A successful content marketing strategy requires a steady stream of unique and useful material. However, the prospect of this may be daunting when you're focused on more immediate commercial goals.
Is there a way to generate a large quantity of valuable content? Yes, we have an answer for you—pillar content.
Here's a deeper look at this very successful content marketing approach, as well as how to use it.
Introduction to Pillar Content
A content pillar is a substantial and instructive content on a certain subject or issue that may be divided into many subsidiary pieces and resources. For example, EBooks, reports, and manuals are all examples of content pillars.
Essentially, it's big content that you can break down into many smaller parts to feed all those channels you're trying to fill right now. By concentrating your efforts on a single piece of content, you can easily split it down into videos, blog posts, info graphics, emails, and social media updates to appeal to a variety of different types of customers through a variety of various channels.
It is an effective and process-driven approach for covering all of your media bases—and delivering the appropriate material to the appropriate customer at the proper time.
Benefits of Content Pillars For Social Media Marketing
Having social media objectives is one thing. But, when you're deep in the process of social media content creation, then having defined themes into which each article writing or type of content should fit simplifies the process. It further helps produce relevant content editing material, rather than relying on guesswork and resulting in pointless postings.
Additionally, pillar content assists in organizing your brand's social media content strategy. Preparing your social media content schedule becomes much easier when you have a list of particular content writing topics to draw inspiration and do research.
To top it all off, using content pillars speeds up the brainstorming process since your thoughts are already narrowed down to a particular subject or topic.
Content pillars may assist your business in establishing a consistent tone across all of its social media platforms. In addition, this helps establish your brand's identity on social networks since you're producing material easily identifiable as yours.
Your subscribers will soon understand what to anticipate when they browse your company-themed, serialized material and will be able to follow along as you continue to put together the parts and create a brand narrative especially for them.
Examples of Pillar Content
Are you contemplating marketing a project via pillar content? Fortunately for you, content pillars come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Continue reading to discover about some of the most common kinds of content pillars that our customers often commission:
Ebooks
They are much more effective at distributing information through digital channels than their physical equivalents.
EBooks writing may readily assist you in launching a campaign since they can include a wealth of information in a convenient small package. With in-depth information on your newest project, info graphics, supplementary article links, and resources, an eBook may serve as an excellent content pillar, connecting all of your relevant materials.
Add an eBook download to your site and easily communicate your ideas.
White Papers
White papers are used to convince you with proof that a specific solution is the best one for the customer. They can be considered as a more formal version of an eBook.
White papers are often more concise and informative than eBooks or brochures. Consider a white paper to be a business professional, while an eBook is more informal. Thus, white papers are ideal as a content pillar for businesses looking to convey information in an uncomplicated, no-frills manner.
Blog Posts
If you're considering running a campaign that addresses a tough or complex topic, opting for a blog series may be the best course of action.
Continue to pique your audience's interest by introducing a fresh piece each week. Having a blog series may be beneficial since it can drive more people to your blog and current material, thus increasing the number of views on other important pieces of content that you'll have up.
They may also elaborate on complex concepts and provide more details on your project, which can help your site maintain a steady stream of repeat visitors (assuming your series is compelling enough).
Social Media Campaigns
While social media ads have just become popular in the past few years, their effectiveness is nothing to laugh at.
Every seven out of ten people spend some time on at least one social networking site. Social media platforms can rapidly disseminate your material to millions of people with the press of a button. Having said that, implementing an effective social media plan is another matter. Due to the rapid dissemination of information through social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, media campaigns often need both quality content and a social media manager to monitor their accounts at all times.
However, with the proper management, social media platforms may quickly connect you to audiences of all ages from all over the world.
Videos
While the days of television advertisements as the foundations of marketing efforts have passed us by, video advertising has not yet vanished. Instead, they've evolved into a new form, often taking advantage of social media platforms to attract consumers.
Videos, particularly those with well-produced visual material and a concise message, are readily shared online. A video may even go viral once in a blue moon, bringing in new visitors and potential customers to your company's campaign. Videos are relatively memorable and effective at capturing an audience's attention. That is one of the reasons why they make excellent pillar content for a promotional campaign.
Webinars And Courses
Assume your marketing is more educational than artistic. In such a scenario, developing a course or webinar to educate your audience about important ideas associated with your campaign's theme would be an excellent method to disseminate information about your newest project launch.
