Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg lost nearly $3 billion in a day after the company's platforms Facebook and Instagram faced a global outage. The growth and impact of Social Media cannot be overstated. It is hard to come by someone without a social media account and the number of creators increases by the minute. Whether you’re an individual creator looking to share your passion or a business aiming to connect with your audience, the art of crafting compelling content is both an absolute necessity and a thrilling challenge. So, when your social media content ideas are running low and time is short, how can you create precise content and maintain consistency? The answer is Content Pillars, yes, content pillars can guide your efforts and serve as inspiration when it comes to creating your content.

But first,

What are social media content pillars?

Why are content pillars useful for content creators or social media influencers?

How to come up with a content pillar strategy for social media?

If you’re looking to grow your social media and engage your audience on Instagram, then what you need first are content pillars.

What is a content pillar?

A content pillar is a key theme or topic you want to focus on in your content and become known to your audience on social media. Most creators have a combination of several pillars that form the foundation of their content strategy.

Content pillars ensure you can control “what you’re known for” to a certain degree and help determine how people define your content when explaining it to others.

Now, let’s put it in simple words. Imagine your social media interaction is like you are talking to a friend. So, You wouldn’t talk about a hundred different things all at once, right? You would focus on a few key topics like your favorite hobbies, the things you are passionate about, and maybe some motivational or useful advice. That’s what content pillars do for your social media.

So, instead of sharing random stuff that might not make much sense, content pillars help you to stay organized. They give your social media a clear and concise look.

Why are content pillars important for social media?

For creators, creating content pillars fulfills many goals.  One is that a lot of platforms, from Twitter to TikTok categorize content in their search engines. If you build content pillars and create content according to them, You can better control how you appear in search engines by creating content that matches specific categories and keywords related to your content. 

Also, Whatever the reason behind your focus on social media, you probably want to achieve one or more of these five things:

• Promote
• Educate
• Engage
• Inspire
• Entertain

With content pillars, you can structure whichever of these goals matches what you try to achieve in your creative process.

Content pillars are also a constant source of inspiration – when you know the broad concept of what you want to say, you can continuously and consistently generate ideas with fewer gaps or blocks in between.

Types Of Content Pillars For Social Media

At the core of this framework there are four key pillars;

1. Promotional Content
2. Entertainment Content
3. Educational Content
4. Inspirational content

These pillars act as guiding principles for content creators, offering a strategic roadmap to connect with audiences on various levels. From showcasing products and services to sparking laughter, sharing knowledge, and inspiration, each pillar brings its own unique flavor to the social media experience. Together, they create a diverse collection of content that attracts, educates, and inspires audiences across digital platforms.

How to Define Your Social Media Content Pillars

Social media content pillars are important when it comes to implementing your social strategy correctly, organizing your content, and aligning your messaging.

But it’s not as difficult as it sounds, nor does it involve a lot of work and time! In fact, there’s a good chance you already know what your social media content pillars are – it is just that you haven’t written them down yet.

So, ready to start creating your social media content pillars? Let’s begin.

8 steps to create content pillars for your social media

Creating content pillars for your social media platforms is similar to building a strong foundation for a structure. It's about creating a clear, organized framework from which all your content will branch out.

Here’s a step-by-step guide to follow:

1. Assess your interests: Identify topics you're passionate about and have a reasonable knowledge of. 

• Start with broader terms that grab your interest, and work your way down to find a niche within that broader category. 
• If you have specific ideas, find the broader category they fall under to ensure you have many ideas to draw from in the future. For creators that get extremely popular off one topic, this strategy can help you find the broader category that your content belongs to.

