Using content pillars for your social media posts helps you to stay organised, get inspired and ultimately, allows you to create high-quality content that your audience will love. Below we explain what content pillars are and offer some top tips on how to create and apply them to your social media content strategy.
What are content pillars?
Content pillars, also known as content categories or content buckets, are usually made up of about three to five consistent core topics that relate directly back to your brand. They help you to create relevant content and amplify your message for social media. They are also extremely useful for getting clarity on your niche. Clarity is key if you are an expert in one area or in a few specific things because it will help to attract your ideal audience faster.
Additionally, content pillars make planning your content so much easier because they help you strategically build your content calendar for the month ahead. That means no more rushing and scrambling to make last-minute posts.
The content pillars that you decide on should always tie back to your brand and be comprised of multiple themes. Here are some examples of content pillars in action.
- If you manage social media for a bookstore you can focus on creating social posts that announce new book releases, the author of the week, cosy reading spots and the best local coffee shops.
- If you are a nutritionist who wants to create brand awareness, you can focus on nutrition during pregnancy, a holistic and healthy lifestyle and yoga.
- If you are a marketing strategist who works for many clients, you can focus on marketing tips and business growth.
- If you are a fashion designer and you want to sell your latest creations, you can focus on complementary looks, the latest clothing styles and high fashion trends.
How to find content for your pillars
First, create a document with a table for your content pillars. Then, whenever you think of or see content that might be useful for your content pillars, type it in your table to grow your list of ideas. This is called content banking.
This document should be a living document that will change and evolve with your ideas. Creating this document and referring back to it will also help to trigger inspiration for when you need help with what to write for your next Instagram caption or blog post.
Once you have come up with some initial ideas and made a note of them, you can start to seek inspiration from other places.
1. Have a look at your analytics
Looking at your analytics helps you to see which content performs the best and resonates with your audience the most. Make a note of these high performing posts and pay particular attention to the captions, images and hashtags used.
When you plan for future content, refer back to what made these posts special and try and replicate them using similar captions, images and hashtags.
2. Follow your industry’s news and trends
Take note of industry news and trends. This will provide direction for your content and help you plan your content calendar for the month ahead.
If you need additional resources look at Google Trends and Pinterest. Google trends show you what people have been searching the most for and Pinterest allows you to search for topics within your industry. The first pin that pops up on Pinterest will serve as a good indicator of what people like.
3. Pay attention to audience feedback
Another way to draw inspiration is to listen to what your audience has to say and take notes. Your relationship with your audience should always be a reciprocal one. One where you listen and then create content that they will find valuable and worth coming back for.
If you aren’t getting any feedback, create posts that specifically ask your audience what they are interested in and what they would like to see from you.
4. Create and plan your social media content calendar
For best results, plan your content a few weeks in advance. If you leave it to the last minute you risk not having enough time to correct your mistakes and refine your work. Creating content in advance also helps you to relax, enjoy and embrace a more calm and stress-free way of working.
Content planning process
- Make a note of important dates like public holidays. People love seeing and interacting with these types of posts. These events can go into your calendar first and then you can begin creating other types of content.
- Make use of any macro-content that you have created such as long-form blog posts, YouTube videos or podcasts. Start off by posting one piece of macro-content a week as they require a bit more time to create than a typical post.
- From there, you can slot in micro-content. The micro-content can either promote your macro-content or be a short, stand-alone post that adds additional value.
Once you have mocked up all of your social media posts in a document for the month ahead, you will be able to see how they will look before you schedule them to go live. Doing this also helps you gain a holistic view of your content plan and by extension, determine whether or not you are striking a balance between all of your content pillars.
Conclusion
When used correctly, content pillars will help lay the foundation and assist you with creating a great social media content strategy again and again. As you begin to feel more confident and calmer about being consistent on all your social platforms, you will start to create high-quality content that your audience will love!
If you need assistance with content planning for your social media channels, get in touch with us to see how we can help you today!