If you plan it properly, you will not only educate your audience more quickly, but you will also transmit valuable knowledge that you will feel good about giving.
Steps to Create Effective Pillar Content
Because pillar material is more in-depth than regular blog articles, it takes more work to create. If you're interested in using this effective business strategy on your site, check out the 5-step method below to build your pillar content.
Step 1: Recognize Your Audience
Creating pillar material for your business or personal blog may seem to be a solitary endeavor - after all, isn't this a chance to share your most intimate ideas and most profound bits of advice with your readers?
While creating original pillar content is critical, it is imperative that the subjects you select connect with your audience. If you're relying on these essential pieces to reflect your company accurately, they must be as useful as possible to your viewers.
Step 2: Identify The Most Urgent Needs of Your Readers
Now that you've identified your audience, it's important to delve into the problems that are weighing on their minds since knowing their immediate concerns will aid you in developing appropriate subjects for each of your pillar articles.
Step 3: Produce Insanely Good Content
Now that you're in the process, you might have some ideas for long-term pillar content pieces that serve your customers well. It's now time to begin writing your pillar articles!
As you handle the content production process, keep in mind that your pillar content pieces should be so beneficial and entertaining that readers will feel driven to bookmark your website and share it with their family, friends, and coworkers.
Take the time to review and edit several versions of your pillar content articles before releasing them, always assessing if the information you're providing exceeds your audience's expectations. It's not worth the effort if you're cranking out the same material as everyone else in your sector.
Some believe that since pillar material is so valuable, it should be gated, requiring a user to provide contact information to access it. It is not the correct approach. Your pillar content should be the primary source of leads. If you have any white papers or eBooks on a related subject, feel free to advertise them from your pillar page. However, give away the whole worth of that page for free. It assists you in establishing authority and communicating directly with those most likely to be engaged in your product or service.
Step 4: Advertise Your Pillar Articles Regularly
Letting your work collect dust is the last thing you need to do once you've finished writing and publishing your pillar articles on your website. To prevent this from happening, promote them in a variety of areas to ensure that they remain in front of your audience.
1. Include a link to them on your "About" page
2. Disseminate the information via your online forums and discussion groups. If the members find it useful, they are inclined to share it, increasing the likelihood that more people will see your content
3. Use social media to promote your business. If you have the resources, enhance your postings to get greater visibility
4. Use influencers in your blog posts by linking to their content and sending a personal note through email to let them know you have done so. Also, remember to tag them whenever you publish anything on your social media platforms
5. Whenever feasible, it is necessary to link to your pillar articles from your homepage to improve visibility traffic and search engine rankings
6. Include internal links inside current blog articles to help readers navigate the site, particularly popular ones
7. Make sure you regularly update your email newsletter with fresh and effective content.
8. Include a list of your most recent or even the most popular posts on your website, such as in a right-hand column or at the bottom of each page
9. If your pillar articles are of high quality and provide significant value, you should have no problem promoting the same pieces again. Because if you've done your research and content production procedures properly, these pieces should continue to provide value to your audience indefinitely - making them deserving of being shared consistently
Step 5: Make All Necessary Changes to The Pillar Content
Keep a watch out for any developments in the industry that may necessitate the need to modify your pillar material.
Every type of pillar content requires a regular update since these posts serve as the basis of your whole site and should always stand out from the rest of your material. So don't be afraid to be ruthless with your editing and go over all of your pillar posts regularly to ensure that they remain relevant.
Your articles may become out-of-date or obsolete due to changes in your sector, and you'll want to keep your content up-to-date so that it continues to offer great value to your target audience. For example, you're going to advertise your pillar articles regularly. In that case, it is particularly important to avoid directing readers to out-of-date or inaccurate content, as this may have a negative effect on your credibility over time.
Keeping blog articles up-to-date may also help to improve Google rankings. Maintaining the timestamp on the pillar content is important since Google needs that step to determine whether the piece of information has been updated. Add a brief remark at the top of the article to indicate that it has been changed.
When you publish new or updated content, be sure to promote it across all of your marketing platforms, emphasizing that it is new or updated. People who participated the first time are likely to return to check what's new, and it will convey to your audience that you are an expert in your field who keeps abreast of the most recent trends and information.