Content pillars: The secret foundation to your digital strategy
The inevitable question every client asks at some point is ‘what should I post?’ And yes, even if you’re not writing a novel, writer's block can be a real pain when it comes to publishing content. But oftentimes, the bigger issue isn’t with the posts themselves, but with where to begin. Aka, the topics, themes, and larger ideas of where to put your time and effort, and even more importantly, what NOT to spend time on. Enter, the magical concept of content pillars.
Content pillars are the foundation of your content strategy. They are themes / initiatives / conversations that collectively make up what your brand stands for. They exist so you can go deep with a wide-range of content while still keeping you focused in your lane. Quite simply, they are the best.
For example, here at M.T. Deco, our content pillars are – broadly speaking – Digital Strategy, Lifestyle/Wellness, Digital Trends, and Business/Entrepreneurship.
Here’s another example. If you are an aspirational author, one of your content pillars might be ‘Non-fiction books’ so that you can establish equity within the literary community in advance of a future book launch [hint - an existing community also helps in securing that initial book deal too; very chicken and egg].
The content you create within this pillar could be as simple as a monthly book review post on Instagram, to as complicated as a weekly live show with authors on YouTube. There’s a huge range of possibilities, but the only ‘rule’ so to speak, is that you are consistent in your output. Post regularly, often, and over an extended period of time. It’s similar to a drip strategy - we are going for the marathon and not a sprint here.
The pillars also help delineate what makes sense for your master brand and what isn’t worth your time. They serve as guardrails to push back if a random sponsor offer appears or a friend asks you to share their content. The answer is yes, as long as it fits somewhere within my content pillars. See, we’re also saving your energy and protecting your bandwidth!
So if we’ve convinced you that you need content pillars thus far and you’re ready to start, know that the hardest part is identifying them. For most individuals / brands, we recommend roughly 5, give or take. Too many dilutes the quality of your content and too few is too one dimensional (and restrictive). The absolute very first step is to start with understanding your greater ‘why’ and your business goals. What are you trying to achieve by publishing on these platforms? Clients, subscribers, sales, a community? Be very specific and clear with what you are working toward.
From there, the rest is easy! The pillars should be a mix of business and passion, which can include personal interests, social impact, advocacy - you don’t have to fully mix business and personal, but let’s be real, people connect with people. So if you’re trying to stand out in the competition and the choice is between your company and another, people tend to go with who they like and connect with more. Content pillars help generate the opportunities for authentic, emotional connection and without that icky, thirsty vibe we see from those trying too hard.
To help you in laying out your content pillars, here’s what we use for M.T. Deco as inspiration:
Digital Strategy - advice, case studies, tips/tricks, how tos
Digital Trends - relevance, connecting IRL, the latest info our audience needs to know
Lifestyle/Wellness - exploring the intersection of career and life
Business/Entrepreneurship - advice, support, across all business sectors
It’s important to note that every pillar isn’t necessarily created equal either. In some cases, M.T. Deco included, the majority of our content output is made up of the first two pillars because it’s the bread and butter of our business - it’s how we can draw back to our bottom line. And while we are passionate about showcasing kick*ass women in business or ruminating on various wellness practices to help you do your best work, we want to be careful to not OVERDO it on that content because we don’t consider ourselves a wellness publication. We are a digital strategy resource and wellness is a piece of that, not the majority.
Try mapping them out for yourselves. We guarantee, at the very least, you’ll feel much more organized with how you’re spending your time, and you can feel confident that you’re fortifying your strategy for the long haul, not stops and starts.