5 Reasons You Should Use Content Pillars To Guide Your Content Marketing Strategy
Have you ever felt like a hamster on a wheel when it comes to your content marketing?
You post on social media and upload blogs because you’ve been told you should. And you end up posting willy nilly because you’re pretty lost when it comes to using those platforms and having a strategic impact.
Spoiler alert: they were right when they said that blogs and social media will move the needle forward in your business. But without a strategy, they’re avenues that are likely to drain your time and energy.
Content pillars are the foundation of an intentional, strategical approach to your content marketing. And getting clear on what yours are can transform your approach.
I’m Andraya (she/her), founder of Woven Wordsmith. I write copy and craft marketing strategy for sustainable brands. Which includes my own. Whether you’re the marketing whiz for your own business or you’ve got others doing the work for you, using content pillars to guide your content marketing strategy can be a game changer.
In this blog, we’ll explore what content pillars are. And I’ll offer five reasons why your business would benefit from using them as a guide for your content marketing strategy.
I’ve also got a special bonus for you — an example of content pillars in action (and a behind-the-scenes peek into my content marketing strategy).
If you’re ready to hop off the hamster wheel, I’ve got you. Let’s create a content marketing strategy with you in the driver's seat. A strategy where you feel proud of the content you put out because it’s purposeful and value-driven. As a super sweet bonus, you might just find your time and energy returning to you.
What Are Content Pillars?
Content pillars are a list of topics you can use to tailor your SEO and content marketing approach.
Every business has content pillars. It’s up to you whether you’re defining them and using them to their highest potential — or if you’re just letting them happen.
Using content pillars to their highest potential means using them to…
Drive SEO
Plan sales funnels
Plan, schedule, and promote your content
It’s a symbiotic relationship and being intentional about your content pillars is important and extremely helpful.
The following is a guideline to help you (or your team) discover your content pillars. It’s not a hard and fast rule. So, if you need to adjust it, feel free to.
Most businesses start with five content pillars. And having that many is a great place to start. They’re broken down into:
3 educational pillars — these pillars are directly related products and/or services your business has available to purchase
1 value pillar — this pillar demonstrates a shared value you have with your audience. It’s usually a more meaningful or serious topic. And it’s a way to connect on a deeper level with the audience.
1 shared interest pillar — this pillar has to do with your audience and their interests, but isn’t your exact product or offer. It’s a more fun and lighthearted topic. And allows you to connect to your audience in a more fun and lighthearted way.
Once you’ve discovered your brand’s content pillars, you can use them to guide how you create your content. And they’ll become valuable when you go to cross-promote your content. A major bonus? Your content marketing strategy can get pretty darn close to plug-and-play when you know your content pillars.
Now that you understand what content pillars are, let’s get into some examples.
An Example of Content Pillars
To cement this idea, I’m giving you a behind-the-scenes peek at Woven Wordsmith’s content pillars. And how I use them to put out connective, purpose-driven content.
My content pillars are…
Copywriting (education) — As a copywriter, putting out educational content on copywriting helps my audience of sustainable business owners. And it’s super close to the service I have available for purchase.
Marketing Strategy (education) — Marketing strategy content is also valuable to my audience and close to my services. This blog is a piece of my content marketing strategy that falls under this pillar. Content pillars are a piece of marketing strategy.
Entrepreneurship (education) — Since a chunk of my audience are sustainability entrepreneurs, putting out content about entrepreneurship is a good education pillar for my business.
Climate Solutions (shared interest) — With doomsday climate change upon us, climate solutions are needed more than ever. My clients care about climate solutions and work in that space every day. Connecting with them over this serious topic makes it a natural choice for a shared interest pillar.
Beyond-Sustainability (value) — I’m building a resilient and regenerative future that goes beyond-sustainability. And my clients are, too. It’s something that we both value.
When I’m planning my content, I base my decisions around these pillars. Any blog I write, social post I create, or email I send has gone through my content pillar filter beforehand. This helps me to ensure that my content is on brand for my business — while still connecting to my audience and their values, needs, and interests.
