The jury is in: You may’t construct a popularity for creating high-quality content material on social media with out having stable content material pillars in place.
And the explanation for that’s easy.
Individuals crave consistency.
Social media customers need to know what you’re going to speak about, while you’re going to speak about it, and how much worth they’ll anticipate to stroll away with.
Give it some thought.
Should you’re a B2B hyperlink builder that follows search engine marketing professionals on LinkedIn, you’re most likely not following them in hopes of grabbing their grandmothers’ pie recipes. You’re probably following them for moral link-building concepts, search engine marketing greatest practices, and their subject-matter experience.
However, in the event that they talked about their household trip on Monday, shared a recipe on Tuesday, and posted a carousel with 5 search engine marketing recommendations on Wednesday, you may determine to hit the unfollow button.
Since you may’t depend upon them for constant, significant content material, you’d probably take your looking habits elsewhere, proper?
That’s the thought.
With out clear content material themes in place, social media customers can’t depend upon you, belief you, or develop a significant relationship with you.
Should you’re able to put collectively a content material pillar technique to focus your social media efforts, stick round to study extra.
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What Are Content material Pillars?
Should you’ve by no means heard of content material pillars earlier than, digital advertising and marketing guide Shane Barker sums them up completely:
“Content material pillars are usually not merely matters on your posts; they’re the cornerstones of your social media technique. By specializing in a handful of core themes, you not solely construct authority in these areas but in addition give your model a constant voice. Similar to pillars assist a constructing, content material pillars assist your social media presence by offering a stable basis from which to develop and have interaction your viewers.”
See? We couldn’t have mentioned it higher ourselves.
Should you’re prepared to make use of content material pillars in your social media technique, learn on to study 5 methods you may uncover matters which might be consistent with your viewers and the distinctive worth what you are promoting gives.
1. Create Content material Pillars Primarily based on Your Viewers’s FAQs
Able to create related content material on your social media viewers? Testing question-based content material matters — assume who/what/when/the place questions — will help you create priceless content material property on your social media followers.
A easy method to uncover which questions to focus on is by trying via your buyer assist (CS) tickets, suggestions types, and e-mail inquiries. Don’t hesitate to prioritize e-mail safety and use the DKIM checker when sending e-mail inquiries to guard delicate data and forestall unauthorized entry or interception of communications.
Then, take this a step additional by trying on the “Individuals additionally ask” and “Associated searches” sections on Google’s search engine outcomes web page (SERP) for the principle keyphrases what you are promoting targets. In these sections, you’ll see an inventory of continuously requested questions (FAQs) associated to your goal key phrases.
As an example, let’s check out one of many high keyphrases the model Hers targets on Google, which is “how one can get antidepressants”.
If we plug this into Google, we’ll see the next FAQs within the “Individuals additionally ask” part:
Hers may acquire the next questions from the “Associated searches” part:
After compiling an inventory of questions, search for patterns and repeated questions — the extra it’s requested, the extra essential it’s to your viewers. Proceed doing this till you may have an inventory of 5 to 10 major query matters you may check as content material pillars. Should you get a constructive response, proceed testing comparable questions or conduct a deeper dive into every query to uncover sub-pillars.
2. Mimic the Content material Classes You Cowl on Your Weblog
Take a look at the content material classes you cowl in your weblog.
As an example, in the event you run a SaaS weblog, you may supply the next classes:
- Consumer-generated content material, corresponding to software program evaluations, comparability guides, and explainer movies by B2B affiliate entrepreneurs and subject-matter consultants
- Instructional content material, together with SaaS software program how-tos, app listicles, and assist heart posts
- Motivational content material, corresponding to inspirational SaaS model tales, case research, and firm wins
Check out your most beloved posts in these content material buckets (examine their rating scores utilizing Ahrefs’ Rank Tracker) and jot down their matters. Then search for patterns and similarities amongst these matters and whittle them all the way down to an inventory of 5 to 10 choices to check.
3. Repurpose the Pillar Content material Items you Showcase on Your Weblog
There are a number of content material property you’re already utilizing as pillar items in your weblog.
These are those you broadcast loud and proud. They’re on the high of your weblog web page, you’ve labored onerous to get them to rank excessive, and also you promote them as a part of your wider content material advertising and marketing technique frequently.
