Have you ever sat - laptop open, tapping on the keyboard because you have NO IDEA what to write about? Whether you’re posting a blog or a social media post (or two, or five), chances are you’ve been like “What do I post about today?!” Lack of inspiration, writer’s block - whatever you want to call it, there is a solution.

This is why you need content pillars. Also known as content buckets, categories - whatever you want to call them.

Content pillars are the 3-5 topics that your brand discusses, writes about, amplifies on social, and creates content about. They’re all the overarching topics that matter to your niche. These are the topics that YOU are an expert on.

Having content pillars makes planning everything else you post or write about that much easier.

For me, I’ve honed in recently on my own content pillars which when you’re going from marketing Generalist (which i was for ~10 years before focusing specifically on social media) to specialist can be jarring. My own blogging here, over the last year, felt unfocused and uninspired and then, I realized I needed to practice what I preach - I needed to focus on my specialties and create my own content pillars!

So once you have your pillars/buckets/whatever you want to refer to them as, what do you do with them?

Create a Content Repository

From these pillars, you can create a content repository where you can go when you’re uninspired or don’t know what to post.

A content repository, for the record, is a document where you can create sections for each of your pillars. If you see something that might be good to share or post about later. Maybe it’s just an article you want to reference, you can add it in one of the columns. Set aside time - whether weekly or monthly, to add new ideas to your content repository. You can elaborate later, this is just an idea dump.

Need ideas? Check your analytics. Look at your Google Analytics to find out what people are searching for to get to your website, and look at your social analytics to see what types of content people are engaging with most. Also, be sure to check your industry news - trends and other happenings can help you stay on top of relevant content.

Content Calendars Help You Plan Better

Finally, once you have your pillars, you can get your content calendar set up. Start plugging in your content pillars and other important relevant dates. Add them to your content calendar to support and promote them and jump on any hashtags for the days. Next, plug in your “macro content” or longer form content - blogs, podcasts, etc… I start small with one form of macro content per week. These are more time-intensive when it comes to creation. Then build your social content from there - You can repurpose longer-form content pieces for social as stand-alone pieces or promote that macro content. Make sure, however, that your content adds value and that you are not just creating content for the sake of creating content.

Download our social media strategy planner to help you get some clarity on your content pillars that will resonate with your audience and help you get traction in your social media efforts.