Have you ever floundered over what to post on your business’s social media?
Do you leave it until you’ve not posted for a while and then scramble for something to say?
If you do, I’m sorry to tell you this but, you’re doing it all wrong!
The good news is, there’s a simple solution for coming up with ideas for social media posts about your business and making sure you stay on-brand.
Say hello to content pillars.
In a nutshell, they are a handful of topics or categories related to your industry or expertise.
Ask yourself: what do I want to be seen as? What relevant things do my followers want to hear about? It can be more than one thing.
I work with a client that has launched a maths activity centre and they want to change the preconceptions about maths and encourage more people to have fun with it. As well as one of their content pillars being branded promotional posts that are specific to them and aim to drive ticket sales to their centre, they also have other content pillars such as entertainment (puzzles, games, maths memes), community (sharing partner organisation info, meet the team posts, customer reviews), and education (maths resources and ‘did you know’ posts).
Where to start with content pillars
Write down your ideas for content pillars as column headings and under each one make a list of the types of posts this could include. Together, they should encapsulate who you are, what you do, your values and personality.
Look at your best-performing posts and see if there’s a common theme between them. You can also think about any frequently-asked questions you get from your customers and consider if they fall into a certain category.
Having these content pillars defined will help you stay on track and give you a fantastic reference for when you’re planning out your social media posts, giving you a great variety of posts that will be more likely to engage your audience.
Whenever an idea for a post pops in your head, open up your content pillars document and add it to the relevant column. Then, when you come to creating and scheduling your posts (it’s always best to do this in advance so you make sure your content is consistent and well-planned) it will guide you on what to create.
Perfect for those days when you’re feeling uninspired!
Content pillar ideas
If you need a little help figuring out what your content pillars should be, here are a few more examples from across different industries…
An independent travel agent
1. Travel news (latest updates on industry news, likely traffic disruptions, new flight routes etc)
2. Destination focus (inspiration posts that focus on different hotspots around the world)
3. Tips (eg packing hacks, how to take the perfect passport photo, the best suncreams etc)
An outdoor clothing store
1. Product features
2. Walking routes and outdoor activity destinations
3. Environmental issues
A landscape gardener
1. Tree/plant facts and inspirational photos
2. Garden wildlife conservation
3. Seasonal garden care advice
If you need any more guidance on how to identify your content pillars, get in touch for a chat.
I promise you, it makes the world of difference when you’re planning content for on-point social media that your followers will love.