Consistency.
One of the top reasons for creating pillars that inform the type of content your brand puts out to the world is consistency. Having a brand voice that’s consistent allows people to learn about your core values and product offerings - a classic marketing rule is that a person needs to see a product or service offered seven times before deciding to purchase. Thanks to content pillars (that should be informed by your brand voice+tone), you can make sure you’re creating content that shows the product at several touch points, from comments to posts to stories and Reels, making this “seven times” rule faster and more effective.
Next up we have…
Clarity.
Having content pillars that allow you to repeat messaging to your target audience can provide a ton of clarity around what your brand stands for and what it offers as far as services or products go. Sticking to a script can keep your content from deviating from what people expect from your content and what’s keeping them there.
And we know having that clarity will allow you to…
Plan ahead.
Content pillars are imperative in allowing marketing managers or business owners to plan content in advance and to avoid repeating brand values or other talking points too close together. Laying out how you’d like to cycle your content pillars while planning out your content for the next few weeks makes sure the distribution of information is even and that you’re not posting haphazardly when inspiration strikes you.
And part of planning ahead includes…
Nailing your hashtag strategy.
Knowing what your content pillars are informs your hashtag strategy - knowing exactly which topics you’re targeting is crucial to reaching the right audience. Looking at social media strategies holistically can provide additional clarity around how one strategic move (developing content pillars) can inform another (hashtag sets) in a way that creates an ecosystem of strategic maneuvering to get your brand/product/service into the right hands.
And finally, all of these points we’ve gone over will ultimately allow you to…
Plan by platform.
In an ideal world, one's content strategy would allow for planning based on platform, as each one has different requirements and distinct audiences. Content pillars create centralization - a brand is still recognizable as a brand across all platforms because the content pillars dictate the themes, while the platform dictates the style - this is important to keep in mind.
While this isn’t a comprehensive list, these are just a few of the reasons why content pillars are a foundational part of any social media marketing strategy. Without them, other branches of social media marketing might get missed and brand messaging can become murky, a common mistake that’s all too common, yet easily avoidable with a little planning and strategizing.
