Do you know that there are 4.59 billion social media users worldwide? Using social media platforms for marketing is a good idea. But how do you do so effectively?

The answer to that is creating content pillars. It may be a new concept for you if you are starting out as a content marketer, but once you have a clear understanding, it will help you create a more effective social media strategy. This blog post will take a deeper look at content pillars. Read till the end to learn more about how they can help you improve your social media marketing.

What Is A Content Pillar For Social Media?

Content pillars for social media are a set of themes or topics you can create posts around. They help build an audience and increase engagement. The themes are also referred to as buckets. 

The key is to provide interesting and valuable content to your target audience. If you can do that, you’ll be well on your way to building a successful social media following.

In short, content pillars are the foundation of your social media content strategy. They provide a framework for the types of content you’ll create and share on social media.

Do read our blog post on Content Marketing examples.

Why Are Social Media Content Pillars Important?

There are many benefits to using social media content pillars. 

  1. It helps to focus your content strategy and ensure that you regularly create content aligned with your business goals. 
  2. It helps build a following of engaged and loyal fans who are interested in what you have to say. 
  3. It creates a sense of community around your brand, increasing customer loyalty. 
  4. It enables generating leads and sales by driving traffic to your website or blog. 

If you want to create a successful social media presence, using social media content pillars is a great start.

Types Of Content Pillars For Social Media

The following are the four content pillars for social media new line promotional content.

1. Promotional content 

It is possible to draw your followers towards your offering with promotional content. Choose an exciting way to showcase your product or service, such as creating videos to show your target audience on what they will get by becoming a customer. This will help increase conversions. Another way is by creating blogs offering tricks on a topic that interest the audience. It will establish you as a thought leader in your niche. 

2. Entertainment content

This is a good idea to create a post on the inspiration behind your product or service. It basically has to relate to the audience and can be in the form of stories. It is best to create behind-the-scenes videos of your offering or add a throwback picture that interests the audience. In short, you must create entertaining content that will keep the audience gripped. 

3. Educational content

In B2C or B2B content marketing, your end goal is to increase sales and retain customers. To enable that, you should create carousel posts and product videos focusing on the key features of your offering. You can create blogs and videos and answer frequently asked questions that your audience asks on various social media platforms.

4. Conversational content

With the help of content pillars, it is possible to use social media content to connect with potential customers at every stage of the buyer’s Journey. You have to create content that aligns with every state to increase potential customers’ probability of converting. To bring life to your offering, you can discuss a current issue, a trend or a major update in your industry.

Here’s an example of Pizza hut,

Conversational content-content pillars
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Pizza Hut has clear content pillars. You can find product promotions, jokes on pizza collaboration posts, engagement posts, and more on Instagram that get the audience’s attention. So, they have a very solid social media marketing strategy with the help of content pillars. 

Conversational content-content pillars
Source

When it comes to Airbnb, the target audience always aims to find a unique place to stay at. So, the social media content pillar of the business is all about advertising unique places to stay at. If you see their Instagram posts, they attempt to draw the target audience’s attention by giving them out-of-the-box options.

So, there were the content pillar examples. Now let’s move ahead.

Before that do read our post to learn all about content marketing

How To Build Content Pillars For Social Media?

Here’s how you can build content pillars for social media effectively,

1. Understand your brand’s marketing personas 

Understand your brand’s marketing personas-content pillars

When it comes to social media, it’s essential to understand your brand’s marketing personas. You need to gather data about your target audience to create marketing personas. You can do this through market research, surveys, and social media analytics. These people will be most interested in your content, and they should be the focus of your social media strategy. 

Once you have the data, you can start creating profiles of your ideal customers. These profiles should include information about their demographics, their interests, and their needs. By understanding your brand’s marketing personas, you can create a content marketing strategy that resonates with your audience and helps achieve desired results.

2. Identify The Needs Of Your Audience

Identify The Needs Of Your Audience

It would help if you had a strategy in place that considers your audience’s needs. Only then can you create a content marketing process that helps you achieve your business goals.

To do this, you first need to identify the needs of your audience. 

  • What are they looking for when they come to your social media channels? 
  • What kind of content would they find useful or interesting? 

Once you have a good understanding of their needs, you can proceed further. 