2. Research the niches you've picked: Understand what your target audience is interested in and how it aligns with your choice of topics. Look at what topics others are covering in your field, and identify gaps or unique angles you can explore.
3. Brainstorm topics: Aim to remain relevant without being unstable. While trending topics can boost engagement temporarily, your content pillars should stand for your mission and face the changing tides of social media trends.
4. Crafting your content pillars: Now, you can create 3 to 5 broad content pillars. These should act like the trunk of a tree with the potential for many branches of conversation, questions, and analysis.
5. Build a content bank: For each pillar, build a content bank filled with post ideas, articles, videos, etc. This will ensure you always have a storage of content to pull from.
6. Engage your audience and analyze content performance: Engage with your audience to understand their responses to your content pillars and adjust if necessary. Monitor analytics to see which topics are resonating and optimize your strategy accordingly.
7. Diversify your content: Use your pillars to diversify your content across different formats and platforms. This could include blogs, videos, podcasts, and social media posts.
8. Continue to optimize your pillars: As you gather more data and feedback, revisit and twist your content pillars to ensure they remain relevant and engaging.

Create Your Content Pillar Strategy

Image Source : MySocialBotique

This is where we get to the good stuff! Creating your content pillar strategy can be tricky but once it’s done, you’ll love seeing the results.

So, how do you come up with your content pillars? 

Well, from doing the research above, you should have already established:

• What content does your audience want to see and what information they’re looking for
• How your products and services can solve a need for your different audiences
• What kind of content performs well within your competitive set
• Which types of content resonate best with different target audiences, and on different social media platforms
• Which content is relevant to your target audience, either in relation to their interests, where they live, what their hobbies are, or what they have in common
• What the pain points are

Once you have this information, consider how you can create content that solves their needs.

Suggested Read: How to Measure Your Website Traffic and Performance

So, how many content pillars do you need? 

Well, while there are no set rules on how many content pillars you should have, we think three to six content pillars can create a nice balance.

Examples of content creators with clear content pillars

Content pillars are the backbone for content creators or social media influencers, looking to build a consistent brand narrative. Here's how some notable content creators have used this concept to carve out their unique identity.

So, let’s see some of the examples of content creators with their content pillars;

1. Content Pillars for a Travel Photographer 

Sunny Gala

@worthashott

A travel photographer should carefully design content pillars that showcase their unique perspective and engage their audience in the world of travel and photography. 

The following are some of the content pillars for Instagram a travel photographer can consider:

• Breathtaking Destination Photography
• Cultural Immersion Stories
• Travel Tips and Recommendations
• Photography Techniques and Editing Tips
• Local Cuisine Exploration

2. Content Pillars for a Home Decor 

Rukmini Ray Kadam  

@trumatter

 Home decor creators should strategically create content pillars that inspire, educate, and empower individuals to adopt environmentally friendly practices in their living spaces. 

These are some of the content pillars they can focus on:

• Film Tutorial Videos
• Before & After Images
• Product Reviews
• Show Off Your Latest Completed Project
• DIY home decor Projects

3. Content Pillars for a Tech Enthusiast  

Gaurav Chaudhary

@technicalguruji

A Tech enthusiast should tailor their content pillars to captivate and inform their audience about the ever-evolving world of technology. 

These are some of the content pillars they might include;

• Gadget Reviews and Unboxings
• Tech News and Updates
• Coding and Programming Tutorials
• Exploring Future Technologies
• Comparisons and Buying Guides

Benefits of Content Pillars For Social Media

• Pillars help you organize your social media content plan.
• Content pillars enable you to help to speed up the content ideation process.
• Having specific themes for social media allows you to create meaningful content instead of purposeless posting.
• Promotes consistency in your social media platforms.
• Makes it easy for the audience to find out what they’re looking for and stay consistent with your brand message.

Conclusion

Creating content pillars could level up your content efforts. Be strategic in your approach, by carrying out competitor research and analyzing your social media platforms. By adding these pillars to your social media strategy, you are not only trying to stay up with the times but you are also trying to go beyond the boundaries of expectations and set new standards. So let's start this journey together, filled with creativity and insight.

We can't wait to see what you come up with!

FAQs

How many pillars should you have for social media?

3-5 pillars

These categories should be broad enough to give you some flexibility in content creation, but specific enough to keep your content focused and on-brand. Aim for 3-5 to guide your content creation.

 What are the types of content pillars for social media?

Content pillars for social media are mainly categorized into four types: Promotional, Entertainment, Educational, and Conversational content.

What are the advantages of social media content pillars?

Having content pillars for social media helps create streamlined content and promotes consistency with your brand message in your social media channels.

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