For example, I’m currently writing and posting four blogs a month. And each one is related to a different content pillar. I’m focusing on copywriting, marketing strategy, climate solutions, and entrepreneurship.
My pro tip: Use these pillars to schedule your content and cross-promote it.
For example, you can post a blog around one content pillar. You can then promote that blog using five social media posts over the span of 7 weeks. And you can promote it in an email newsletter, too.
If you were to do this with the 4 blogs a month that I knooow you’re posting, one month of blogs would create 7 months of content.
And every piece of that content not only has the potential to move the needle forward in your business (and make more sales), but also connect deeply with your audience.
Sounds pretty great, right? It is. And has the potential to literally change your game.
So let’s get into these game-changing benefits.
5 Reasons You Should Be Using Content Pillars ASAP
If you still need a little help sorting out why content pillars could be wildly beneficial to your content marketing strategy, here are five reasons why:
It will help your SEO — One blog creates organic SEO traffic (and/or boosts the overall site’s SEO) AND it’s being promoted by 5 social media posts. With this approach, you’re not posting the blog and then going dark.
You’re reminding people of the post (and your expertise) by cross-promoting multiple times. As a special bonus, you’re boosting traffic to the blog (and your website) with every cross-promotion. Which is great for SEO.
Helps you make the most of all content — Ideating is extremely energy intensive. And that’s true whether you’re the business owner or a part of the marketing team. Content pillars are like bumpers in bowling. You’ve got parameters for content creation. And you’ve got social media posts covered for months — saving you time and energy.
All of these pieces are going into the funnel, so this is how you’re making every piece of content work as hard as it can for your overall campaign goal and business in general.
Creates abundant opportunities to connect with your audience — Connecting with your audience allows you to break down their walls and gain their trust. Modern consumers are sensitive to overt selling. They get turned off when a brand makes everything about the money.
With content pillars, you get to provide value without the looming energy of a buying decision. This means that your audience is more likely to buy from you later on because you’ve set the stage in a genuine way.
Positions you as an expert in your field — If you can show your audience you know your stuff through intentional content, they’ll see you as an expert. Let’s use this blog as an example. I’m providing value for you by sharing about this piece of marketing strategy. I’m also showing you that I know stuff about marketing strategy.
And since I claim to be a marketing specialist, demonstrating my expertise helps to show you I’m an authority. And if you were to follow this formula across multiple platforms, your audience will see you as an expert, too.
Cultivates a robust, plug-and-play content marketing strategy — With this strategy, the guesswork of when to post and what to post goes out the window. When ideating about your blogs, you can use your content pillars as a guide. If a theme falls under the umbrella of one of your pillars, then it gets a green light.
With that one blog, you’ll be able to glean five social posts and a newsletter blurb. When you have the foundation of content pillars, you’ll know what to write about, what to post, and when to post it.
The biggest benefit? You’ll feel in control of your content marketing. And you’ll know that your content is going the distance and having an impact.
But for them to go the distance, you first need to identify your brand’s specific content pillars.
How to Find Your Brand’s Content Pillars
Remember your business has content pillars that drive your content, whether you’re being intentional about it or not. Every business does. There are things that you educate your audience about, interests you share, and values you connect on.
If you prefer to DIY, here are a few tips to help you discover your business’s content pillars.
Consider what products and/or services you have available for purchase — and what your audience needs to know to buy from you
Think about why your audience is interested in your offerings — what about their interest makes you a good choice
Get clear on what values lead you to create your offering — customers appreciate brands that share their values
Your content pillars are fluid and flexible. And they’re likely to shift as your business grows and changes.
If you need help figuring out your content pillars, I’m here to help. I offer all of my clients a one-time service of content pillar creation. And I demystify the process of using them in a content marketing strategy with a monthly scheduling service.
To get started, I offer a free 30-minute strategy session to help you unpack what pieces of copy and marketing strategy will help you the most, right now. Follow this link to learn more.
Content marketing doesn’t have to be a drag. Instead, it can be fun, connective, and easy. Let’s get to it!
