As a social media manager, maintaining a consistent and unique brand is key on social media. That’s where content pillars come in. By determining your social media content pillars—the key topics you create posts around—you can maintain consistency while staying creative and agile to the specific needs of each platform.
Here’s everything you need to know about the pillars of social media content.
What are content pillars?
Content pillars are the themes around which all your content will revolve. They are core topics relevant to your business that promote your company’s products, services, and values.
The goal of using content pillars is to cover key topics in depth to demonstrate expertise. These topics are then published on your website, social media, and any other relevant platforms to drive traffic.
Why are content pillars important?
Content pillars give your social media strategy a clear focus and defined structure, offering several key benefits for your brand’s online presence.
Consistency: Ensure a unified message across all channels
By establishing content pillars, you maintain a consistent message across all social media channels. This consistency helps build brand recognition – when your followers see your content on Instagram, Facebook or LinkedIn, they know exactly what to expect. For example, if sustainability is one of your pillars, this topic will appear regularly across all platforms, reinforcing your brand’s commitment to environmental issues.
Efficiency: Simplify the content creation process
Content pillars provide a clear framework for your content creation process. Instead of starting from scratch every time, your team knows which topics to focus on.
This structure makes planning easier and speeds up content development. You can create content in batches within each pillar, saving time and resources.
Engagement: Helps manage audience expectations and build trust
When followers see regular content within your established pillars, they come to trust your expertise in those areas.
For example, a financial advisory firm that consistently posts about retirement planning, investment strategies, and market updates builds credibility on these specific topics. This focused approach helps establish your brand as an authority in your industry.
Strategy: Aligns with business objectives and key performance indicators (KPIs)
Content pillars align directly with your business goals and KPIs. Each pillar should support specific objectives, such as:
- Increase brand recognition.
- Increase web traffic.
- Create mailing lists.
- Generate sales leads.
By tracking how each pillar performs against these metrics, you can refine your strategy and focus on what works best for your business.
With clear content pillars, it’s easier to maintain high-quality standards across all of your social media content. Your team has specific guidelines for what content fits into each pillar, ensuring that everything you publish is aligned with your brand’s values and quality expectations.
Content Pillars vs. Topic Clusters: What’s the Difference?
There may be confusion about the difference between a content pillar and a topic cluster (also known as the hub-and-spoke model).
While content pillars (hubs) are the key topics that a content strategy focuses on, topic clusters (or spokes) are subtopics that are linked to the main content. These subtopics delve into different aspects of the content, but are connected to the pillar/hub content, creating the opportunity to generate internal links.
For example, let’s say your furniture company decides that outdoor furniture is one of its content pillars. You could create a topic cluster with the pillar page being “The Ultimate Guide to Outdoor Furniture .” Supporting content for the cluster could include blogs (or spokes) like:
- “How to choose the right patio set”
- “The best materials for weather-resistant outdoor furniture”
All of this would link back to the pillar page.
How to identify and define your brand’s content pillars in 2025
Here are five simple ways to identify and define your brand’s social media content pillars in 2025:
Know your audience
Imagine your audience as friends you are having a conversation with.
- What are your interests?
- What questions do they ask?
Analyze their demographics, preferences, and interaction patterns. Consider the problems they face or the aspirations they have. Think about what kind of content would really interest and benefit them.
Once you know your audience, it’s easy to tailor your communications and conversations based on what they like or identify with.
Reflect on your brand’s personality
What values, peculiarities or features make your brand unique?
Your content pillars should reflect these characteristics, just as a person’s interests define who they are.
- Consider your brand’s mission, vision and values.
- Think about the personality traits you want your brand to embody: Are you playful, serious, adventurous, or informative?
Make sure to align your content pillars with these traits to create a consistent and authentic brand voice.
Analyze the performance of past content
Think of your past content as chapters in a book.
- Which ones received the most likes and comments?
- Use social media management tools to review your analytics and identify the most successful content.
This data is a clue that tells you what your audience finds interesting or valuable and can help you shape your content pillars.
Consider industry trends and conversations
Reflect on the trending topics that everyone is discussing.
You’ll want to be a part of those conversations to stay relevant. Look at industry trends, discussions, and popular hashtags.
Your content pillars should align with what’s on everyone’s lips right now.
Ask your audience directly
Your audience has valuable information about their preferences, interests and needs.
Conduct surveys, quizzes, or Q&A sessions. Ask them what kind of content they enjoy, what their preferences are, or what specific topics they would like you to talk about.
Not only does this help you understand their needs, but it also makes them feel valued and connected to your brand.
By combining these strategies, you’ll be able to create content pillars that not only resonate with your audience, but also humanize your brand, creating a genuine connection that goes beyond simple social media marketing.
Let’s explore how businesses structure their content pillars to create engaging social media strategies that serve their specific goals and audiences.
Content pillars for a SaaS company
A software company might focus on helping customers get the most out of their product while building trust in their expertise. Their content pillars might include:
Product education: Regular posts about the product’s features and functions, focusing on how customers can solve specific problems using the software. These posts could include shortcuts that save time or little-known tools that make work easier.
Customer Success Stories: Real-life examples of how companies are using software to overcome challenges. These stories help potential customers visualize how they could achieve similar results.
Industry knowledge: Posts about broader technology trends and best practices that demonstrate the company not only knows its product, but also the business landscape in which its customers operate.
Content pillars for a recruiting agency
A recruiting firm should target both job seekers and employers by demonstrating its industry expertise:
Professional development: Regular advice on how to write a CV, prepare for interviews and negotiate salaries. These posts help candidates and show that the agency understands what employers are looking for.
Market Analysis: Updates on hiring trends across different sectors, salary benchmarks, and changes in employment practices. This content is valuable for both candidates and hiring managers.
Client Collaborations: Stories of successful placements and long-term client relationships, highlighting both employer and candidate perspectives on the process.
Content pillars for an accounting firm
An accounting practice can build trust through educational content while maintaining a professional yet approachable tone:
Financial Planning: Practical tips on tax planning, business expenses, and financial management that businesses can implement immediately.
Regulatory Updates: Clear, jargon-free explanations of new tax laws and accounting rules, helping clients understand how changes affect them.
Practice Perspectives: Publications that show the human side of the firm, highlighting team members and explaining complex processes in a simple way.
These examples show how content pillars fit different types of businesses while focusing on audience needs and business goals.
See how each pillar naturally connects to the next, creating a comprehensive content strategy that keeps audiences informed and engaged.
