing and data-informed decisions.
Presentation and facilitation — lead workshops, pitch creative concepts, and present performance insights to executives.

Education & Experience

Educational Background

Minimum Education:

Bachelor’s degree in Marketing, Communications, Journalism, Public Relations, English, Business, or related field.

Preferred Education:

Bachelor’s degree plus professional certifications (e.g., Inbound Marketing, Google Analytics, HubSpot Academy) or a master’s degree in Marketing, Communications, or an MBA.

Relevant Fields of Study:

Marketing and Communications
Public Relations and Journalism
Business Administration or Management
Digital Media or English/Creative Writing

Experience Requirements

Typical Experience Range:

5–8 years of progressive communications or marketing experience, with at least 2–3 years managing campaigns or people.

Preferred:

7+ years in marketing communications, corporate communications, content marketing, or PR — including experience running integrated digital campaigns, managing agencies, and reporting on measurable impact. Industry experience (SaaS, technology, healthcare, finance, or consumer brands) is a plus.