Let’s check out Campus.edu’s weblog web page, for instance.
Campus.edu gives the next content material classes on its weblog: Enterprise, neighborhood school, school, monetary help, press releases, and pupil life. It additionally has concrete pillar items in every class that it spends further advertising and marketing {dollars} on. The next monetary help piece breaks down the method of making use of for a pell grant:
Not solely can Campus.edu repurpose snippets from this text into infinite social media posts, however it might additionally check this matter as one in every of its social media content material pillars. And you are able to do the identical!
So, head to your weblog and screenshot your entire showstopping pillar items. Slender these matters all the way down to an inventory of 5 to 10 you may check as content material pillars on social media.
4. Generate Pillar Subjects by Plugging Your Goal Key phrase Phrases Into an AI Writing Assistant
Right here’s a easy method to discover related matters in a pinch!
Whereas we don’t suggest utilizing an AI weblog author to jot down a whole article or social media publish, we do recommend utilizing it as a part of your content material planning course of. With an AI writing assistant, like Simplified AI Weblog Author, you may plug within the keyphrases what you are promoting targets and immediate it to generate social media matters for you.
When asking for concepts, be particular.
As an example, attempt:
“Please generate social media matters utilizing the supplied key phrases: Profession constructing ideas, profession success, transferable expertise, mid-level professionals, new graduates.”
Proceed asking the AI writing assistant for matter concepts till you may have a stable checklist of 5 to 10 content material pillars you may check.
5. Solidify Core Subjects Primarily based on Your Goal Viewers’s Ache Factors
Revisit your audience’s high ache factors and the way your services or products can clear up them higher than the competitors.
Use these insights to brainstorm matters consistent with your viewers’s core wants.
As an example, in the event you promote productiveness software program to startups and solopreneurs, your viewers might need the next ache factors:
- An excessive amount of to do and never sufficient time to do it in
- Feeling misplaced in unorganized workflows
- Engaged on too many repetitive, mundane duties
- A scarcity of a high-level activity overview is resulting in silos and careless errors
- Poor workforce collaboration choices
On this case, you might check content material pillars like:
- Productiveness ideas that save manufacturers 10+ hours per week
- Find out how to create pristine productiveness workflows
- Find out how to automate repetitive duties
- Find out how to take away data silos and keep conscious of your activity overview always
- High workforce communication and collaboration instruments, ideas, and concepts
Once more, get your checklist down to 5 to 10 concepts you may check.
And that brings us to …
6. Take a look at and Finalize Your Pillar Subjects
Take a look at the entire strategies above earlier than finalizing your social media content material pillars.
Then solidify your content material sorts (i.e., Instagram Reels, LinkedIn Carousels, YouTube explainer movies, and many others.) and select your posting technique.
As an example, you may publish academic content material about lead scoring on Mondays, motivational content material about profitable gross sales manufacturers on Wednesdays, and behind-the-scenes content material about gross sales pitching on Thursdays.
As soon as the content material planning course of is full, add your content material themes, content material sorts, and core matters to your social media content material calendar.
From there you’ll have to plan who’s going to provide the content material and who’s accountable for monitoring your social media content material technique.
Wrap Up
And that’s content material pillars for you in a nutshell!
Now it’s your flip. Observe the information we shared right this moment to generate content material pillar concepts. Then, check your concepts earlier than finalizing your core matters.
Lastly, keep organized by including your pillar matters to your content material calendar and assigning roles and tasks to acceptable workforce members.
And that’s it. Right here’s to your success!
PS: On the lookout for a whole advertising and marketing answer? With Rock Content material’s services, you may flip your most formidable content material targets right into a actuality. Converse with an skilled to study extra, right this moment.
Ian David (Visitor Writer)
Ian David began his profession in brick-and-mortar retail administration, which shortly included eCommerce and digital advertising and marketing as properly. He’s an avid reader and a self-taught skilled in search engine marketing and content material advertising and marketing. He writes for a number of publications on quite a lot of digital advertising and marketing matters. Not too long ago, his focus has been on utilizing influencer and affiliate internet marketing to drive extra conversions.