By creating content your audience is interested in, you’ll be more likely to engage them and achieve your business goals. For example, if your audience is interested in fashion, you could create a content pillar around fashion tips and advice. Or, if they’re interested in travel, you could create a content pillar around travel stories and pictures.

3. Audit your competitors

Audit your competitors

It’s crucial to stay up-to-date on your competitors’ social media strategies. After all, they may be doing something you’re not, which could give them an edge. One way to stay on top of your competitors’ social media game is to audit their content pillars. 

This simply means taking a close look at the topics they’re talking about, the tone they’re using, and the overall approach they’re taking. By understanding your competitors’ content pillars, you can ensure that your social media strategy is on point and that you’re not missing any key opportunities.

4. Perform Keyword Research

Perform Keyword Research

Keyword research is a critical component of any social media content strategy. By understanding what keywords your audience is searching for, you can create content that is more likely to be seen by them. There are several different ways to do keyword research, but one of the most effective is using a tool. You can use a tool to find related keywords that you may not have thought of. Once you have a list of keywords, you can create content around them.

5. Sort into Buckets of Core Content Pillars

Sort into Buckets of Core Content Pillars

There are a few different ways to sort your content into buckets, but one way is to think about your core content pillars. These are the topics most important to your brand and for which you want to be known. Once you have these pillars, you can create content that falls into each category.

By sorting your content into buckets, you can ensure you’re consistently creating content that is on-brand and appeals to your target audience. For example, if one of your core content pillars is fashion, you might create content around the latest trends, put together lookbooks, or do style guides. If another pillar is travel, you might share travel guides, tips, or personal stories about your adventures.

6. Create a Content Calendar

Create a Content Calendar

Once you’ve decided on your content pillars, creating a social media content calendar is next. This will help you plan and schedule your social media content to always have fresh, relevant, and engaging content to share with your followers.

To create a content calendar:

  1. Start by brainstorming a list of content ideas related to your content pillars.
  2. Break those ideas down into individual social media posts.
  3. For each post, decide when you will publish it and what platform you will use.
  4. Once you have a plan for all of your content, put it into a calendar so that you can see at a glance what you need to post and when. This will help you stay on track and ensure your social media content is always aligned with your content pillars.

(Read our blog post on building a content marketing calendar). 

7. Develop and Promote Content

Develop and Promote Content

Developing and promoting social media content can seem daunting, but it doesn’t have to be. There are a few simple steps you can follow to get started. First, you need to choose the right platform for your content. For example, Instagram would be a good choice if you’re a visual artist. If you’re a writer, Twitter might be a better option. 

Once you’ve chosen your platform, you need to create compelling content that people will want to share. This means thinking about what kinds of things are popular on social media and creating content that fits that mold.

Finally, you need to promote your content. You can do this through paid advertising or organic methods like building an audience or working with influencers. By following these steps, you can develop and promote content that will help you build a successful social media presence.

8. Repurpose Content

Repurpose Content

You already know the importance of creating fresh, engaging content. But you also know that it can be tough to come up with new ideas all the time. That’s where repurposing comes in.

It is a great content marketing strategy to get the most out of your existing content. By repurposing it into different content types, you can give it new life, reach new audiences, and achieve your business goals.

First, look at what you have and see what might be worth repurposing. Then, decide what platform you want to share it on. Or, if you have a video that’s getting some traction, you could post it on Instagram with a brief description.

Read our blog post on the top content marketing tips & the importance of content marketing

Start Building Content Pillars For Social Media!

As you saw, content pillars are a great way to build social media presence. You can create a content pillar strategy to help you reach your goals by identifying the main topics you want to cover. Just make sure that these topics are related to your business or industry and are of interest to your target audience. 

Hopefully, you will now be able to build social media content pillars easily. 

Don’t forget to thank us once your strategy is a success!

Check out our Content Marketing guide

FAQs

Why are social media content pillars useful for small business owners?

Social media content pillars are a great way for small business owners to focus their content strategy. It helps create a consistent stream of content that will engage and inform their audience without involving too many resources. 

How to choose social media content pillars?

You should choose pillars based on your business goals and the needs of your audience. For example, if you’re a travel company, you should focus on pillars like destinations, travel tips, and customer stories.

What type of content performs best on social channels?

There is no single answer to what type of content performs best on social channels. It depends on many factors, including the platform you’re using, the audience you’re trying to reach, and the current trends.