What in the world are Content Pillars?

Has this ever happened to you…. You sit down at the computer, ready to put together social media posts for your business and *bam* writer's block. One day you’re full of ideas, and the next, it’s the blinking cursor of death on the screen, taunting you to write something - anything! - to post on social media.

As business owners, one of the biggest challenges is to be consistent about creating great content that helps your audience understand who you are. Here at GoldBear Media, we often get asked how we create consistent content that stays on topic and on brand. The answer, content pillars! Below we’ll tell you what they are, why they’re important, how to create them, and how to begin implementing them into your social strategy.

1 // What are content pillars and why do you need them

Simply put, content pillars (or sometimes called “buckets”) are 3 to 5 topics that your brand will consistently talk about. This provides the foundation for your social media content creation. 

Content pillars also help with brand consistency. By keeping your content focused on a certain number of subjects, it’ll help your audience understand who you are and what you do. 

Most importantly, they make planning your content so much easier!

2 // How to build your content pillars

Creating your content pillars starts with the mission and vision of your company. For many businesses, the content pillars are a direct extension of a company's core values. 

At GoldBear Media, one of our content pillars is “community.” We believe in investing and promoting the small business community where we live. We are members of the local chamber of commerce and we promote local businesses in both social media posts and newsletters. 

If your business doesn’t have content pillars, here are a few direction ideas to get you started: 

• Start by creating a document with separate sections for each of your content pillars

• Look at the core values of your business and figure out which of those can help show you and your business personality. 

• If one of your core values is fun, make sure to post something funny or silly. Incorporate memes or gifs into your posting schedule.

• If one of your core values is compassion, post about ways that your business has shown that with your clients or the community. 

• Do you have a blog? Share or repurpose content for social media.

We suggest picking somewhere between 3-5 content pillars to start. There’s no need to overthink it - write down every idea you have!

3 // Content pillars can change

Content pillars can change over time as your business evolves. This is a common thing. 

Put a reminder on your calendar to revisit your content pillars and adjust as needed. What may have been an important pillar four or five months ago may not carry the same priority now. Just like your business evolves to meet the needs of clients or customers, content pillars can do the same thing. 

4 // Look at analytics

How do you know if your content is hitting the mark with your audience? Analytics! The most engaged posts means it resonates with your audience.

Make note of high-performing social media posts, graphics you made, captions you used and any hashtags you added. There may be a trend there with your audience and you can reproduce it with something fresh and new. Your audience is “speaking” to you with their likes, comments and shares. Listen to them. If you’re not sure what to look at in your analytics, check out this article which includes some great beginning metrics to keep track of.

Not only will content pillars help you with your content creation and social media strategy, but they’ll help you feel more confident about your ability to be consistent on every platform!

Ready to take the next step with your content? Contact us!