Finding Your Content Pillars
As an entrepreneur, social media has become an inevitability. There’s simply no way to get your brand out there without having social media. But honestly, why wouldn’t you want to have a strong social media presence?
Social media can be one of the best ways to spread the word about your brand as an entrepreneur. You can gain connections, showcase your work, and expand brand awareness.
While social media can grow your brand, GOOD social media can truly take it to new heights. So what makes the difference between an average social media presence and an incredible social media one?
Strategy.
Having a social media strategy will distinguish your content and help you reach the goals you have for your brand. And yes, we understand that while social media is fun, social media with a strategy can be intimidating. That’s why for February, Female Founded is focusing on how to create strategic and eye-catching content that fits your brand.
One of the most basic aspects of creating your social media strategy is content pillars. Content pillars are the categories of content that you use to plan out what you’ll be posting on social media. Each different pillar is a different clue that, when put together, gives your followers an idea of who you are.
Picking your content pillars: While there are many different kinds of content pillars, we’d like to focus on content pillars that set the mood for your actual content. These content pillars include categories like “inspirational content” or “educational content”. The type of content pillars you use should be suited for the kind of brand you want to present to the world.
For example, if you’re a life coach working in the wellness industry, you might focus on “motivational”, “sales”, “humorous”, and “educational” content as your main pillars. If your aim is to work in the political sphere, you’ll want to focus more on educational content. On the other hand, if you work in the political sphere maybe you want to avoid humorous content. Knowing what doesn’t work is just as important as knowing what does.
Finding content for each pillar: If you’re having a hard time finding content for your social media, try looking at the social media accounts for leaders in your industry. Big influencers usually have the content pillar strategy down pat and they will set the trends for your industry as big events happen.
You may also want to study your past analytics when planning your content for the next month. Did memes do well on engagement? How did those inspirational quotes do when it came to reach? Knowing all of these factors can help you post more of what your followers want!
Planning them out: You should pick 3 or 4 content pillars for each social media account that you’re creating content for. That way, you’ll be able to keep your content diverse and it won’t feel as though you’re posting the same kind of content day after day.
In order to keep your content varied, it helps to create a calendar for your content and color code each content pillar a different color. Red for motivational, blue for educational and so on. This helps you create a physical representation of how much you’re using of each content pillar.
Content pillars are the foundation on which you can build a strong social media brand. Once you’ve mastered pillars, planning your next month of content will be a breeze!
By the way, if you’re looking for more advice, you can check out our next blog post which will show you step by step how to make the perfect content calendar!