Should you be using content pillars? (And, what the hell are they?)
The term content pillars is often bandied about by marketing-type people (me included!), but it’s for a good reason. Here I’m going to explain what content pillars are and why using them can take your blogs from meh… to marketing power tools!
So, what are content pillars?
Even if you don’t know what content pillars are, you’re probably using them without realising. Think about the themes or topics that you regularly cover in your blog, newsletter and social media channels. Even if you’re one of the people who publish blogs without much thought to a strategy, you should find that the articles revolve around a few distinct subjects.
These topics are your content pillars. They’re the overarching core themes you want to be known for publishing content about. For example, the content pillars I use for my blog strategy include ‘writing your blog’, ‘promoting your blog’ and ‘creating a blog strategy’, as well as other related topics.
Why are content pillars so important?
You may be wondering why I’m banging on about content pillars when I’ve just said that you’re probably already using them, but what I want to stress here is how powerful they become when you use them purposely.
By defining your content pillars, and centering your content strategy around them, you’ll make your marketing more effective and your life that little bit easier. Win-win!
Here are a few examples of what content pillars can do for you
Strengthen your brand identity: Content pillars help to ensure consistency across your blog and social media. Along with your tone of voice, this helps to reinforce your brand identity.
Build audience engagement: By consistently publishing quality content within your pillars, you’ll become a trustworthy source of information for your audience, increasing their engagement and loyalty.
Make marketing a little bit easier: Categorising your blog topics into content pillars gives you a structured framework that transfers to your whole marketing strategy. Having a set idea of the kinds of things you want to talk about in your marketing makes it easier and less overwhelming to decide on your next piece of content, meaning you’re much more likely to regularly and consistently post.
How to use content pillars?
Here’s a quick overview of what you need to know to make the most out of your content pillars:
First of all, you need to determine what your content pillars are! Take a look at what you’ve already been posting about and make a note of the common themes.
Break each theme down into smaller, individual topics. Each of these can be a blog post.
When doing this for my clients I usually use an Excel sheet, with the content pillars across the top row and the blog topics down the respective column underneath.
When you plan your content make sure you check that you’ve not neglected any of the pillars recently. While you won’t cover each of your content pillars equally in your blog, it can serve as a great reminder to make sure you are covering all of your content bases.
Remember that you can add to these as you go. Once you become more structured with your planning you may find that there’s a whole theme that you’ve not written about, or that you can split some of the topics down even further.
If you’d like some help figuring out your content pillars I can help you during a 1-2-1 marketing strategy session - and the best news is I currently have an offer on them to help you get set up for 2024. Book now for only £185 and make 2024 your year! Send me an email to laura@nattercomms.com to get booked in.