Think like a publisher, not a marketer.
– David Meerman Scott (@dmscott)
Creating a social media post can be challenging on a day when you are at your creative lowest. Nothing inspiring seems to be triggering you on to make that killer post you need so badly. That’s when content pillars can prove to be a lifesaver.
A content pillar! What’s that?
Content pillars are 3 to 5 topics that your brand will talk about consistently, amplify them, and focus its content for social media. They are also referred to as content categories or content buckets but essentially mean the same thing.
The five Content Pillars with respect to Content Marketing are as follows:
- Audience
- Creation
- Experience
- Promotion
- Insight
How to use Content Pillars for your social media strategy
Thanks to content pillars, you can stay organised, be consistent in your posts, and create great content that will find favour with your audience. For example, you might be an expert on hospitality. As your community grows, you might choose to expand and incorporate travel and lifestyle pillars into your overall marketing strategy. Sounds cool? It is!
Content pillars also enable you to plan your content better. Thanks to your content pillars, you can strategise to plan for your content for the entire month. Now, that’s the sensible thing to do!
Content pillars also help you grow and diversify as a brand. For example, a beautician can also focus on well-being, lifestyle, entrepreneurship, and mental health.
Content pillars will lay the foundation for you to develop a great content strategy. They will also make you feel more confident as you execute your plans flawlessly and will make you consistent on every social media platform, including Instagram.
Bank on content
Creating a content bank is a good idea with respect to the content pillars that you may have. As a part of your social media strategy, all your thoughts, ideas and plans can be jotted down in this document whenever creativity decides to strike you. It’s like a go-to-diary in your hour of need. This saves much needed time when you are having a mind-block or a lack of inspiration. And we all know that time is money.
Data is knowledge
There’s nothing like checking out your Instagram analytics to discover which content has a superlative performance in terms of audience engagement and which ones do not resonate with your audience. You might think that you know everything, but data is the ultimate knowledge as it is a reflection of your audience’s taste, personality, trends, and preferences. Check out the captions and hashtags that click with your audience and work according to the knowledge gained from these insights. Instagram Analytics can only help your business grow.
Plan your content calendar
Planning is the most essential element of any campaign. So, plan your content calendar ideally a month ago for best results. Give yourself time to create and execute your content rather than trying to do everything last minute. That never works and you know it! Planning well in advance will help you minimise content errors and ensure that quality does not fly out of the window.
Listen to your audience
Remember that you are nowhere without your audience. Unless there is perfect esprit de corps between you and your audience, no goal can be achieved. The relationship should be reciprocal and mutually beneficial for both parties. You are creating content for your audience after all, and listening to them is only logical. If there is even a shadow of doubt in your mind, ask your community members what type of content they would like to watch. Give them what you need! Also, be a good listener as listening to your audience is the best way to stay connected with them. Take careful note of FAQs to gain an understanding of what they frequently ask you about and what they want to know.
FAQs
- What are content pillars on social media?
When it comes to social media marketing, content pillars are a set of themes or topics that you can use to create posts for your brand. These themes are also referred to as 'buckets' and are specific to your brand. They should only project the content that is most popular with your online followers and content that is relatable to them. - What should a social media content strategy include?
A social media content strategy has 4 basic components:
- Research and analysis of the current content reception and strategy
- Your target audience identified by the platform
- A list of content-specific goals and objectives
- Plans for the distribution of your content
3. What should your content pillars be?
Content pillars are the 3 to 5 topics that your brand will consistently talk about, amplify, and create content for on social media platforms. They are also known as content categories or content buckets and basically mean the same thing.
4. Why is it important to have content pillars?
The advantage of content pillars is that they help you stay focused and relevant for your buyers. When you decide upon a content pillar that you wish to focus on, think about the keywords you will regularly use to position your articles in good SEO practice.
5. What are content pillar examples?
Examples of content pillars are eBooks, reports, and guides. By concentrating on developing a single content pillar, it's easy to divide that finished piece into blog posts, infographics, videos, emails, social media updates, and more, to attract different kinds of buyers through different channels or platforms.
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