Struggling to come up with ideas for your social media posts? We’ve all been there. On days that you feel like you have no “creative juices” flowing, having content pillars as a guide will make your life so much easier! It’s a great way to stay organized, be consistent, and create high-quality content your audience will love. Seriously, you’re going to love this how-to guide!
What the heck is social media content pillars?
Content pillars are the core themes or topics that a brand focuses on in its content marketing strategy. No matter which social media platform you focus on, these pillars guide the creation of relevant and valuable content that aligns with your company’s messaging, goals, and the interests of your target audience. The idea is to have a consistent focus on the why and what, when it comes to content creation, instead of posting random topics as you create at whim. If you don’t already use content pillars, doing so will help you gain clarity around your niche so that you can showcase your expertise, grow your audience, and convert that audience into customers.
How do you use content pillars in your social media marketing?
When you’re feeling uninspired, your content pillars will pull you through strategically. And, as you build it, your content bank can become a valuable resource of ideas for you to refer to for a quick post when you are short on time.
Rather than scrambling to create last-minute posts, you can use your content pillars to strategically build your content calendar for the month ahead. It helps make sure your content matches your brand so nothing sticks out like a sore thumb, especially if multiple people are creating content for the company.
Pair your pillars with a vision board of what you want your posts to look like and THAT’S A MATCH MADE IN HEAVEN!
After all, we know that consistency is the real key to generating the results you want in any marketing strategy. Having a consistent theme visually and in your topic themes will help increase your brand recognition over time which keeps you top of mind when your audience scrolls on over to your page. It’s also important to create a track and stay on it when it comes to your social media content so that it tells the real story of your brand’s identity, values, and mission statement.
How to use your content pillars when creating content for your social media accounts:
STEP 1. Define your target audience.
Target audience refers to the specific group of people that your company wants to reach when posting content.
To determine the target audience for your content pillars on social media:
- Consider your brand’s ideal customer or demographic
- Analyze data such as buyer personas, customer behaviour, and market trends
- Study social media insights to understand the age, gender, location, interests, and online behaviour of your current followers
- Conduct surveys or focus groups to gather direct feedback from your audience.
Having a clear understanding of your target audience will help guide the creation of the content so that it resonates with your customers and drives engagement.
STEP 2. Determine the topics that your audience is interested in.
Write down any ideas that you have. This will help you group them into pillar topics in the next step. Look at the analytics for previous social media posts that did well. Look at the type of content, their captions, the hashtags that were used, and any key visuals and make note of what was popular.
Look to see what’s happening in your industry as it can help you plan your content calendar around things already being talked about. If you’re a divorce lawyer, look at which holidays are coming up to help your target audience cope throughout tough seasons. If you’re a travel advisor, think about the most popular places to visit and when their high seasons are. These are the kinds of things you want to base your content around.
Think about what your target audience would want to see from your social media content.
Think about commonly asked questions. Your clients come to you to solve a problem. Whether that’s boredom, hunger, services, etc. Learn what they actually want, and use their feedback to create content they’ll enjoy.
A real estate agent will have different content pillars compared to an electrician. However, a lot of content can be adapted to each brand.
These are a few ideas that any business can incorporate into its social media pillars:
- Behind the scenes
- Employee takeover
- Product news
- User-generated content
- Customer feedback
STEP 3. Choose 3-5 pillar topics to focus on.
Now that you have a ton of ideas, it’s time to narrow it down and start creating your content calendar!
Your content pillars could look something like this…
Pillar 1: Important dates like product launches, holidays, or National Days you want to talk about.
Pillar 2: Include macro-content. This refers to larger, overarching content pieces that your brand creates as part of its content marketing strategy. This type of content is typically more in-depth and comprehensive and is designed to educate, inform, or entertain your target audience. Examples of macro-content include blog posts, e-books, case studies, webinars, and long-form videos. it is often used to establish thought leadership, build brand awareness, and drive traffic to a brand’s website or social media channels.
Pillar 3: Include micro-content. This refers to smaller, bite-sized pieces of content that are easy to consume and share. Examples of micro-content include short videos, infographics, memes, quotes, and social media updates. Micro-content is often used to engage with an audience, build brand awareness, and drive traffic to other forms of content. It can also be used to build relationships with followers, create a sense of community, and increase brand loyalty.
STEP 4. Now that the planning is thought out, it’s time to start creating content!
Use your new pillars as inspiration to create your posts. If you’re still a bit stuck grab a piece of paper and do a brain dump writing down any ideas you have that come to mind and keep that list handy, adding to it as new ideas come and scratching off ideas that you have done.
STEP 5. Create a consistent posting schedule with a mix of visuals, videos, and text posts.
Grab a calendar and plot out what topics you will post on which days and be sure to an alternative through your content pillars. And, as the days go by pay attention to the results you get. Measure and adjust your strategy based on engagement metrics or the number of inquiries or comments you get throughout the month. Plus, don’t forget to make sure you’re also engaging with your audience by responding to comments and messages.
STEP 6. Book a social media coaching call with us to plan, review, or create your own content pillars
We get that it’s not easy to come up with all the ideas. That’s why we offer one-on-one coaching calls so that you have someone to talk through ideas with, brainstorm with, and get the direction need to start getting the results you want when it comes to your social media efforts. If you feel you don’t have time to tackle it on your own we can take over the reins of your social media for you. All you have to do is ask. We are always here to help! Give us a call at 647-250-1494 (Toronto) or 705-242-8964 (Barrie)!
Hire the team you know you need. It’s the best investment you could make to grow your business and your bottom line.
